Five Ways To Identify The Strengths of Your Team

A SUCCESSFUL leader needs to put together a team that can deliver on contracted assignments and think creatively. But it’s equally important to identify the team’s strengths and put them to best use. Rica Bhattacharyya shows how. 

1 Get the Right Mix Strategic and execution excellence should be one of the crucial attributes of a strong team, says Shaily Gupta, group head-human resources, Edelweiss Group. “Good leaders ensure their teams get this blend right,” she says. However, equally important is the ability to handle the unknown, to take care of ambiguity and fluidity, says Sandeep Banerjee, chief executive officer and managing director, EdenRed India. 

2 Induce Collaboration The sense of ownership in team members and ability to work cohesively are important to strengthen the performance of a team, says Banerjee. Adds Gupta: “Great teams are those that foster individual creativity but at the same time encourage interdependence which is productive and collaborative”. 

3 Go Beyond the Brief “Great teams have the ability to go beyond the brief and bring new perspectives to the contracted assignment,” Gupta says. Such teams will inevitably push themselves and sometimes even their managements into thinking out of the box, she adds. 

4 Interact Informally While formal feedback can help identify strengths and weaknesses of a team, informal interactions also help in knowing teams better. “I always look out for personal experiences with my team members and colleagues in both formal and informal settings to get to know them better and to appreciate their (and each other’s) strengths and advantages,” says Banerjee. 

5 Aim at Larger Picture A team that rests on past laurels can never achieve greatness. To succeed and be a great team you need to have an achievement orientation, says Gupta. Execution skill is critical to enhance a team’s performance and a leader needs to ensure that the team has the ability to look at the larger picture and have a purpose behind their actions, adds Banerjee.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 11-09-20120

Five Ways To Keep up to Speed on the Bench

IN A HICUPPING economy, 25% of employees in the information technology industry are on the bench. This is a spot no professional would want to be in, but with project inflows taking a dip, employees have no option but to work out survival strategies. Devina Sengupta suggests how they can stay relevant.

1 Polish up Your Skills An employee can use the spare time between projects to upgrade his or her skills. Every IT firm runs online internal training programmes, and thus, one does not need constant supervision when learning. 

2 Brand Yourself Rajesh R had seen his friends at Infosys reach out to delivery managers directly for projects or apply for different teams through internal recruitment channels. "Show project managers the skills you have acquired and tell them you can be of help,” says Rajesh. 

3 Make Yourself Known "Make yourself visible so you are on top of their mind," says Nirmala Menon, founder and CEO, Interweave Consulting. Those on the bench should take part in forums, work on honing their leadership skills and engage in cross-functional activities, she adds. 

4 Don't Jump Ship Yet It makes sense to hold on till a better offer comes along. “The bench is a reality. However, skills never get outdated, so if a person wants to move while he is on the bench, it will not go against him unless he has been on standby for a prolonged period," says Amitabh Das, CEO of recruitment firm Vati Consulting. 

5 Know That it Will Pass Those on bench feel the pinch because their variable pay is reduced, ratings are low and there is a feeling of lost opportunities. However, realising that the phase is temporary may help, besides pursuing hobbies during this relatively free time.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 07-09-2012)

Five Ways To Tap Linkedin for Career Progression

THERE IS MORE to Linkedin than adding contacts and getting recommendations. The platform has a host of features that companies constantly use to narrow down potential talent. Here is how you can make your way to their lists, says Anumeha Chaturvedi. 

1 Choose Right Contacts Being inactive on the portal would not narrow down your chances of attracting the right people. “Recruiters are always looking at means to attract passive talent as they are considered to be quality people satisfied in their current job,” says Irfan Abdulla, director, hiring solutions, Linkedin. But if you are flooded with requests, you should limit your circles to the people relevant to your profession. 

2 Update Your Profile Learnt business intelligence, application development or calligraphy? It might be useful to add it to your profile. Through ‘Linkedin skills’ feature, you can add skills to your profile and look for companies where they will have the maximum impact. 

3 Look for Testimonials Clicking on the ‘work with us’ ads will lead you to the company’s page. You can reach out to the testimonials of employees as they could give more information about the company. 

4 Follow Companies Companies have their home pages on the portal, which display the latest news, from who they are hiring to interactive videos. “A lot of companies spend more time on their Linkedin pages than their own websites,” says Abdulla. Following companies is a good way of staying up to date. 

5 List Volunteering Through the ‘volunteer and causes’ feature, members can add volunteer positions, causes they care about and organisations they support. A majority of recruiters consider volunteer work as valuable as paid experience.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 04-09-2012)

Five Ways To Lead a Team of Older Colleagues

YOUNG MANAGERS have to walk the tightrope of getting a team of older colleagues to perform without sounding aggressive and offensive. With proper communication, they can leverage the skills of older employees without burning bridges. Anumeha Chaturvedi gets experts talking on this.

1 Keep an Open Mind It is important for young bosses to keep an open mind, feels Protiviti Consulting MD Pankaj Arora. “A workplace becomes diverse because of multiple factors like gender and social strata, and age is just one of them. Managers should focus on the skills and knowledge of employees and not age,” he says. 

2 Communicate Directly It is important to communicate directly to get your point across. “One should have more face-to-face meetings with older teammates as this will help them open up,” says N Narsimha Rao, VP, HR, Agro Tech Foods. 

3 Seek Feedback “Young managers should gain the trust of older employees by seeking their feedback when required,” says Rao. “There is no substitute for experience and young managers should seek opinions of older colleagues in relevant matters,” adds Arora. 

