When it comes to taking your team to the right destination, it’s your responsibility as the leader to make sure that everyone on the team is headed in the same direction. As clear as the direction may seem to you, you cannot assume that your team is thinking the same way or even completely understands the big picture. Unity of trajectory does not simply happen on it’s own, it happens through the intentionality of the leader to get everyone on the same page.
Tips for Unity of Trajectory
Continual Communication – The vision of the team is something that is created by and executed by the leader of the team. Yes, the team helps with that execution and may even have some input on the vision itself but it’s the leaders responsibility to steward that vision by keeping it clear and in front of the team constantly. They must always be reminded of the expectations and direction. It’s quite natural for individual team members to drift off course a bit, and this is why leaders are important. Leaders must keep the people on the right track and communication is key to that.
Touch Base Individually – It’s important to communicate to the whole team but it’s just as important to have some contact with each team member individually. This will help you to know what they are up to, how they are feeling and if they need some guidance. Otherwise, they will inevitable produce results and make decisions that either you didn’t expect or that don’t represent the vision well.
Relationship – Leadership is predominately relational at it’s core. It’s all about getting people to follow your vision. So, why will people follow you? Because they respect you, they can sense that you’re capable, they can sense that you have right motives and they can sense that you care. If you’re not developing relationship with the people on your team, you may begin to lose buy in from them. It’s important to drop the “co-worker” hate every once in a while and simply develop a real connection.