WORKING FOR THE FUTURE (7): PLANNING FUTURE GOALS FOR A TEAM
The vision that holds a team together does not end with the task in hand. Consider the future of the team both as a group and as individuals, as the career progress of each member is affected by their experience and success within the team.
Developing Your Team
The main objective of any team is to work together to succeed at a given task, and this is facilitated if individual members are constantly increasing their own skills base. Good team leaders understand that the future success of a team depends entirely on how individuals develop. Act as both coach and career counsellor to the members of your team. Help to advance their careers by developing their natural talents and providing training and support, stretching challenges, and realistic targets. This will be of benefit to them and also to your team.
Letting People Grow
The larger a team and the wider its remit, the greater the chance for individuals to develop their careers by changing the roles or being promoted within the team. While promotion is usually vertical, team careers tend to progress horizontally: people move to larger teams or those handling higher-profile projects. Do not discourage this. Help promising colleagues to find suitable positions elsewhere, internally or externally. Even in organizations where vertical promotion is harder, individuals can still progress as they move from team to team.
Questions To Ask Team Members
- Why do you want your career to be in ten years’ time?
- Have you thought seriously about your career options?
- Do you appreciate that, ultimately, the smooth progression of your career is in your own hands?
- Have you considered the experience that you need to acquire to follow your chosen career path?
- Are you aware that your contribution towards the success of your team will help advance your career?
Building Careers
However helpful you and other senior colleagues are, individual team members must be aware that they have the responsibility for their own careers. Encourage each member to regard working on the team as part of a learning process, in which all lessons can open up new opportunities, thus building up a body of qualifications to take to their next position – whether in another team, a different department, or outside the organization.
Career-building, like good teamwork, will always be more effective if it is targeted. Where do team members want to be by a certain age? What do they need to qualify for that position? Help them to act on the answers to these questions, and you are providing them with a stepping stone to success.
TIPS
- Conduct personal career progress appraisals at regular intervals.
- Agree career plans with team members and give them any support they need.
- Keep in touch with team members after they disperse – you may well want to work with them again.
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