The Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review

 

November 17, 2014 Inventory Your Team’s Knowledge When Starting a New Project Team leaders often don't fully tap into the knowledge team members bring with them. This is, in large part, because the most confident, outgoing people get the most airtime, while the real experts take a backseat and have limited impact. But a brief intervention can change this dynamic. When starting on a new project, encourage team members to first discuss the relevant knowledge they each bring to the table. By opening the floor for reflection, you can lead the group in assessing members' knowledge and discussing its relevance to the task at hand. And your team will be less likely to defer to those with the most confidence, and more likely to combine their expertise to devise strategies for solving the problems. The process may sound simple, but it can help you bring out the best in your team. Adapted from " Bring Out the Best in Your Team" by Bryan L. Bonner and Alexander R. Bolinger.

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT Fail Better: Design Smart Mistakes and Succeed Sooner HBS Press Book Whether you’re rolling out a new product from a city-view office or rolling up your sleeves to deliver a social service in the field, learning why and how to embrace failure can help you do better, faster. Smart leaders, entrepreneurs, and change agents design their innovation projects with a key idea in mind: ensure that every failure is maximally useful. Anjali Sastry and Kara Penn show how to create the conditions, culture, and habits to systematically, ruthlessly, and quickly figure out what works, in three steps: (1) Launch every innovation project with the right groundwork, (2) Build and refine ideas and products through iterative action, and (3) Identify and embed the learning. “Fail Better” teaches you how to design your efforts to test the boundaries of your thinking, explore crucial interdependencies, and find the factors that can shift results from just acceptable to groundbreaking--or even world-changing. Buy Now

FEATURED PRODUCT Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation HBS Press Book The authors, a trio of highly regarded thought leaders on corporate digital transformation, say changes in the digital realm so far have focused on high tech and media companies – but there’s still a whopping 94% of the business economy that needs to change. This book will show them how. Based on a study of more than 400 large, mainstream firms in every industry around the globe, the authors usefully break down how these organizations have used their own digital transformation to gain strategic, competitive advantage. Readers will learn how these digital leaders have transformed their businesses through smart and rigorous digital investments, and through smart and effective leadership of the change. "Leading Digital" offers practical, real-life tested frameworks that can be instantly applied. Case studies include Nike, Caesars, Burberry, Asian Paints, Pages Jaunes, Codelco, and more. Buy Now

ADVERTISEMENT

HBR.ORG | TOPICS | THE MAGAZINE | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-545-7685 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7600 (outside the U.S. and Canada)