3 Ways to Get Your Team on the Same Page
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Your team is made up of extraordinary individuals. Why then does it seem hard to get everyone working well together? As a leader, you know it’s crucial that collaboration and communication are essential for the success of any project. Post pandemic work and the increase of remote team members has made this even more difficult. There are simple fixes to this.
3 Ways to Get Your Team on the Same Page:
1.Hold a reset meeting
As the leader, it is your responsibility to be sure the team has clear direction. Every team gets stuck in the weeds and rarely takes time to pause and reset. This leads to a few things:
A lot of work with little return
Lack of focus
Tension
Schedule 1 or 2 hours to meet with your team to restate the vision of the company and the goals you have in place. Without a clear vision, team members lose momentum. They need to be reminded why their work is important. According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, leaders who take the time to explain why their team's work is important can significantly impact team performance and motivation. In the study, two groups of employees were given the same task, but only one group received an explanation from their leader about how their work was contributing to the overall mission and goals of the organization. The group that received the explanation showed a 30% increase in productivity and a 25% improvement in job satisfaction compared to the group that did not receive the explanation. This demonstrates that leaders who provide context and meaning behind their team's work can inspire and motivate their employees to perform at their best, resulting in increased productivity and satisfaction within the team.
2.Gather around a table for troubleshooting
You hired Jared 6 months ago. He was given a thorough onboarding handbook, was trained for a few weeks, and was sent off to do his job. Jared is still, most likely, struggling with some things and needs to be coached. Business leaders pay loads of money for monthly mastermind groups - so they can sharpen their skills and gain wisdom. What if you offered that to your team? If your team was able to gather once a month to discuss the bumps they are hitting, how much more quickly would issues get resolved? Not to mention, this will do a great deal of good for team culture and confidence.
3.Do a systems analysis
Systems, also known as process, or workflows, are how you do what you do everyday. Companies are always changing and growing, and what might have worked for you last year, might not work for you this year. According to Gallup, 60% of employees feel their leaders are not aware of company challenges. Setting aside time to get everyone in one place and saying “where can things run smoother?” will pump up team morale because they will feel heard, and it will give you a leader clarity on what needs to be addressed. Careful, you don’t want this turning into a gripe session. To prevent that, preface your time together with “you are the boots on the ground and see things we don’t. Your observations are invaluable. Let’s take some time to discuss what is working, and what isn’t working. Our goal is to stay as objective as possible.”
It takes time to build an excellent team. Time spent with them, listening to and coaching them, will be well worth it. If you are curious about how our team of coaches can support you in that, email us today: laine@laineschmidt.com.