Charles was a district sales manager whose district had just been realigned – again. Some of the team members were the same. Others he had heard about but never worked with, and a few were new altogether. Charles was thrilled to have so many experienced and talented sales professionals in his new district, and he was sure that the few average performers would soon be on top of their game, too, once he took charge. So he was surprised when he heard a few grumbles about him as their new manager. His enthusiasm quickly turned to apprehension as he realized that he might have a great group of people working with him, but he did not have an effective team.

Three steps to effectiveness

An effective team can be described as a group with the willingness to believe in an agreed-upon set of values and the diligence to put those values into action. Some DMs believe that building an effective team takes a lot of time. It certainly is not an easy task. Bringing a group of differing individuals together and enabling them to work for a common goal while creating a feeling of trust with a true desire to help each other does take some time and requires managerial skill. But building a groundbreaking team in record time doesn't take magic. It is a three-step process you can implement as soon as you start with any new team.

Step one: Define. The first step is to define your team by deciding which values are most important. Think about how you want others to describe your team a year from now. Independent, excellent, competitive, cohesive, creative, energetic, promotable, wealthy and successful are several descriptors of an effective team. You probably want all of those attributes. However, it is important to decide on the top three values. Such descriptive words help define what is most important to you as you build a new team. The process of creating a team that lives up to those lofty adjectives begins with defining the team's core values. Core values are simply the answer to the question "What does your team believe in?" They are the fundamental values that propel your team to success. You could probably list your team's core values right now, or rather the core values you believe the team should have. But when you are building a team quickly, you do not have the time to sell its members on your core values. They need to buy in from the beginning. The way you gain this buy-in is to have the team define the values with you.

You can start by discussing your core values and where you would like to see the team a year from now. Next, present a list of common values and have your team decide on theirs. You can use the list provided on page 29 or make it a starting point and add your own values. Or you can derive a list from a group brainstorming session. There are a variety of ways you can encourage a team to distill a wide-ranging list into three core values. Some managers prefer a large group discussion; others like to divide the team into small groups and then bring the groups together to reach a consensus on the three values that will drive the team. Whatever method you use, this exercise will not only net your team core values, but it will also offer you insight into the personalities and preferences of your new team.