Five types of team members
I saw this video on Instagram and I found it very entertaining.
It’s all very well characterising your team in this way, but the effects are damaging.
To set the scene the animation shows the various team types helping or hindering pulling a cart. I presume the cart is meant to represent a business or project.
The Performer
'He' knows where he's going and what he's doing. He knows exactly what to do, takes responsibilty and is a tremdous asset. He is portrayed pulling the cart from the front.
The Doer
Highly effective with a great willingness to work, learn and improve. A Performer in waiting. He is seen pushing the cart forward by the wheels.
The less effective Doer
His contribution does not add any value. He is seen lounging around in the cart.
The Potential Trouble Source
My life, they even give it an acronym, 'PTS'. This feels more like a business cult to me. He can be destructive and in the video is seen riding on the cart wheels.
The Suppressive Person
Yes, you've got it, he also is assigned an acronym, 'SP'. I am pretty sure this is a business cult. He is portrayed dragging the cart from the back. This person is highly destructive and is obviously working for the other side.
I am unsure why all the team members are men, but perhaps that's where some of their problems are......
At the end of the video, they all don uniforms and matching safety hats and learn to work as a fantastic team.
Your business is simply a mirror of its management. Before you jump to judgement and worst still personal character assassination, look to your leaders.
How are they performing?
Delegation is at the heart of team work. Many poor managers believe that delegation is simply giving work to others and taking the plaudits for anything good. I have come across this throughout my career and it is really annoying!
I have a variety of examples of business dysfunction in my mind. At this particular point I recollect some old-school men, lolling about during their 'break' with their feet on the tables demanding a staff room. It was not that many years ago and my mind turned to a black and white scene in a factory in Longbridge before Rover collapsed.
It was a scene straight out of the industrial malcontent of old Britain. These entitled, old-school "Suppressive People' eventually left the business. This was simply a matter of good leadership, however the most notable effect was on some of the newer team members. Once these negative, self-serving influences had been marginalised and they understood what the business expected of them, some of the newer members of staff started to shine. They turned up to work with a spring in their step, began to see a future for themselves and appreciated a 'thank you' from management. One of them, evolved into the 2nd biggest income generator in the business. His greatest success was not buying into the old-school malcontent that can blight any business and wanting to be better.
It is not rocket science, so start your professional leadership with the following three questions.
- Do you want to work for this business?
- Do you understand that this is a two way relationship?
- How can we make things better?
The primary aim of your leadership is to get the very best out of your colleagues.
Obviously when asking how to make things better, as in 90% of cases, you will be told ‘more staff, more people’. But this is to be expected.
Your leadership must be creating an environment where everyone buys into the concept of doing more with less. This is the essence of efficiency and to be a staple of your business.
