Build an Effective Staff
Building a strong staff is complex, takes a lot of thought and work,
and requires long-term commitment. Just as there are different kinds of tasks,
there are different levels of staff; it’s not a “one size fits all” kind of thing.
The wrong staff can be counterproductive. Poor communication among staff and lack
of cooperation among staff can be counter productive and even damage your league.
Your staff should work together like a well oiled team.
To do this the lines of communication need to be fully open.
Each member of the staff needs to know the strengths and weaknesses of
other members so that plans can be made to compensate for individual
weaknesses with the groups strength.
In a traditional work environment information and orders flow down from the top.
In a team effort the information needs to flow in all directions - Up down and lateral.
As leaders of our team we need to be willing to listen to the members of staff
who make up the team. Many times players will come to the tds asking questions.
This can generate ideas that we may not have thought of.
Keeping communication open to where any staff member can make a
suggestion is important to the growth of a league.
To be effective the staff needs to know what is expected of them and
what is not expected of them. They need to know the penalty for not pulling
their wait or creating issues with in the league. These penalties for players
and staff need to be well defined and stated where they can be easily read by
members and staff alike.
Talk to your staff get to know them and place them where their individual skills
are best suited to help the team as a whole. Negotiation and conflict resolution
skills are critical. Being an effective leader or staff member requires becoming
an effective conflict manager and dispute-resolver. Negotiation and mediation
have always been important skills. Getting to and through the performing stage
of the team process will depend in large measure on our ability to manage the
natural conflicts that arise in any team setting.
Help reduce conflict in your staff by involving them in the decision making process.
Democracy is a great tools use it. Balance your staff so that you have the final tie
breaking vote. One of the greatest challenges in building an effective staff is
knowing when to listen to what others are saying. Some of the best tools out there
are established.
Most importantly remember there is no I in the word team. For your staff to avoid
conflict grand standing, taking credit for others work, and such self fulfilling
issues need to be addressed and diminished. This does not mean that a team player
can’t say I managed to recruit ten players this week and take pride in this
accomplishment but at the same time he should be willing to say this accomplishment
was no more triumphant then the other staff member who hosted thirty tours or the
other staffer who took the time to email and welcome each of those recruits to the
league. Every job on the staff is as important to the full functioning of the staff
as any other.
It is essential to get your staff thinking of the overall team achievement more
then the achievements of self other then how they have benefited the team.
This cohesiveness can take time to build but will benefit your league overall.