January 2010 / Newsletter

Six Keys to Strengthening Your Team

Teams, true blue teams, not the motivational phrase we attach to every group of people who work together, but real teams have three characteristics:

• They will struggle for shared aspirations (a common goal)
• They will have measurable performance
• The will share joint accountability

Team kick-off events are an important part of the start-up process. Kick-off events enable the team to articulate and understand the goals, mission and structure. A well-planned kick-off can increase team productivity and build team momentum. A formalized start-up activity will help the team define its mission, deliverables, roles & responsibilities, and critical success factors.

1. Mission (and Vision)

It is the shared commitment to a specific mission that helps define a team. A mission statement can provide powerful documentation about the team’s purpose. Creating a mission statement requires team members to think about, discuss and come to agreement on the following questions:

• What is the work we were brought together to do?
• Why can this work best be done as a team?
• What will be different as a result of our working together?
• What will our work create for our organization, our team and ourselves?
• For project teams: What will a successful outcome look like for our team? How will we know we’ve completed our task?
• For standing teams: How will we measure our success in an on-going way?

A team’s mission may be based on a directive from management or others outside the team. But good team discussion about how each member and the group collectively understand that mission will make the mission statement meaningful and useful to the team. Mission statements may be short; they should be written in everyday language that each team member understands and supports.

2. Goals

Mission statements give a team guiding principles, but goals give the team a real target for their activity. Goals should be something worth striving for and contain important results that the team can provide for the organization.

The best goals are S-M-A-R-T goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. “Improving customer service” may sound like a good goal for a team, but it doesn’t really meet the S-M-A-R-T criteria. A more effective goal would be “Reduce call-back time to customers to two hours or less within six months.” The revised goal is:

• Specific (reduce call-back time to customers)
• Measurable (to two hours or less)
• Achievable (The team would need to decide this. Maybe callbacks need four hours, or maybe the time can be reduced to 30 minutes.)
• Relevant (Again, the team will know - is slow callback time an issue for the customers? For the team’s manager? Is reducing call-back time important enough to merit team effort?)
• Time bound (within six months)
  

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15 Important Questions To Ask In Your Next Interview

Interviewing can be a tedious and stressful time. Which questions should you ask, which ones are appropriate? Are you going to pick the right person for the position? Below is a list of the top 15 interview questions hiring managers find most effective. These inquiries range from basic to complex and give descriptions of what the question accomplishes. Some of the questions are very straightforward and some are tricky ones that bring out the candidates personality and behavior without directly asking them.

1. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done.

This is an excellent question that lets potential employees really sell themself.  In doing so, the hiring manager can see what type of person they are really interviewing. They can also measure how out of the way this candidate had to go in order to complete their duty. This gives a clearer picture about the work ethic of the potential employee.

2. What type of work environment do you prefer?

When choosing potential employees, it is helpful to know what type of environment in which they prefer to work. If the company is very professional and usually quiet, someone who likes a loud casual environment might not be the best fit. It is sometimes good to hire someone who does not fit the mold, but it is usually best to hire people who fit your work environment.

3. What circumstance brings you here today?

This is one of the best opening questions ever. This open-ended question surprises many candidates. If they do not respond quickly, just sit quietly and wait for the response. Some candidates reveal problems with their current employer, potential insubordination, and both positive or negative character traits.

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