Do you ever feel frustrated when you see someone in your team underperforming? Do you find yourself wondering why your team does not achieve its full potential? Perhaps you own a small business and you’d simply like to motivate your staff to reach their optimal performance? How might you do this on your own?
Start with yourself
I believe that before you can expect to get the best out of others who rely on you for leadership, you need to examine what it is you are currently doing and see if there is anything you could be doing better. If you are brave enough, you could ask for some feedback from your team similar that of a 360° assessment. This would give you some honest opinions from your team as to how they perceive your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. However, this is not for the faint-hearted.
What exactly is your task?
Looking at your own leadership, the starting point might lie in the way in which you communicate with your team. Having a clear idea of what it is you’d like to achieve and being able communicate this desire effectively to your team will get the ball rolling. Make certain that you know exactly what it is you want your team to achieve.
How does your team operate?
The next step might be to identify how your staff thinks and feels and tap into their preferred thinking and learning styles in order to bring them more closely on board. Treating your staff as individuals and then arranging for them to work more closely with other staff members who think and learn similarly might also be effective.
Setting goals and a time-scale
Setting CLEAR and SMART goals with time targets is also an important step in motivating your team. In other words, your plan of action and call to action must be established from the start. Equally important is to set check-points – let your team know precisely when you will be assessing their performance – this will help to keep them on track. Set them a clear expected delivery date and reward the team appropriately when they deliver.
How could coaching help you achieve all of this more effectively and in less time?
- Your coach will run personality profiles on your staff in order to establish what motivates them.
- Your coach will help your staff to visualise the end result.
- Your coach will help you to set CLEAR and SMART goals and help you to hold them responsible for achieving these goals by positively challenging them where necessary.
- Your coach will help you to communicate with your staff more effectively throughout the process.
- Your coach will be able to offer you a Return On Investment (ROI) for the money you spend improving your leadership of your team.
If you’d like some help motivating your team in order to achieve optimal performance in your business, contact me at angus@coachexec.co.uk or fill in the contact form on my website.