How can you develop a self-sufficient team?

A Leader should always back the team when the chips are down Feedback on a regular basis, don't assume they are happy, communicate with them on a regular basis and take feedback. Be transparent with the team , even if that means communicating the bad news. Build a democratic process to make every person valuable. Often we look for people like us, people who act like us, think like us , we need people who are opposite to us. There is great power in diversity. Lead from the front , but fall back if required. Spin the large picture but walk with them through the mini milestones.

This seems to be very professional statement, this is not the right way to develop your team and get the output. It starts with E means Empathy first, which is forgotten in many organisations these days.

Having direction is critical for teams to understand where they are headed, but allowing your team to contribute to those goals and feel real ownership of it is even better. Then there is nothing lost in translation.

When sharing news of you or the enterprise's mission and vision, it is essential to start with the general and end with the specific. Moreover, it behooves the manager to explain how this, or these goals fit into the greater scheme of things. Only after the team members understand why they are tasked with doing this will they engage fully and contribute ideas to enhance the outcome.

Empower team members through skill-building workshops and continuous learning programs. Provide resources, such as online courses and mentorship opportunities, fostering a culture of self-improvement. Encourage knowledge sharing within the team, creating an environment where individuals take ownership of their professional development. This approach not only enhances individual capabilities but also cultivates a self-sufficient team that thrives on continuous learning and collaboration.

We define vision, strategy, and results needed. Then we carefully select the most Results-focused mindsets in the organization to lead initiatives. The selection process itself is the key to success or failure. Safety and security mindsets want to control the initiative because they think they need control to be successful. On the surface this seems fine because they are highly organized and methodical. Their discomfort with ambiguity will eventually make the initiative fall apart. Conversely, when you select talent that’s naturally focused on outcomes, results, and complex problem solving to lead, success and speed follow. Similarly - it creates role model behavior for others as an incentive for self improvement,

Delegating authority and responsibility begins with ensuring that everyone is reading off the same page and there is alignment on the purpose. If there is not confirmation and alignment, the team or individual will begin the process or task sometimes in the polar opposite direction of the mission. Furthermore, as a manager, you must be available to demonstrate the proper way using the proper tools and resources to complete the task. It is critical to also have checkpoints along the way in the initial launch to ensure the message was received as intended. Ultimately, once there is confirmation that the process is on its way, a good manager then disengages and avoids the temptation to micromanage... but available should something change.

From my experience it’s important to make sure there is a shared understanding of what being accountable, having authority and being responsible means, before this can be something that is used to drive performance in a team. It has always surprised me how these terms have different meanings for different people. Getting into real examples can help here, to create a consensus reality.

Nothing will disable your high functioning team more than a narrow decision making matrix. Delegating authority means delegating decision making and responsibilities. You can mitigate the risks with proper governance and often updating an organizations decision matrix to ensure the right department/person has the right decision making authority. Be wary of the words "I was waiting for a decision".

Empower your team's self-sufficiency by embracing the second step: delegate authority and responsibility based on their skills, interests, and potential. This grants them decision-making power, fosters ownership, and encourages valuable learning through mistakes. Equip your team with essential resources, tools, and support, ensuring they perform tasks with utmost effectiveness. Delegating, however, doesn't equate to abandonment or micromanagement. Strike a balance by monitoring progress, offering constructive feedback, and providing guidance when needed. This approach not only cultivates a culture of autonomy but also establishes a safety net for continuous growth and success.

In my opinion, a true leader is one who can be made redundant by a self sufficient team. The process to create such a team starts with - identifying the right talent : dont let your insecurities compromise on the talent you should have - create a common goal : align each member towards one objective, to which they individually contribute and ensure success - empower them : at the same time keep on doing a health check on their decisions and back them up if they falter - Reward : with words, with acts of encouragement if monetary awards are not possible More importantly even if within you are anxious, unsure, ensure that on the face show that you trust them and guide them along

Empowered teams know that they can and should be very clear in sharing their thoughts and ideas. Team members often learn or develop more efficient ways to do tasks whether it is through automation or templates or any other tools which make repetitive tasks easier. Also, nearly everyone brings experiences from other roles which may bring perspective or unique remedies. Managers, need to break the old notion that knowledge is power and reward their teams for not holding their cards close to their vests. Finally, knowledge is not held exclusively by those with greater experience or tenure. A strong team is built on cross-team collaboration where the younger members may have unique technical expertise, and the older members bring their wisdom.

Cultivate a self-sufficient team by taking the third step: promote robust collaboration and communication. Forge a culture of trust, respect, and innovation by encouraging seamless interaction among team members and stakeholders. This not only prevents silos, conflicts, and misunderstandings but also fuels a collective spirit toward shared goals. Facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and best practices by creating dedicated avenues. Provide platforms, tools, and methods like online meetings, chat groups, surveys, and brainstorming sessions. Embrace both successes and failures as opportunities for shared learning, further reinforcing a collaborative ethos and a backbone of a self-sufficient and dynamic team.

Strong, resilient teams are built on formal and informal training, knowledge transfer, and the spirit of life-long learning. Much like honeybees will return to the hive sharing their latest nectar source, strong, trusting team members bring their recent learning sources to the team and share freely. Effective managers encourage and motivate their teams to share their own knowledge or sources of learning with the teams. Moreover, they set aside time for the teams to explore and collaborate or debate these new concepts.

Take some time to define strong KPIs for L&D and report those out as often as sales and finance KPIs are reported out. As your workforce expands in capabilities, it is amazing what more they can accomplish. What gets measured gets done and what gets done well and celebrated gets repeated. On the topic of learning and development - would also bundled in the topic of retention. Let's keep that talent we invested so much into developing.

