Managing Egos: The Secret to Great Teams that Perform

So, you passed the long route of education and experience to form as the driving force of teams. Project managers, Project coordinators, Scrum Masters, Coaches- there are different names, but it all comes down to running teams in different environments.

We come across teams everywhere, including the workplace. As a Project manager, you’re the one responsible for their structuring- bringing right people together, so they can work successfully. But have you mastered that art?

Building great teams is like solving a jigsaw puzzle: You need to find the perfect fit for each team member in the big picture….

And as a team coach, you must be ready to start from scratch every single day. Why? There are two main reasons:

• When you work with people and characters, nothing can be automated. You can’t rely on that ol’ good scenario- everything is dynamic.
• People’s moods, their goals and expectations change. The team you start working with today can change tomorrow, and your management style should be adapted based on the developments in the team.

It takes a lot of learning and improving, but some things to keep in mind are:

• Be aware of your leadership style. Be ready to change it based on the team culture. You should strive to be accepted and not judged by the team members.
• Be critical about self — improving. There is always room to improve. The methods that worked in one team can be inefficient in another one.
• Lead by example instead of being the one who bosses around. Wanna hear great feedback? Give feedback. Want the team members to be on time? Don’t be late.
• Keep the boundaries. You may be friends with some of the team members, but remember that business is business. Never use personal info against someone.
• Turn to others for mentoring- there’s always room for learning from the experience of others.
• Be emotionally intelligent as you come across all kinds of egos- be able to regulate and manage your emotions so you can be successful in managing others.

So what are the ego types you might come across?

It’s worth saying that, as with human personalities, there are no “pure” types in the workplace, too. We all have some mixture of personalities, with some prevailing based on a lot of factors, including mood swings :) Still, the distinction is clear, so let’s dive into the matter from here, singling out the definitions of each type, the pros and cons of their characteristics, and possible solutions to make the team operate more successfully.

The Neglector

This type negatively reacts to practically everything.

No matter if you’re starting a new gig or making a slight change in processes, the change won’t be welcome:

Pros: Double/Triple checks everything

Cons: Has problems making decisions quickly

Possible solutions: Foresee it and talk to the person about all the positiveness the change can bring, without being too pushy. Show “the neglector” his role in the new situation- this appreciation may make wonders. The key here is showing the neglector what can be done to reach the goal rather than focusing on the bottlenecks.

The Pilot

This type leads the team from the inside like a car engine and clearly knows what needs to be done. They don’t need a managerial role or credit to be the driving force- it’s in their nature.

Pros: The team will always have someone to rely on

Cons: Once he decides to “relax” some things (like work, ahem) will stop happening

Solution: Try to spread this attitude among the other members of the team- you have the example. Also, strive to have a 2nd pilot for backup :)

The Sufferer

Everything that should be done on a daily basis makes them unhappy- taking part in the standup, waking up in the morning, doing daily chores- it’s all suffering.

Pros: None

Cons: Much effort spent on convincing

Possible solutions: Have talks with the person and show the simplicity of everything. This kind of people is fond of overcomplicating. Praise often on small achievements- it might motivate the Sufferer to take things easy. Stress the irrelevance of their attitude in front of the whole team, otherwise such behaviour might become natural for everyone.

The Silent Warrior

This type does their job without having everyone’s attention. Might not be active in team activities, but the silent warrior has double the efficiency as everyone else in the team, crashing (in a positive way) tasks in the burndown chart.

Pros: Acts effectively in most cases

Cons: Might skip escalating the questions that really need to be voiced

Solution: Check up on them from time to time. This way you will be in the loop and the important stuff won’t be missed.

The Neighbor

This is quite a rare type, but still you may come across them in any team. This guy lives close to the team (well, he’s part of it), shares the same culture, and misses a lot of important stuff :)

Pros: None

Cons: Always needs updates to be able to get involved. Lack of responsibility. It takes loads of background information delivered at the door of this type to get them to go into high gear. Don’t get surprised if they need info into the case after 6 days of consecutive standups on the topic!

Solution: Create situations where he will directly face responsibility- this might lead the neighbor to actually grasping his responsibility.

The Inventor

The Inventor likes doing things his own way. This includes inventing things that were invented a long time ago :) Coding standards? Fixed processes? No, thanks! The Inventor doesn’t like sharing common ways and has his own way about everything.

Pros: Might come to some brilliant solutions on the way

Cons: Acts inefficiently in tricky situations and can’t handle urgent tasks.

Solution: Knowing this type, always stress the importance of timing and priorities so they know there’s not always the luxury of lazing around doing their research.

The Sceptic

Professionals who are sceptic about all kinds of processes- because, you know, they have seen it all!

Pros: You review the effectiveness of the process, because you know this type is going to be picky and critical of your work.

Cons: Destructs the team spirit- “do we even need this meeting?” and questions your attitude

Solution: Involving him as much as possible and creating situations where he’s the one who’s the initiator. Ignore the ways, focus on the concept.

The Precious One

If you’re lucky, you have this type on the team- they know their tasks and their timing, are attentive and reliable- precious, in a word!

Putting a Team into Full Motion

Now, what are some ways of handling the different personalities within the team? Here are a few tips to guide you:

• Know how each person thinks and learn how to best utilize their competencies the right way at all times
• While structuring teams, don’t have more than 2 of the same kind in one team. The tendency will spread over everyone else.
• Define roles and responsibilities as clearly as possible
• Show everyone their importance in the team and in the company
• Share all the good and bad feedback with the teams. Everyone wants to see results of their work- did my efforts get noticed? This especially refers to instances when the team works with remote customers.
• Be the bond between the business and the team’s daily job.
• People should be rewarded for “doing their job”. Yes! We know our responsibilities, but we are always happy to see our work appreciated.
• Keep people’s privacy- never use personal secrets or vulnerabilities.
• Celebrate small and big success- because the routine needs to be broken with motivational achievements.
• Give big importance to Retrospective meetings. This can be a good time for hearing from the team members what makes them happy or sad, motivated or exhausted. Look back at their own work and try to make improvements to their jobs.
• And BE FRIENDS with your teammates. Be open! That is the guarantee of happy environment and successful delivery.

Irrespective of how hard you tried for making a good team, success is not just yours, it belongs to the team. They are the ones to put your efforts into reality.

About this author:

Alisa Mkrtchyan is an Agile Coach with over 8 years of experience running projects and teams in the IT sector.