How successful and developed a company is largely depends on the people who work in it. Or rather, from a team of people. It is very important that the team consists of people with similar ideological values and professional views. In simple words, for a company to operate successfully, it needs an effective team of like-minded people.
Pavel Markasyan told HRD Trionika how to create an effective team of like-minded people at a webinar on November 17. If suddenly you did not have time to attend it, we, as always, have prepared for you an article with the main thoughts from the webinar:
- the concept of a team and differences from a group of people;
- stages of team development;
- the role of the leader in forming an effective team;
- DISC behavioral typology;
- team roles;
- social elevators for employees;
- coaching approach to employee development;
- how to effectively manage a team in partial remote mode.
What is a team?
The key advantage of companies is flexibility and prompt response to market changes.
The transition to a flexible management model allows us to follow the trend. This, in turn, presupposes teamwork. The basis of any effective company is the organization of the work of teams to create, in a limited time, unique, innovative solutions, methods, technologies, products and services, their improvement and support throughout the entire product life cycle.
The “right” development team is a team of specialists united by a common goal and solving all the tasks assigned to them throughout the product life cycle.
Each team member has a key role and a set of core and advanced knowledge. The latter are extremely important for building a highly effective team.
The key principles of team formation are voluntary participation in its composition and focus on results. Each team member performs that part of the overall task that his team determined with him, and not the part that he usually performed on instructions from management.
A few words about Pavel Markasyan
Pavel Markasyan is HR Director of Trionika with 10 years of experience in training and personnel management, certified coach (ECF), author of several Internet projects using PowerPoint presentation templates and founder of PowerPoint Academy.
Pavel has experience in insurance, hotel business and IT. Pavel worked as a business coach at PZU Ukraine, in the Hospitality sector at the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv, Fairmont Chicago, Hyatt Regency Kyiv and then at the IT company Wentrum.
Pavel currently works as HR Director at Trionika. In addition, he is a professional PowerPoint presentation creator and has released several of his projects:
- PowerPointBase.com
- PowerPointStore.com
- PPSlides.com
- MagicDiagram.com
Seven plus/minus two
The team will be most effective, and its activities will be effective, if it includes no more than 9 people (formula “seven plus/minus two”)
The peculiarity of team work is collective responsibility. All team members, regardless of position on the staff, “earn money” if the team as a whole worked effectively, and “lose money” if the team did not achieve results.
At the same time, individual responsibility and, especially, individual financial incentives for employees are completely excluded.
The most effective solution is when short-term team results do not have a direct correlation with compensation. We can only talk about long-term (annual or more) incentives related to the performance of teams as a whole or even the company as a whole.
Look not only for smart people, look for people who are sociable
What will help you create a smart team?
Not only high IQ, but also team communication skills. Here are three factors:
- average level of social sensitivity of group members;
- a workspace in which there are no dominant individuals in discussions;
- percentage of women in the group.
Women in this study tended to show higher levels of social sensitivity than men. In other words, groups perform better on tasks when:
- their participants have good communication skills;
- when there are several women in the group;
- when in communication all group members have the opportunity to express their ideas.
Synergistic effect
Team members strive to achieve a common goal: the total effort of the team far exceeds the sum of the efforts of its individual players.
This is called the synergy effect. Thus, project teams are self-managed, i.e., they are managed by a “servant leader” rather than by the organization’s management. To be fair, we note that there are other forms of work management.
It happens that each team member performs his own function and monitors his sector of work, and all decisions are made by the manager, with or without taking into account the opinions of all team members or a group of the most authoritative specialists.
Our CEO no longer speaks first, he first listens to the employees and together with them solves the problems facing the company. This is how we made a smooth transition from an individual to a team leadership style, which made the company an industry leader. This approach is called a “mirror session.” This is when suggestions for improvement come primarily from those who directly perform the work. That is, before embarking on optimization measures, you need to consult with ordinary employees.
Anton Yarmarkin
Founder of the Association of Non-Profit Security Structures "Russian Security"
It is worth saying that the introduction of a team approach has a positive effect not only on the results of the company’s work, but also contributes to team unity and a reduction in staff turnover.
The quality of business and interpersonal relationships is changing positively in the company, therefore, conflicts and non-production costs are reduced. Internal management ensures the company's competitiveness and leadership in the market, and also increases its investment attractiveness.
Alexander Averin First Deputy Dean of MTSiGB Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
Behavioral types
There are a large number of different classifications of behavioral types of people. One of the most famous is the DISC typology, created by the American psychologist William Moulton Marston. In 1928, he published The Emotions of Ordinary People, where he described four behavioral types: dominant, stable, influencing and adaptive. They formed the basis for the DISC assessment.
