In his book Ground Rules for Winners, Torre writes about three essential qualities he felt any manager, supervisor or coach must have and develop to be successful:
"Fairness, respect, and trust are the three ingredients in any recipe for teamwork. Offer fairness and trust to your team players, and they will do in kind. Not only will your employees grant you the decency you grant them, they will begin to demonstrate these values with one another, which only cements the togetherness and commitment that fuels great team work.
For the most part—whether you're managing in the world of sports, school, or business—when you give workers ample amounts of freedom and responsibility, including a clear set of guidelines for professional conduct, they usually meet or exceed your expectations."
In his book, Torre provids five guidelines for what he refers to as "straight communication" which he believes is the foundation for maintaining fairness, respect and trust:
- "Identify individual needs: Figure out what each individual needs in the way of communication, be it support, motivation, technical help, or the proverbial "kick in the rear."
- Time your talks: Determine when the "door is open" for communication with a particular team player. Know when you have to nudge it open with helpful or directive comments.
- Acknowledge emotions: Let team players know that you accept the range of their emotions, including fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.
- Get issues out on the table: Managers and team players must be able to air grievances and deal with problems in an open manner, respectfully but without holding back. Otherwise, conflicts and resentments fester, sapping motivation and undermining teamwork.
- Use team talk to ventilate and motivate: Managers can use team meetings to air problems and motivate groups and individuals. In my view, team meetings have their place, but they're like chili peppers—a few add zest to your dish; too many and you're asking for trouble."
Are you building fairness, respect and trust?