Good Team Matters

Professionally, I have come across lots of challenges. A few years back, MANASO, the organization I worked with, recruited three females in different positions (and recently an organization that I worked with committed “the same mistake“). There were hue and cry for recruiting “fresh” college graduates, except one, with no experience. The Executive Director had to provide clarifications for his decision. Yes, we want to have gender balance in our organization, which is vital for an organization that promotes gender equity and equal employment opportunity. Fresh college graduates do bring a lot of synergies and innovation to an organization. I failed to understand that the protest or disapproval of recruitment arose due to them being young, energetic, and arrogant or inexperienced.

I was asked to comment on this as an Institutional Capacity Building Advisor (in both cases). Here are my thoughts on team building…

• Yes, experience counts, especially when the organization is trying to recuperate from dormancy or undergoing restructuring. I do not want to spend time in orientation and training new employees with procedures and processes. I want them to start immediately in their positions and start delivering results. In my previous blog on innovation, I mentioned that staying one step ahead doesn’t matter whether the organization is for-profit or non-profit. We need to be ahead of the crowd, especially in the NGO sector, where the competition is tough for dwindling financial resources. The organization that I am worked with did not have the time and resources to experiment with inexperience.
• I have worked with diverse teams on various projects and have led quite a few of them. I do not want people like me or think the same way or have similar interests, skills, and strengths in my team. Unfortunately, that’s how it does not work. Leaders or executives want similar-minded people, and teams that lack diversity are indeed the norm. The similarity has an inherent advantage. Things get done more quickly when people think, act, and speak the same way. This, however, is not good for the business in the long run. I have noticed that leaders surround themselves with “yes-men” to push their idea, no matter how stupid they are, to be adopted and implemented quickly. When the organization is going through restructuring, it requires a wide range of thinking. Innovation demands a diversity of perspectives, disciplines, and personalities. If I employ people who think like me, I’ll end up more of the same and not have any innovative ideas. I follow the mantra “the person you like the least is the person you need the most.” (Stephen Shapiro). I want someone to challenge me. I want someone who has skills and perspectives to provide balance and help me become more effective and innovative.
• I had read somewhere, “Do not walk in front of me – I may not follow… Do not walk behind me – I may not lead… Walk beside me and be my friend.” The only good thing is that my friends question me, challenge me, and provide me feedbacks – they do not support me blindly.

Team diversity is of extreme importance. My colleagues always complain that I am tensed and stressed. Still, those who have worked with me know that when I do the best, creativity and innovation come from tension, giving rise to differing viewpoints and alternative ways of solving problems. I want to differentiate myself from the competition; I must determine my perspective by surrounding myself with people who think differently from how I do!!