Getting big things done even when you can’t change the big picture

It is a fact that the projects we deal with on a daily basis in our technology careers are far too complex for a single person.

The days of the lone ranger were past with the first version of the 8-track tape player. Things get done in teams now, pretty much exclusively. A given project may have thousands of team members, but it is almost always divided and divided again to create units of work that are manageable by small teams who nest together under the subproject leads.

This nesting of teams within teams to form small work units is an artifact of managing. It is easier to manage a small group than a large group. And the hierarchical relationships which this approach creates mirror the standard corporate structure, which is also hierarchical — so the managers can report to other managers who report to übermanagers, and so on without anyone having to write a lot of memos setting the project up. These are not good reasons to run projects this way.

The way its always been done isn’t always bad

Even so, in this case you don’t have to buck the corporate wisdom to be successful. Here’s why.

As I’ve already said, what you need for a successful team is a group of people motivated around a common vision, collaborating on a single set of accomplishments, each contributing his or her most relevant skills. This requires leadership.

You will have to infuse each of the team members personally with enough of your vision and enthusiasm to focus the strengths of all of them on solving the problems at hand. You will have to know the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, and work to match tasks to talents. You will have to be open and honest, handing out compliments and admonishments alike immediately upon being earned.

Confident and comfortable leads to creative

In this kind of environment, everyone is filling a vital role, knows what his or her role is, and knows exactly where he or she fits. This should make each individual confident and comfortable.

When we are confident and comfortable, we can create. And we can think out of the box to contribute new ideas without fear of rejection, because our other teammates are similarly motivated and focused. This is real magic, and as a young leader, you will find that this is easiest to create with a small team.

Easiest, not easy

Note that I said “easiest to do,” not “easy to do.”

If it were easy, all teams would achieve miracles. They don’t, because building and leading a team this way is not easy. You will probably not be successful on your first couple of attempts, but the nice thing about failing with this approach is that your teams will still be more energized, creative, and productive than teams resulting from more traditional management approaches.

This post is inspired by material in my book, The Only Trait of a Leader.