Many times in my career, I led a large team. Most of the time, the team members were located in one city, but they could be located in multiple facilities, or multiple buildings within our campus. However, as I finished my career, I had team members in three cities across the country. Below are some of the best practices to be an effective leader no matter the size of the team you are leading.

• Delegate

Empower your team leads and stronger team members. Provide them clear direction, and extend trust to let them run with the work.  Establish regular “Status Meetings”, and provide feedback as necessary.  This way, you provide development opportunities for analysts by giving them this additional responsibility and you increase your capacity.

Delegation is a statement of capability. Let your team members know that they are capable, and that you trust them, even though you are ultimately responsible and accountable for the work.

• “Monkeys”

Don’t take on “monkeys”, or problems that others bring to you.  When team members approach you with a problem, ask them to bring possible solutions as well, instead of you adding them to your “To Do” list.  Again, coaching is a statement of capability. Don’t let the message be that you’re too busy for them.
One leader I worked with had their team read the classic Harvard Business Review article “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey”?  by William Oncken Jr. and Donald L. Wass. They then held a meeting to discuss it, and they gave all her team members little plastic monkeys to effectively reinforce the message. Continue reading →