Behavioral issues — by which I mean contextual behaviors that can affect an individual’s effectiveness or team dynamics — are a little more difficult to resolve. For example, a bossy, creative person may bring up useful new ideas in meetings but reject the suggestions of others, which demotivates teammates and hinders collaboration. When you help that team member see the impact of their behavior and develop new communication habits, you can improve the team’s effectiveness.
Also read: This is how you promote an open culture in your team
Step Two: Make sure everyone knows why and how important they are. Your team can’t achieve anything great if its members don’t believe that their presence on the team matters, their contributions are valued, and their ideas are considered. Identify each individual’s unique contributions (what I call superpowers) and be explicit about sharing those insights with them. Superpowers are the inimitable strengths we all have—but because they’re innate, we often don’t see them and need others to point them out to us. An important part of good leadership is recognizing superpowers and encouraging employees to share each other’s unique talents. This has the added benefit of giving you more data on how your team can work together.
Finally, you should focus on the people, not the titles. Be aware of the skills, talents, and inclinations of the people on your team, and be open to how they might work together in new configurations. The market and business environment is changing rapidly and requires flexibility beyond current functional constructs. A person’s current title does not fully define their abilities and can often limit them to a limited role. A broader view of individuals can help you unlock the full potential of the team.