Don't wait for Company Surveys

There are two key basic needs of any employee, which if addressed will help their motivation.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the right tools to do my job effectively?

These 2 questions are basic needs, for all the lovely extra's you give.....it will not make up for any deficiencies in answering the above. Don't wait for a survey...ask, walk around, listen, watch and make sure that every person has these 2 areas covered.

Promises, Delivery, Respect

One piece of advice that I read from Marcus Buckingham that has stayed with me is this

Make only a few promises, but keep them all.

Great words as you gain respect with family, friends, colleagues from delivering what you promise. Over promising is the scourge of work.....promise and deliver on the few key items that will make a difference.

Working Too Longer Hours?

Quote for you to think upon from Sam Ewing

"Its not the hours you put into your work, its the work you put into the hours"

In a world that is struggling for life/work balance...note I always put this the opposite round as it is Life that is the most important! ..... you do have enough time - honest. You write down at the start of the day 3 key achievements for the day, and whatever distractions ensure that these 3 points are completed.

Learning but not Comparing

A great phrase to keep in mind is "Learn from everyone, compare to no one".
Every person you work with has a talent, keep your eyes and ears open to observe people. Don't be insular and limit this to peers and bosses.....you can learn from everyone.
A great example is I learned so much from our cleaner/housekeeper on customer service in an old role...that lady made you feel special...anticipated your needs and always had a smile.
The key is not to compare....this is a big world there will always be someone who is better than you at something.....fact! Comparison is a negativity drain......learn and grow instead.
Look after yourself, achieve your objectives, work on your relationships.......if others want to compare great - your aim is that THEY compare to YOU!

Celebrate Success

We are quick to point out what has gone wrong. But don't forget to celebrate success. Success breeds success...getting on a roll and getting that winning feeling is an important part of building a high performance team. Here are some ideas, send in any to add to the list!

1. Have a success board. Post memo's from customers - internal and external, articles about your team from the press, from the company magazine.
2. Publish results and have a treat if you achieve the target. eg Ice creams, share a cake, let people leave 30 mins early
3. Have a high fives session in the middle of your team when you get some good news.
4. Treat the team to lunch for achieving a tough schedule.
5. E-mail or publish on the intranet a well done to someone.
6. Send a thank you card for work that goes that extra mile.
7. Give the team a small budget for them to decide how to celebrate.

Come on every one of us likes success...bring it to the fore, make it part of the culture.

Clear Messages

When you want to know that your email has arrived, you can have receipt stamp. Interesting, in email people understand that it is important that the message is received. However, when we verbally give messages do we check with the same fervour?
One key thing is having a very clear objective about what you are trying to say, what effect do you want? Then once having said it, you need to check what the recipient has heard...it may be different to what your objective was! So ask them how they feel they will use the info, what action they will take, what implications it has for them, their team etc....

Verbally make sure that you receipt stamp!

Teams Need Trust

Trust is vital for strong effective teamwork. No question. Without it energy and creativity just drains without it. So what can you do to encourage trust to flourish, well here are some quick thoughts

1. Look for common thinking, look for similarities within the group and reinforce this by taking about it.
2. Deal with people who are working against the team. By ignoring their behaviour you are condoning it.
3. Give individual objectives but also always have one that is based on the team results.
4. Encourage interaction...create space for people to sit together, socialise. Hold lunch meetings....have break out areas etc
5. Review team performance and look for reason why progress is slow and agree together how to remove the blocks.
6. Listen, watch behaviour...... your eyes and your ears are great assets...be open as a leader for ideas.

On the Engaging Brand there is a post about emotional connection which I 100% agree with....but one thing I would add is that as a manager you must make an emotional connection but never own the emotions of others. First, you have enough of your own! Secondly, to help people who are having issues you need to stay objective. Emotional connection is about fostering not about owning all the emotions that people my have....

Your Manager Makes a HUGE Difference

We all know people join the manager and leave the manager. A key part of personal happiness is making sure that you work for a leader that you respect, that you share the same values. If you don't, then you will constantly be frustrated or feeling stressed.
If you are in a position now where you don't "engage" with your boss, look for a project, look for a secondment. This is a postive move as you can cloak it around your development, the expansion of your knowledge....life is short, work hours are long, unemployment is low...you carry the aces....

Managers Role

Question: Do you spend time on your business or in your business?

Look at your objectives, and compare them to your diary. Are you spending time - "being busy!" but not effective in creating the success of your team? You diary is a great source of information - it shows how you are spending your time...have a look and look for...

1. Meetings that did not add value
2. Meetings that people in your team could attend as part of their development.
3. Lost time....what were you doing and why were you doing it?
4. Time spent on day to day issues vs time spent on the future
5. Email watching!

Busy is not necessarily effective. Ask yourself each time, how does this relate to my role and does it help me achieve my objectives? If the answer is normally no, then you are not being effective...get that mirror out, look in it and ask yourself the real reason why the avoidance?