Assembling a team can be a difficult task. There are all kinds of problems that may arise once people start working together. Certain personalities may clash, expectations may turn out to be too high, and employees could end up struggling to give their best every day.
As the one who hired them so they can contribute to the bottom line of your organization, your team is your accountability. Fortunately, you can help your employees to improve their performance — and it’s not by merely demanding better work. A more efficient way of achieving the results you need is by making your team want to do better, instead of making them feel like they have to do better. Here are three smart strategies to bring out your team’s potential:
1. Improve Your Leadership
One of the first things a team leader should ask when a group isn’t performing well is whether it has anything to do with the leadership they’re receiving. It can always be one of the possible causes of the lack of engagement with your employees. Your team should have all the necessary resources, guidance and support to do the job well. Providing this support is your accountability as their leader.
One of the crucial skills you should strive to improve is communication. You’ll need it to build relationships, ensure your team members are being heard and looked after, as well as to delegate work efficiently.
You may be thinking that this sounds a lot like managing. Yes it does! Every leader must lead the team, but part of leading is also doing your managerial leadership work. Your provision of managerial leadership is an essential factor in your team’s effectiveness.
2. Find Out What Makes Them Tick to Motivate Them
Motivation underpins everything we do. When it’s lacking, it can become difficult to perform better than average at any task or even to perform at all. Most managers think that fair pay is a sufficient motivator. However, if you wish to bring out your team’s potential, you have to offer them more than that. Pay and benefits is just the starting point.
The concept of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation is very helpful to understand this. While extrinsic motivation is undoubtedly useful (i.e., working because you will get paid for it), intrinsic motivation can be much more powerful (working and doing it well because you enjoy the activity.) There are different ways of ensuring that your team is motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically. For example, you can try to personalize motivation based on the employee’s needs, providing them flexibility or being specific on what you need them to do. Find what makes them enjoy their work and capitalize on it.
3. Delegate Work
If you want your team members to realize their full potential, you’ll have to delegate work in appropriate way. This includes delegating specific tasks, but also setting enough context so they can make appropriate decisions as required. The delegation of work is detailed in our Effective Point of Accountability® methodology. Empowering your team members to do their best work by keeping them accountable is vital, and can indeed make a difference in your organization. Giving your team the freedom to use their talents and have the authority to make day-to-day decisions by themselves is the most effective way to encourage them to do what they do best.
Even though managing a team is complicated, it can also be advantageous once it starts working like a well-oiled machine. It becomes easier to accomplish with the methodology we teach at Effective Managers. Make use of it and start your team on the road to excellence today.
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