CREATING VALUE IN TEAMS

I’m currently reaching out to circa 20 people with responsibility for teams and talent development: to better understand the needs of a particularly vital group who (in most organisations) “keep the wheels turning” every day.

These “interconnectors” or “transmitters” usually possess at least three of the following characteristics:

They manage key clients/accounts, or critical workstreams in other departments e.g. R&D
They nurture talent day to day, in the course of getting work done. (For better or worse, they often have more influence on team morale than any other group in the organisation)
They possess well-rounded expertise, which is why they can do the roles above
They play an important role in the “back loop” of innovation, e.g. bringing back market intelligence that allows new products and services to be developed

Why focus on this group?

They often experience a professional identity crisis. “On top of sheer workload, I’ve left behind the technical role which gave me an identity when I was younger. I’m now shouldering a burden of responsibility (at work and at home), covering a multiplicity of issues… so who am I now?”

They are prime targets for recruiters and head-hunters. They have solid experience, they communicate well, they are easy to place. So they will be approached every month.

They are very expensive to replace. Not only because they’re scarce and/or on long notice periods, there is a significant relationship building time with clients and team members. All too often, clients and team members follow them out the door.

In our experience, many of them struggle to articulate their value. This is particularly true in vital support functions (HR / Finance / Systems). If they had a clearer sense of their own value, many would be quite happy in their current roles.