Michael D. Watkins

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">Idea in Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <h5>What’s Wrong</h5>
  <p>Most team-building frameworks assume that you get to cherry-pick members and set the direction and tone from day one. But leaders usually don’t have that luxury; they must work with the people they inherit.</p>
  <h5>What’s Needed</h5>
  <p>Leaders who are taking over and transforming a team need guidance on how to navigate the transition and improve performance.</p>
  <h5>What’s Effective</h5>
  <p>Here’s a three-step model that works: First, assess the people you’ve got and the dynamics at play. Second, reshape the team’s membership, sense of purpose and direction, operating model, and behaviors according to the business challenges you face. Third, accelerate the team’s development by scoring some early wins.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p>David Benet had problems to solve when he came in to lead the highest-growth unit at a large medical devices company. Although sales had increased when two new products launched the previous year, the numbers still fell short of expectations, given all the evidence of unmet customer needs. The company’s future hinged on the success of both products—an instrument for inserting stents into blocked arteries and an electronic implant for stabilizing cardiac rhythm. So the long-term stakes were high, and the team wasn’t exactly humming. Stories about missed opportunities and hints of a toxic culture had drifted upward to senior management.</p>

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<p>Most leaders don&#8217;t have the luxury of building their teams from scratch. Instead they&#8217;re put in charge of an existing group, and they need guidance on the best way to take over and improve performance. Watkins, an expert on transitions, suggests a three-step approach:</p>
<h6 class="inline-helper">Assess.</h6>
<p> Act quickly to size up the personnel you&#8217;ve inherited, systematically gathering data from one-on-one chats, team meetings, and other sources. Reflect, too, on the business challenges you face, the kinds of people you want in various roles, and the degree to which they need to collaborate.</p>
<h6 class="inline-helper">Reshape.</h6>
<p> Adjust the makeup of the team by moving people to new positions, shifting their responsibilities, or replacing them. Make sure that everyone is aligned on goals and how to achieve them&#8212;you may need to change the team&#8217;s stated direction. Consider also making changes in the way the team operates (reducing the frequency of meetings, for example, or creating new subteams). Then establish ground rules and processes to sustain desired behaviors, and revisit those periodically.</p>
<h6 class="inline-helper">Accelerate team development.</h6>
<p> Set your people up for some early wins. Initial successes will boost everyone&#8217;s confidence and reinforce the value of your new operating model, thus paving the way for ongoing growth.</p>

Leading the Team You Inherit

Most leaders don’t have the luxury of building their teams from scratch. Instead they’re put in charge of an existing group, and they need guidance on the best way to take over and improve performance. Watkins, an expert on transitions, suggests a three-step approach: Assess. Act quickly to size up the personnel you’ve inherited, systematically gathering data from one-on-one chats, team meetings, and other sources. Reflect, too, on the business challenges you face, the kinds of people you want in various roles, and the degree to which they need to collaborate. Reshape. Adjust the makeup of the team by moving people to new positions, shifting their responsibilities, or replacing them. Make sure that everyone is aligned on goals and how to achieve them—you may need to change the team’s stated direction. Consider also making changes in the way the team operates (reducing the frequency of meetings, for example, or creating new subteams). Then establish ground rules and processes to sustain desired behaviors, and revisit those periodically. Accelerate team development. Set your people up for some early wins. Initial successes will boost everyone’s confidence and reinforce the value of your new operating model, thus paving the way for ongoing growth.

Leading the Team You Inherit

Summary.

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