At the core of every successful company is a high-effective team. As a business leader, one of your main responsibilities is working with your employees and getting them motivated and able to accomplish the goals that you’ve set out for them. This isn’t a process that’s set in stone, and as such there are countless different ways that you can go about improving morale and performance.
Leading your employees to optimal performance may seem like “Mission Impossible,” since not all employees can or want to be led to achieve optimal performance. As a leader you must realize that not all employees want to be or can be superstars in your organization. In order to become a superstar, an employee must have talent, knowledge and skills, and most importantly the desire to shine.
With just a little effort, and by successfully implementing these six tips, you can help push your team to top performance:
1. Convey Your Goals
Your team will never be able to perform at their absolute best if they aren’t really sure what they’re striving for. Take the time to effectively convey the organization’s goals to your employees, making sure that each team member knows how their actions fit into the bigger picture of your company’s success.
2. Be Competitive
A little friendly competition in the workplace is rarely a bad thing. By having intra-office and intra-department competitions, your employees are more likely to push themselves the extra inch in order to perform just a little bit better than their coworkers. Be sure to avoid making things too serious though, as this could unintentionally create a hostile environment.
3. Know When to Listen
As a leader, you probably spend a good amount of time talking. You may be talking with other members of management, working with stakeholders outside of your company, or simply delegating tasks and responsibilities to your employees. Sometimes however, maximizing your team’s success involves sitting back and listening a little. By allowing your employees to share feedback, you’re increasing their level of involvement in the business, prompting them to take a stronger interest in results.
4. Keep Things Simple
If you want your employees to reach the goals you’ve set for them, make sure to lay out the path straightforward and directly. By avoiding making tasks and goals more difficult than they need to be, you’re removing the potential for confusion, allowing your team to better see the targets that they’re trying to hit.
5. Encourage Communication
The strength of your business doesn’t lie with one or two employees, or even in your extensive knowledge and skills, but instead in the collective capabilities of your entire team. By encouraging communication through your company, you’re helping push the sharing of information and knowledge, and encouraging each and every team member to grow.
6. Celebrate Successes
When your team successfully reaches their goals, be sure to recognize their accomplishments. By showing that you appreciate their efforts and dedication to the organization, you’re setting them up to want to continue to perform at their highest level, rather than the apathy that ignoring their achievements would produce.
Leading your team to success isn’t the easiest responsibility of a small-business leader, but it’s surely one of the most important. Luckily, there are a number of different ways that you can successfully go about encouraging your employees to strive to perform at their peak. By following these easy tips, you can help your team increase their drive and work to generate the best results for your company.
-Business Tip-
When a team member deserves to be commended, make sure that you give them a specific compliment. While saying “good work!” or “good job” to a team or a team member may sound motivational, it may also be deemed as scripted, especially when these words are being thrown to every one very often.
By: Tracey Fieber
