You don’t pick your team. Your team picks their leader. And maybe that will be you, whether in title or not.

Teams grow based on numbers, skills, and deliverables. They don’t grow overnight. It doesn’t happen over an interview. The first time you meet, you are not a team, you are a group project, thrown together to see what you do. It’s your first deliverable that makes you a team and starts your path to growth – what next, what else can we accomplish, who else do we need, what do we do next – these…

If you’re going to ask your team to implement a set of standards, there are a few points to consider. Are you writing them or asking them to be written? Will you be following what is written? What value will they create? Do they simplify or complicate your team’s life? Of all these items to consider, if you, as the leader, are not willing to follow these standards, then you shouldn’t be asking for them…

There are two ways to shut down the constant stream of Red Herrings. Acknowledge their issue, and ask them if they want to run with it. Ask if that should be the team’s primary focus instead of what they are here to discuss. Ask them for their plan to resolve the issue. A few things will happen. They will not want to run with it. They will not want to change the team’s focus. They…