Managing Your Team (Part 4) - Who's Exerting a Disproportionate Amount of Influence?
Why is it that, in a team setting, some participants seem to hold more influence than others even though they may not be team leader?
Where does this influence or power come from?
What impact do these people have on the team? If the effect is being detrimental to the team's well-being or holding back progress, then why have them on the team?
Let's take, for example a continuous improvement team, a task force, perhaps a project team developing a new product.
It is healthy and, sometimes, maybe even necessary to include team members who are invited because they are in a position of authority or have a great deal of expertise in / experience of the team's key objectives.
WHY?
Credibility. These influencers can be just that. They are in the ideal position to influence others outside the group if, for example, additional backing or approval is needed. Perhaps they will form part of the main presentation team, lending their skills or authority to help to ensure the success of the team.Approval. It may be that the person of authority is involved because their approval is a mandatory part of team making progress from one stage to another.Help. Perhaps the team is struggling and needs help to move forward.Information. Maybe additional information or hard data is needed. Perhaps it's feedback from a presentation or inputs based on technical know-how.Training. The team may need specific training in new skills or techniques to enable them to make progress.I'm sure you can think of a whole bunch of other reasons why these people of influence can and do add value. However, challenges may arise when the individual with authority or relevant expertise...
Tends to undervalue the inputs and suggestions from other team members. The knock-on effect of this action and attitude can be quite significant in that it undermines the participants' confidence which can lead to those team members questioning why they are involved at all. Not only that, the other team members will rapidly get the feeling that it's better to shut up and say nothing. At least, in that way, they won't be seen as naive or even stupid.Creates taboo areas. This may or may not be intentional. This person has been invited because of their knowledge. Problem is, maybe they are so used to talking to their peers who already have an understanding of the subject, that they almost automatically use a lot of technical terms that just go over the heads of the rest of the team. Sadly, sometimes this can be intentional - "Don't go there, I know what I'm talking about, you don't".Lives in the past. "Been there, done it, got the T-shirt". The It did not work twenty years ago so it won't work now attitude is not as uncommon as you may think. Although this also can damage the confidence of team members, it can, potentially, damage the credibility of the 'expert' who is less than open minded and maybe even somewhat afraid of trying something new.Blocks inputs or suggestions. It may be obvious that all these points are inter-linked and if the person in authority believes or has decided that something isn't going to fly, they may actually attempt to block any further discussion as wasting everyone's time including their own.So, how can we handle these situations?
I feel, as I have mentioned in previous articles, it's a case of restoring balance. These team members are present because, without them, life could be extremely difficult.
Balance needs to be restored because we want to ensure that the contribution of ALL team members continues to be valued. Of course some ideas won't work, some suggestions won't get the support needed, some projects or tasks will need more work to be done.
However, as much as it is appropriate that team members respect the influence that comes with authority or expertise, it is also encumbent upon the 'influencers' to use their position wisely and appropriately.
This is not about the WHAT or the WHY, it is about the HOW
Encourage an open-minded approach by everyone involvedEnsure the 'influencers' understand the ground rules the team has for sharing information and making decisionsThere are or should not be any taboo areas in the context of the project or team's objectives. If necessary, this approach can be discussed in advance and outside the team setting, making sure this is agreed to.Always use a structured approach. What is the data telling us? What additional analysis can the 'expert' provide? What suggestions does the expert have in moving forward?Be prepared. The more the 'influencers' co-operate with a positive, open-minded attitude, the more successful the team will be AND the more enjoyable the experience will be for EVERYONE. To be prepared it may mean spending more time with the person in authority or the expert to ensure they understand how the team works, how they can co-operate, and, as team leader, even how you would wish them to 'behave' in the team setting.Managing Your Team (Part 5) will look at Who's Guilty of Plopping?
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