Purpose
It may happen that someone is seeking only to beef up their CV and will leave the company at the first sign of a crisis. Recruiters need to discover more about the person behind the CV, possibly via referees. Once hired, team members should be allowed to discuss and even develop their personal ideas so long as these are in harmony with the team’s aims as a whole.
Integration
Collaboration may not always work to its maximum efficiency, which could lead to individual failures due to either a lack of communication or, in some cases, even malice. To avoid this, managers should ensure the involvement of every team member and take all feedback seriously. Potential troublemakers should be identified in time. Pay attention to warning signals, in particular excuses along the lines of “But I didn’t know ...”
Knowledge
There may be a team member who either merely obeys orders without contributing anything original or who is not regarded by important stakeholders as sufficiently competent. Recruiters should include technical experts capable of judging an applicant’s skills. Afterwards, managers should be on the lookout for any shortcomings and set up seminars or training sessions accordingly.
Ecosystem
There may be a team member who somehow tends to sour the atmosphere when dealing with management or a wider public. Recruiters should look for candidates with previous successful experience in the field. After hiring, again monitor the team regularly and provide soft skills training
Self
A colleague under heightened stress may blow a fuse, thus disrupting group harmony. Therefore, a candidate’s level of self-awareness needs to come under examination during the recruitment process.
Finally, it is worth adding that PIKES can be applied not only to team building but also to one’s own personal and professional development. Expressed in its simplest form, one might say that Purpose is harmonising ambitions with actions; Integration is interaction with others; Knowledge means constant self-improvement; Ecosystem is one’s professional perception; Self is essentially about understanding one’s own emotions. In short, whether applied to team management or personal development, the overall concept of PIKES represents a continuously evolving process.
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