“I Never Imagined I’d Lead A Team – How Do I Do It?”
James Hempsall explains why team working is harder than it looks
Lots of early years leaders I meet in training or at events tell me how they now lead teams of staff and volunteers; and what has happened over the years is these teams have got bigger and bigger, as settings have continued to grow or extend their services. The single most common thing said to me is, “I never imagined I’d lead a team – how do I do it?”
One thing’s for sure: working in teams is essential in early years, but it needs some thought…
Our starting point is clear roles and responsibilities. But we also need to know how group dynamics affect teams – this is something I’ve written about before, as is the importance of leaders being able to apply and adapt their leadership styles to the changing situations that naturally occur in teams.
Teams need to have a definable membership, an identity, interdependence and interaction, and an ability to act together. They must feel sustainable. Successful teams communicate, know individual roles, commit to excellence, follow the leader, know their strengths and weaknesses, have common goals and vision, and appreciate individual input and team effort.
The challenge is that all teams are a living, constantly changing, dynamic force in which people come together to work. And as Adair (1986) identified, they’re tasked with balancing the needs of the individual, the team and the task.
Plus, in attempting to achieve these aims, each team must openly discuss their objectives, assess ideas, make decisions and work towards their targets together.
Tasks must be defined, planned, allocated and resourced, and quality needs to be checked against the plan, which should be adjusted if needed.
Individuals need to have their personal needs met, receive praise and encouragement, be given status in their role, supported to grow and develop at their pace, and recognised for their individual abilities and qualities.
It’s the team that holds all (including the leader) to account by setting standards, maintaining discipline, building team spirit, encouraging and motivating (so all have a sense of purpose), sharing skills and learning/training together, and ensuring effective communication throughout.
It’s those settings that do all this and achieve outstanding practice, that impress me most. They’re not mutually exclusive; you can’t have one without the other. But it needs constant attention, as teams change whenever anything changes in the team.
In early years teams that can include new members joining or established members leaving, the job changing, different roles and routines emerging, new children and families in the setting requiring changes in practice and structure, and new policy changes as well. Which is why thinking about working in teams and leading them is a constant occupation of the leader.
James Hempsall OBE is director of Hempsall’s training, research and consultancy. Visit hempsalls.com or follow on Twitter at @jhempsall.