Elevate your team's self-sufficiency with the fourth step: champion learning and development. Foster both individual and collective growth by encouraging the acquisition of new skills, knowledge, and competencies. This prepares them to adapt seamlessly to evolving needs and challenges. Acknowledge and reward their achievements and contributions, complemented by constructive feedback and coaching. Employ diverse strategies for learning and development, ranging from structured training programs and mentoring schemes to peer reviews and self-assessments. This commitment not only propels individual excellence but also strengthens the collective capabilities of your team, fortifying them for sustained success.

Situational leadership is built on the notion that no two people are the same. We are all motivated by different rewards. Giving team members the autonomy and flexibility to do their jobs in the way they find to be most rewarding while striking a balance between the needs of the individual and the greater team can be challenging but some of the best managers are able to achieve and encourage this. Strong managers set goals and deadlines. They encourage diverse opinions and efficiently manage these concentric circles while making it clear what the overall deliverables are for the individual contributor, team, and enterprise. They also avoid as many last minute or mission critical disruptions as possible to maintain team harmony and autonomy.

Building self-sufficient teams, regardless of the field we are in, requires a strategic approach. It's not just about completing projects successfully and on time; it's about empowering teams to take ownership with full autonomy that establishes trust and be self-reliant. Instilling a culture of peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and independent problem-solving is key. Team leaders can cultivate a thriving environment by setting weekly check-ins, providing insightful feedback, leading by example, and adapting to the team's evolving needs. This approach unlocks the potential for increased productivity, innovation, and collective success, ultimately resulting in high-performing teams.

Empower your team's self-sufficiency with the fifth step: champion autonomy and flexibility. As long as goals and expectations are met, support their preferred working styles, paces, and environments, allowing a seamless balance between personal and professional lives. Respect their opinions, preferences, and diversity, involving them in decision-making and problem-solving. Foster autonomy through practices like setting realistic deadlines, permitting remote work, and creating feedback loops. This approach not only acknowledges individual strengths but also cultivates a dynamic and adaptable team ready to navigate diverse challenges.

If you are a senior leader, one way to lead by example is to actually step back!! Your reporting managers also need to understand that sometimes their team members may have a better understanding of something. You doing this with your direct reports will encourage them to do the same with their team members. So go ahead and let your direct report/s conduct a meeting that you called. Let the team come back with a few decisions in your absence.

As a leader, your performance management of your team is critical. Do you conduct regular reviews? Do you highlight and agree on strengths and weaknesses? Do you then action mentoring and training to grow areas needing development and utilise strengths to benefit the team? Is a career path in place for every achieving team member? Are you consciously retaining talent? These are the building blocks of a highly functioning and successful team.

In my experience, senior leadership should always set the example of best in class when it comes to leading the way. Taking stock of how you show up with your team is critical to understanding where you land in their perception. What qualities do you embody which you’d like your own team to observe. As a last thought, allowing for their voices to be heard will create a sense of acknowledgment and in turn, will inspire them to keep growing with you as their leader. I’ve always said; a team is the reflection of their own leader at the helm.

Role modeling as a leader of a self-sufficient team is a very different and nuanced skill set compared to being a leader of a team which needs heavy direction, structure and motivation. Looking at these differences and exploring which of them can be role modelled explicitly is very helpful, whilst also explaining to the team why you are role modeling such behaviors. Furthermore, take a step back and work out what conditions the team needs to have in place to be self sufficient, put these in place, and see if a self sufficient team emerges as a natural human trait. I find that it does.

Cap off the journey to a self-sufficient team with the sixth step: lead by example and inspire. Demonstrate the qualities and behaviors you expect from your team, setting the standard for values and vision. This not only fosters trust and respect but also encourages team members to emulate your commitment. Infuse enthusiasm, passion, and optimism into your leadership, acknowledging and appreciating the team's efforts and achievements. Utilize techniques like storytelling, role modeling, and genuine praise to convey your inspiration. By being a beacon of motivation, you not only elevate team morale but also instill a culture where excellence is not just encouraged but becomes a shared aspiration.

In my experience, developing a self-sufficient team isn't about spoon-feeding independence. It's cultivating a culture where dependence is seen as a temporary state. Encourage collaboration, not isolation. Build a team that's self-sufficient not by working alone but by knowing when to lean on each other's strengths.

Get them to read some books on collaboration: No Rules Rules is a good start. Also, embrace: Psychological safety Candour Competency Matrix

In my experience, it’s important for leaders to be intentional about NOT rushing in to put out fires and solve all the daily problems. Although that can feel rewarding for leaders in the short term, it can handicap the team. Another important consideration is consistently building a culture where mistakes are encouraged, not penalized. The highest performing teams have MORE mistakes, not less, because they feel supported to try, fail and keep going.

Building high performing teams is an art. Mixing the right about of empowerment, accountability, trust and respect is an ever evolving task. I recall my highest performing team starting out very differently from where it ended up. In the beginning we had to establish trust, which took time and patience reviewing decisions, explaining strategic directions and alignments. We also had to ensure the right people had the right level of empowerment. Not everyone is right for every role. In the end, we had an amazing team that blazed trails.

There are no self-sufficient individuals - only self-sufficient teams. Individual members of a team can't do everything alone - but they complement each other. However such complementary work needs trust. Trust comes from being vulnerable, open to each other. Such trust is built when people spend time in a safe environment - not afraid to speak their mind. This is where senior management comes in.