One quality great teams share is how willing experienced team members are to help others improve. On high-performing teams, veterans make themselves available and seek out less experienced colleagues with an offer: Ask me, and I’ll show you how to improve your process and performance.
The desire of experienced team members to do whatever it takes to support the novices isn’t just a function of goodwill and a helpful attitude. When inexperienced team members carry the attitude that they are hungry to learn, the veterans are eager to step up. Yet, on many teams, egos on both sides get in the way of this powerful dynamic.
Team members, even rookies, naturally like to project confidence and independence. They don’t like to admit or acknowledge they could benefit greatly by learning from those with a proven track record of high performance. So, they often stay silent, rarely asking for help or support. This convinces the veterans to mind their own business and go about performing without teaching their tricks to the people who need them.
Some experienced team members think those with less experience should earn their way, just as they did. They don’t always offer advice freely since they worked hard to figure it out for themselves. This petty attitude prevents them from seeking out others and lending a hand.
The point is, a learning climate doesn’t just happen. Getting experienced team members to act as mentors, guides and coaches requires leaders to encourage them to. But the better starting spot is to select new colleagues with an appetite to learn and get better. When the least experienced colleagues show they have a strong desire to learn and grow, the crusty exterior of veterans often melts away. This is helped tremendously, of course, when the team leader is quick on the draw to help everyone.
When the norm on the team is that everyone asks questions, stays positive after making mistakes, and makes it a point to learn from those more skilled than they are, then the novices feel compelled to do their part. They show up ready to learn, full of questions and challenges about what works best and why.
Veterans, in turn, like to play the role of seasoned experts on learning teams. Nothing bolsters the spirit better than asking for and giving advice.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
