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Professional Development 12/12/13: Maximizing Team Performance: How to Lead Teams

I attended this HR session, led by the always-insightful Alt Kagesa, to learn a little bit more about different leadership styles in KS as an organization. Here are some highlights:
-Leading effective teams require: a common cause, quality contributors, effective communication, and quality connections, and the difference between a group and a team is a common cause.
      I think that, if people are able to unite through the common cause, then they are able to work together effectively and build a strong team. However, I think even more core is the idea of respect for someone's work. I know that I have worked in teams where one person doesn't carry their load, coupled with how much they claimed to be doing--to me, situations like that undermine work and team work more than any personal issues, because they then make the work a personal issue.
-A good leader recognizes when elements of a team aren't working. 
     Alt recommends train, transfer, or termination, but says that "to do nothing is leadership failure." As a worker, I agree that a team is further undermined when one person's misbehavior is not noticed by leadership, because then leadership's discernment then seems questionable.
-Maximize strengths, minimize weakness.
     This phrase is one of our team norms, and I find it open to interpretation. To me, this means that we help people excel in their roles; for others in KSDL at the time, it meant that picking up the slack for others' lack of skills. I disagreed with the second interpretation because, as a high performer, it seems like that means high performers work harder and low performers face no repercussions. That kind of attitude depletes the team's resources.
-The goal of communication isn't communicating; the goal of communication is understanding.
     To me, this statement is very true, and I find it laudable that a leadership development class makes this very clear.
-10 - 4 communication plan: A change that is not shared ten times, in four different ways will be misunderstood.
    As a parent, I found this statement also to be very true. I think it is also important to add that follow up, consistency, and positive modeling and practice are equally imperative for communication success, because people also communicate with actions.
-The #1 correlation to job satisfaction is relationship with supervisor.
     Very true, which is why I am particularly grateful that I have a good working relationship with my manager. Mahalo, Clinton!




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