The one minute manager

Have you ever experienced this scenario:
David is meant to be on games for this week. He turns up 2 minutes before youth group is meant to start. When you ask him what he has prepared, he looks startled, and tells you that he forgot he was on for this week. You frown at him, he looks remorseful and is losing his confidence, and you wonder how much longer you need to have him on your team.

A classic lose-lose. This situation doesn't build teams, it divides them.

Now our role as leaders is to build teams. So how do we do this on a regular basis?
Ken Blanchard gives some great ideas in his book The One Minute Manager.
Let me outline the concepts. In essence, there are three activities you should be involved in each week:

1) Goal setting
Often a situation can lead to people complaining or a group being immobilised. You need to help them identify the problem and move towards a solution.
To do this they need to get to the core of the problem (what should be fixed). Identify the goals and behaviours that when implemented will overcome the problem (Make sure there are steps rather than a leap in the dark). Get them to write down  the goals and continue to discuss how things are going.
2) Praise
Feedback can be either nerve racking of uplifting. So when we go to speak with someone, they'll be nervous.
That's why it is important to inform people that you will give feedback and what the feedback will be about (ie goals and behaviour).
More importantly, you want to catch people doing something right. Then you want to tell them (and be specific with this). Let it sink, then encourage them to do more of the same (finishing with some gesture of goodwill).
Now Australians are TERRIBLE at giving praise. So a simple tip: you can never praise enough.
3) Reprimand
The situation I gave above could have been avoided by using goals and praise. But if your leader did turn up unprepared, it would call for a reprimand. They let the team down.
Now it is important that you reprimand immediately. Don't leave it for a month or raise it when something else goes wrong. Make sure you're specific. Be clear that you are unhappy with what has happened.
Now comes the important part of the reprimand. You need to show them that you are on their side. So remind them of how you value them and the potential you see in them. This could provide a good goal setting opportunity. So take it to show that there is a solution and you are working on it together. Be clear that when the reprimand is over, it's over. You can do this again with a gensture of goodwill.

For me, I need to work on goal setting and praising. I also need to make sure that I am ready to give a reprimand for their benefit and not because I have to get something off my chest. That said, I hope to build teams where people contribute and we get the maximum benefit from them.