3 Practices of Intentional Leadership that Build Strong Teams

Strong teams don’t just happen. You know that.  I know that.  Yet, so many people lack the intentionality required to build a strong team. 

I’ve been privileged to grow and serve on some amazing teams led by strong, intentional individuals. I could write a dissertation on what I’ve learned about building strong teams simply based on their examples, but today I want to share three intentional practices that I’ve incorporated into my career:

1. Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself

There is no task beneath you. If you think there is, you are not a leader and you will never build a strong team. True, there may be tasks that someone else can do better than you, or that it makes more sense to delegate—and that’s fine. But if you ever ask your team to do something you wouldn’t do yourself, you’re not building a team, you’re building resentments. Creating a strong team means I am willing to do grunt work when it’s required. I am willing to stay late and come in early alongside my team if that is what it takes to make an impact. It also means I haul out the trash on occasion or whatever else is required to be done. No matter the task, if I’m not willing to do it myself, then I never ask someone else to do it.

2. MMFI

Taped to my desk is a worn, faded piece of paper with the block letters “MMFI.” I’ve had it in every office I’ve occupied since I graduated from college. I keep it there to remind me that every person has an invisible tattoo written across their foreheads that reads, “Make Me Feel Important.” I can struggle with this in the midst of a busy day, but this intentional practice changes relationships. I’ve learned that I can never be more important to a person than I make them feel in my presence. If I want a team’s best, I must give them my best—my intentional focus, my undivided attention, my genuine interest. This one takes time, but all the most impactful things do.

3. Listen even when you know the answer

I have learned to be quiet even when I know the answer to the problem my team is trying to solve.  Why? Because, the process is just as important as the outcome. Part of building a strong team is creating minds that can solve problems and think critically. My experience can hinder their growth if I always tell them what to do next. Some days it is easier to give them answers—I admit that!  Instead, I do my best to respond most frequently by asking them questions, “Well, what do YOU think we should do?” when they come to me with a problem. One of two things usually happen—they either come up with a solution that is in line with what I was thinking or, they come up with something even better! Yes, I coach, I guide, and often I add to their recommendations, but I know that experience is the greatest teacher. Be intentional to let others wrestle with a problem, to listen while they struggle through to the solution. It’s the wrestling and the struggling that makes them grow and that builds the cohesion of the team.

As we say at HORNE, “Everybody leads.”  I encourage you not to wait on a title to begin these practices. Start today and you are leading. Now, go be intentional today.