Have you ever had to re-pot a plant? Those of us who grow flowers indoors or have certain types of houseplants know that after several months of growth, many plants need to shift from a smaller pot to a larger one to stay healthy.
Fail to transfer a plant from one pot to the next on time, and you could have a couple of problems on your hands. One is that the plant may get root-bound, barely growing as its many roots struggle to pull nutrients out of the surrounding soil. Another is that the pot itself may break.
Teams, like houseplants, also grow and change. As a leader, being aware that change is occurring and taking note as team members grow in their roles and become more advanced in their skills is critical to your team’s development.
Growth and change are always going to happen within a team. As a leader, or as a team member, it’s important to always be learning – whether learning how to perform a task better or developing a brand-new skill. Building skills and knowledge can bring a huge boost to the team overall: everyone does their jobs better, more efficiently.
Sometimes that growth can lead to more radical changes for the team. Say an employee signs up for a leadership course sponsored by the company – and she does so well during the course that the company re-tracks her into an executive management program. That’s a fantastic outcome for the employee, yet it means the team must find someone to fill her position. A period of transition takes place as a new team member settles into the role, learns the responsibilities and skills needed to do the old team member’s job, and ideally integrates fully into the team.
That’s an ideal (and perhaps optimistic) example of one way a team undergoes change and growth. Change can also take place in a less happy setting – when a company has to draw down its employee rolls and shift teams around, for example. This can cause a lot of anxiety and conflict within the team.
As a leader, it’s important to have a plan to weather the squalls and storms that occasionally occur in the workplace and to guide the team through them. Throughout it all, recognize that change and growth are necessary, if not always comfortable. Work through conflicts that may arise within the team.
Remember, if you’re not growing, you’re dying – and that goes for the team as well.
Excerpted from One Team, One Dream by Gregg Gregory
For more information, get your copy of Gregg’s book, One Team, One Dream today! Available in both print and electronic versions!
Bring Gregg to you!
Featured team development seminar – Synchronize Your Team
Leave A Comment