You are a leader, and you produce results, your company appreciates you for all that you do. But off late you have found that engagement scores in your team are low. You drive them hard to meet the work expectations. You expect the best from them and keep on pushing them for better. You reward the people according to their contribution and you believe you take care of them. Then why they are not really engaged? What is that you are missing?
Imagine, if they were truly engaged,
- Would you have to drive them? Or will they be driven?
- Would you be giving them the rewards? Or will they be deserving of the rewards?
You have power, the power of your position, the power to give them rewards or deny them the possibilities. Do they work for you because you are one of the more successful people and that they can benefit from the success you drive? Or do they consider themselves to be privileged to be a part of the winning team.
What will make them love to work with you? What will make them engaged, so that they are self-driven. What can make you even more successful as a team? What can help you leverage their full potential?
The following 5 Step Guide can help you build a high-performance team that will love to work with you and will follow you to scale the highest peaks of the team’s potential.
Know Yourself – Heed Yourself
Do you listen well? Are you able to keep your emotions in check, I mean what is your EQ? Are you able to stay positive, I mean what is your PQ? When did you seek feedback from your peers, your team? What aspects did you work on in the last few months on yourself?
The idea is being more aware where you are and where do you want to reach?
Know Your team – Understand them
Do you know what motivates each of your team members? We assume that they all want more money, bigger roles, and promotions. Do reflect on what is their motivation - is money their biggest motivation? Or is it something else?
You will have to talk to them to know them better, and then you may discover that some of them will value a better work life balance, others may be looking for more challenging assignments, while someone else may been keen to make a social impact. Once you spend time to understand them, you may be able to facilitate the achievement of their goals. Your efforts to understand them and help them will make them believe in you.
Customize your Communication – Message Uniquely
Each one is different. Some need freedom, some need more guidance, some others need inspiration. Same message does not produce same results with everyone. You need to communicate with each based on their preferred style. For example, a daily update is sufficient for one, but another may be more curious, will have more questions / doubts and will need to connect with you more often, so an open chat channel could work better for them. Each one needs to be motivated and connected to the purpose of the team and the organization and your words will help them achieve that alignment. You can help them understand how they can contribute better and get the most out of their efforts.
Appreciate Them, Criticize Them – Acknowledge
Do not ignore them, notice them, and provide them with feedback, positive or constructive. Reward them, when necessary, but appreciate them more often. Remember the golden rule of feedback; provide feedback on actions and not on people. Never say, “You are wrong”, say, “Your suggestion here may not work because of….” provide them with context and help them understand. Team alignment is one of the most important roles of the leader and it is not a one-time job. It is a daily activity. It is something that you cannot assume about.
Develop them – Nurture them
They are the future leaders; they are working with you to learn from you. Your job is to work with them to guide them to achieve their goals. It starts with having a career discussion with them and helping them to define their goals. Then your job moves on by providing them a right learning opportunity. Allowing them to fail once in a while, making sure that you are supporting them to excel. They may leave your team, if they outgrow the roles that you have. But that is a great thing for you! Forever, they will be your brand ambassadors and will love to come back and work for you in future and will even refer other great people to your team.
In short, be a HUMAN leader. If you work with your team, they will give you back manifolds. Your own success will not know any bounds. Others will start wondering how your team manages to do so much! Look around yourself, do you know any HUMAN leaders? I can guarantee that HUMAN leaders will be the most successful leaders in steering their organizations during the pandemic. The opportunity is yours now!
About the Author
Ms. Manbir Kaur is an Executive and Leadership Coach (Professional Certificated Coach, PCC - ICF). She is also a Conversational Intelligence(C-IQ) Enhanced Skills Practitioner and a key-note speaker.