4 Leverage their Skills Rao feels managers can leverage their own competence to enhance productivity. “Young managers are well versed with technology while older employees have strong observation skills, which should be leveraged in assignments,” he says. 

5 Lead by Example It’s important to build one’s credibility by leading by example instead of harping on fancy titles. “Young bosses should build their credibility by enhancing their own skills and knowledge,” feels Arora.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 31-08-2012)

Five Ways To Get the Most Out of Your Workday

MANAGING YOUR workday well is a challenge for many with an overdose of information in your day to day life. It gets more difficult to finish numerous tasks within the time period without missing on deadlines when you have only 8-10 hours a day. Shreya Biswas gets you some tips on how you can do it well. 

1 Follow Discipline Plan your day ahead. Make a list of to-do things for the coming week. Make a log of events to attend or participate a day ahead. You will know how much work you will have in hand to manage the next day and prepare accordingly,” says Adecco India managing director Sudhakar Balakrishnan. 

2 Prioritise Tasks Prioritise your work. “Categorise into three segments - what needs to be addressed immediately, what has a mid-term deadline and what can be taken up later. You can then proceed to take up things and finish your work on time,” says Manjunath S R, senior director, HR, Netapp. 

3 Revisit Timeline Stick to your timeline. And to do that be sure you don’t keep unrealistic deadlines. Being realistic with your targets will not only help you finish your work on time but will ultimately add to your productivity as you will have time even to do things which can’t be accommodated in a chaotic work schedule. “Revisit your pending works to figure out how much you have already completed and what’s left to be done. This will help you keep track of how much time you have for different tasks at hand,” says Mr Balakrishnan. 

4 Organise Emails 

Emails can be classified into three different types: simple mails that ask for an appointment or your presence for certain events or meeting – respond to them immediately after checking your calendar; informative emails – read them and label them accordingly; and complex mails that seek detailed information, suggestion and ideas – mark them as important and keep a reminder. You would need to gather info, ideas or figure out certain things before you can respond. Rest are all promotions and you must delete them immediately. “Sorting emails is the most essential part of managing them. If you can do that, you will not have email headache,” explains Manjunath. 

5 Prepare for Meetings Be it a concall or one-on-one interactions, prepare for everything. List down the points you need to raise, doubts to be cleared and answers to be sought for projects/ tasks that are in progress. You will not only have a fruitful meeting but will also ensure that crucial time is not lost.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 28-08-2012)

Five Ways To Connect Emotionally With Your Team

DEVELOPING AN EMOTIONAL connect with team members is a fundamental part of a manager’s role in order to create a work-conducive culture, says Rica Bhattacharyya.

1 Be Yourself A leader needs to be himself. “The moment people see you in flesh and blood, they are far more willing to accept you with your strength and limitations rather than when you are trying to put a façade of being someone else,” says Sandeep Banerjee, MD and CEO of Edenred India. 

2 Reach Out Apart from regular feedback, a leader could also ask for pre-feedbacks. “It is important for a team leader to reach out to people for feedback and also invite feed forward from employees anticipating something to happen,” adds Banerjee. 

3 Inculcate a ‘We’ Culture Inculcating a culture of ‘we’ rather than ‘me’ is a key area for leaders to bond with team, says Anupama Beri, HR head at Snapdeal.com. This creates transparency and openness within the organisation. 

4 Introspect A leader needs to transcend the regular objectives of driving profit and loss. “How strong is your internal reflection and how strong is your will to change are key for a leader to practice,” says Banerjee. 

5 Set Them Free Giving employees the opportunities to grow, learn and experience things in line with the goals of the company helps leaders in connecting emotionally with team, says Beri.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 24-08-2012)

Five Ways To Get Your Career Moving

YOU’RE STUCK in the same job for what seems like ever. You haven’t had a promotion in a long time, you’re tired of doing the same thing for years and given the present scenario, new opportunities in other companies are equally hard to come by. Sreeradha D Basu tells you how you can drive change when you feel trapped in the same job. 

1 Take stock It’s time for you to re-evaluate your skills, talents and abilities, and where they fit in with your overall career aspirations. Says Ruth Singh, HR head at Emkay Global Financial Services: “Review your work over the last year and see how your contributions made a difference to your department. Make sure that you can quantify your achievements in terms of efficiency, accuracy, increased revenue, cost savings or better customer relations.” 

2 Go Beyond Sometimes, going beyond the limits of one’s job makes a lot of difference. “I voluntarily took charge of a project which nobody was particularly keen on. Not only did I impress my boss but it also helped me bag a lateral move I had been angling,” says D Sen, who’d been stuck in the same role in an IT firm for several years. 

3 Change Your Attitude All you need to renew your vigor about work is a change in outlook. Try and see the positives in your current job and stop whining about minor issues. Realise that with a fresh look, you can transform your role and make yourself indispensable to your organisation. 

4 Broaden Your Skills

While it is human nature to want to be really good at one thing, this can actually work against you. “Employees that are versatile and have a broader scope of knowledge and skills are viewed to be more valuable. Find out whether there are other career options in your organisation which interest you and enroll for the necessary training,” says Ruth Singh. 

5 Renew Contacts If you have neglected your professional and personal contacts, now is the time to re-engage them. Says Ruth Singh: “Renew your involvement in forums, clubs, or blogs. Ask them how you might be of assistance to them . You might need their assistance if your situation changes.”

 (The Economic Times, Mumbai, 21-08-2012)