Pavel notes that when he worked at Wentrum, all candidates took DISC testing. HR managers knew what ratio of vectors was preferable for a particular position.
Managers must also have an understanding of DISC factors. This will help him understand how each team member will act in different situations, what behavior is typical for them and what is not.
DISC: Marston square
There are 4 vectors in a Marston square: red, yellow, green and blue. Each of us has these four vectors, but one or more of them usually dominates.
Most often, a person combines red with yellow (or vice versa) and blue with green (or vice versa). Slightly less common is a dominant combination of red and blue or yellow and green in one person. And very rarely we can meet people whose leading vectors are red with green or yellow with green, since these vectors are diametrically opposite in their characteristics.
Red and yellow vectors indicate focus on results and achieving goals.
Green and blue vectors represent process orientation.
Characteristics of each vector
red vector
People with a predominant red vector are dominant. They are purposeful, but the world around them is very hostile. They are driven by competition and challenges, and it is important for them to set ambitious goals. If there is a new person on your team with a dominant red vector, then he needs to set difficult to achieve goals.
People with a red vector quickly move up the career ladder and occupy top positions. Their opinion is always the most correct and important for themselves. They know how to control their emotions and show them only when things are really boiling over.
Most often, people with a red vector can be found in the police, army, strict hierarchical structures, insurance companies, banks, etc. In a dispute, such people put pressure and attract to their point of view. Their speech rate is average, but closer to high.
One of the strengths of the red vector is that they can work under pressure for a long time and not burn out. It is thanks to this quality that they often linger in leadership positions, where owners put pressure and constantly demand more.
Possible weaknesses of the red vector
Despite the fact that people with a red vector know how to manage their emotions, they absolutely do not understand the state of those around them. This is why they are considered to have low emotional intelligence.
Managers with a red vector are not interested in the feelings of employees, since it is important for them to fulfill the plan. These people are motivated by money, power and achievement.
As we said above, people with the red vector do not burn out, but they shift this pressure onto their subordinates. Therefore, if a manager with a red vector does not upgrade other vectors, there is a high staff turnover in his department.
Yellow vector
People of the yellow vector are very emotional and result-oriented. As a rule, they splash out their emotions on everyone around them. It is very important for such people to be praised and have their high self-esteem confirmed.
Like the red vector, they have low emotional intelligence. The only difference from the red vector is that the yellow one understands its emotions, but cannot influence them. At the same time, they perfectly understand the emotions of other people and influence them, since such people are excellent manipulators.
Managers with the yellow vector have the most motivated staff. They know who and what button to press in order to get the desired result and motivate the employee to work productively.
The main motive of such people is recognition of their merits. It is equally important for them to be able to show creativity and creativity in their work. Therefore, if you have a person on your team with a pronounced yellow vector, try to select tasks for him with a minimum amount of routine work.
Possible weaknesses of the yellow vector
Yellow vector people are aesthetes. It is important for them that everything is beautiful, bright and concise. But because of their speed: they have a high rate of speech, movements, thoughts, they lose accuracy and attention to detail.
Such employees do not like routine, monotonous work, because it burns them out. Leaders with the yellow vector have a lot of creative ideas, but most of them are unfinished.
In conflicts, they are very aggressive because they consider themselves the smartest and do not accept another point of view.
Green vector
People with high emotionality. But unlike the yellow vector, which spills its emotions on others, the green one experiences everything inside. Green vector people are very anxious and anxious. As a rule, they have low self-esteem, so they need to be praised regularly.
The green vector is team players who know how to empathize. They will do everything to ensure that there are no quarrels in the team. These are the people who will work in a company with a low salary for 10 years, because the team is good and they don’t want to leave their comfort zone.
They are motivated by relationships, stability and security. It’s great to have such people on your team, because they accurately notice the personal problems of other employees and will always tell you who needs to be paid attention to.
Important. With employees who have a predominant green vector, it is important to regularly hold 1:1 meetings, talk with them on any topic, establishing communication with them.
Possible weaknesses
Because they quickly let people in and take their problems to heart, they lack work-life balance. Such employees move their work home and vice versa, their boundaries are completely erased.
It is very important for the green vector to have a comfortable workplace with a favorite flower, a warm blanket, and then they will always be happy.
blue vector
Representatives of the blue vector are accountants, IT specialists, people who work well with numbers, but do not like to communicate with people again. As a rule, people of the blue vector are not emotional, they have low emotional intelligence. They sincerely don’t understand how a yellow vector can tear apart like that
