Suyin Aerts
May 22, 2020

Teamwork

Even if you want to perform as a soloist you will have to admit there is always a team around you. If you work with a team hiring top talent is only one part of the equation as a team of all-stars does not automatically make an all-star team. To make the team successful you will need a leader. And although I believe a lot in self-organizing teams, I am convinced we always need a leader. Someone ready to take the responsibility and who’s leadership style fits with the culture of the organisation.

But beside the culture on the inside we will need to keep our eyes on the outside as well, to be ready to respond to the ever-changing needs of the market. What we expect of the leader is to take rapid effective decisions in rapidly changing circumstances.

Great leaders can make the whole team challenge the status quo, motivate either one in the team to learn new things. To set the goals and stretch the team, I think it is important to make the team see the bigger picture and therefore you have to be able to communicate the vision in inspiring way so everyone understands where we are heading to and more importantly why we go there.

The best thing you should aim for is the get a creative and innovative team, when you start from scratch this is easier as all the team members are there with their own background ready to play and perform in a new team with a new common vision. When in an existing organisation and culture, it are outside events that oblige the team to unlearn what they always thought and be open to experiment and dive into the new, might be a bigger challenge.

However, the most important thing, to me, is to stay authentic as a leader. Stay humble, but show your team that you are there to catch them when they fall. And how to make sure that someone catches you when you fall? Or do very strong leaders build parachutes for themselves before assisting others?

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