by Jerry Curtis

Created on: January 18, 2012   Last Updated: January 23, 2012

A short definition of the word “team” is “two or more people working together.” In that six-word definition, the most important word is the final one: “together.” In fact, in the workplace, there is no “team” without the “together” part. Often groups of people in a work setting come nowhere near the concept of “team” and sometimes, for a variety of reasons, even work against each other. The job of the supervisor is somehow complete the definition of “team” and find a way to get “team members in name” to work as “team members in fact.” That can only be done through a supervisory style that encompasses the best in managerial as well as

leadership skills.

♦ Why bother?

The supervisor who wants to avoid burnout, failure, and ultimately job loss needs to build an effective working team. The idea behind managing and leading is that the supervisor (manger/leader) keeps the “big picture” in mind, sets goals, and runs interference to remove obstacles as the team executes the plan.  If the team is not working together, they are not, strictly speaking, a team. The best supervisor usually employs team-building techniques that are about two parts management and one part leadership.

♦ The management part

The management part has to do with the supervisor’s own management skills, which are not worth much without the professional competence and grasp of the details and skills to do the job. So the supervisor actually has to be competent to execute the task and find a not-ostentatious way of demonstrating that competence to the team members, who will, in turn, feel secure and satisfied that the supervisor knows the job.

Once the supervisor meets that threshold of competence, and before the job or task commences, it is time to present the plan to the team. The plan becomes a “road map” of sorts, with time lines, milestones, and preferably specific responsibilities all written out, or at least communicated clearly to the team. The best plan is one that is realistic from the point of view of being achievable as well as one that takes full advantage of the competencies and skills of the team members.

♦ The leadership part

The good supervisor switches from being a manager to becoming the leader when that role includes the intangible and not-so-measurable skills of personal example, cheerleading, troubleshooting, and even

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