Assessing an Existing Team
Work today is frequently accomplished in teams. You want to create a winning team in the first 90 days. Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders assess team members by asking each person powerful questions. Everyone needs to quickly and honestly know where they stand regarding the mission and goals of the team and organization.
In my executive coaching work with leaders, I help them formulate the right questions to ask team members. It takes a lot of interpersonal skill to formulate and ask questions that will provide a comprehensive assessment of team members and the team.
Can you think of any questions that you might ask to assess an existing team?
Prepare to meet formally with each person by reviewing available personnel history, performance data and other appraisals. During your meeting, ask probing questions. Michael Watkins, in his excellent book The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels suggests the following for a comprehensive evaluation:
1. What do you think of our existing strategy?
2. What are the biggest challenges we face in the short term? In the long term?
3. What are the biggest opportunities we face?
4. What resources could we leverage more effectively?
5. How could we improve the way the team works together?
6. If you were in my position, to what would you want to pay attention?
Be on the alert for nonverbal cues. While a person’s actual words have merit, much is revealed by body language, as well as what a person omits and the way in which he communicates:
Work today is frequently accomplished in teams. You want to create a winning team in the first 90 days. Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders assess team members by asking each person powerful questions. Everyone needs to quickly and honestly know where they stand regarding the mission and goals of the team and organization.
In my executive coaching work with leaders, I help them formulate the right questions to ask team members. It takes a lot of interpersonal skill to formulate and ask questions that will provide a comprehensive assessment of team members and the team.
Can you think of any questions that you might ask to assess an existing team?
Prepare to meet formally with each person by reviewing available personnel history, performance data and other appraisals. During your meeting, ask probing questions. Michael Watkins, in his excellent book The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels suggests the following for a comprehensive evaluation:
1. What do you think of our existing strategy?
2. What are the biggest challenges we face in the short term? In the long term?
3. What are the biggest opportunities we face?
4. What resources could we leverage more effectively?
5. How could we improve the way the team works together?
6. If you were in my position, to what would you want to pay attention?
Be on the alert for nonverbal cues. While a person’s actual words have merit, much is revealed by body language, as well as what a person omits and the way in which he communicates:
- What doesn’t he/she say?
- Does he/she volunteer information or wait until he/she’s asked?
- Does the person reveal areas of weakness or only strengths?
- Does the team member blame others or take responsibility for specific things?
- Does the person make excuses?
- How consistent is his/her body language with his/her words
- Which topics evoke a lot of energy?
- What is this person like outside of meetings, when he/she interacts on an informal level with others?
- Does he/she tend to be cordial, polite, tense, competitive, judgmental or reserved?
Comments