What would your business be like if everyone on your team is performing at their best?
Read on for 5 simple (and free) things you can do today to up everyone’s game - and reap the benefits in your business.
If you’re like many other business owners, you’ve got some employees who you count on to make things happen. Who you know you can rely on to have your back. And you’ve got others who, well, usually show up and mostly do what’s required of them.
In a small business, there’s never really room to carry those “do as little as possible” team members. In today’s economic environment, those people can be lethal to your business.
So, short of cleaning house and trying again with someone new, how can you lift up everyone so you have a high performing team instead of a superstar or two with a supporting cast?
For your business to thrive, you must cultivate and grow your team to be the best, most capable group possible. This means paying attention to the time you invest in their growth. While it’s not your sole job or duty to make them the best version of themselves, you can facilitate their progress through your mentorship as well as the tasks you entrust them with.
Try these 5 things to build a top-performing team
1.) Step Back/Step Up:
Some team members might feel overshadowed by their more boisterous and active counterparts and keep their ideas to themselves. To encourage equal sharing take an active part in discussions. Provide opportunities for others by asking some to step-back. If your superstar employee keeps taking initiative to provide space by saying, “X thank you for consistently stepping up, but since you headed the last project, I was wondering if anyone else felt as though they could contribute some new ideas or co-lead?” This will give an open opportunity for anyone who was waiting for the chance to shine. Or take a more forward approach by assigning that work to someone you’d like to see step-up.
Step-up and create a consistent time or space to be available for your employees. This is a time where they can idea-bounce or ask questions. Much like office hours of a professor, give your employees a clear and solid way to reach you. This doesn’t have to be formal, but the invitation and consistent availability will give your employees more of an incentive to reach out.
2. ) Mentorship:
Try pairing up your strongest employee with one who may be struggling. Encourage organic connections. You can implement mentorship lunches or 1-on-1s where all your employees will get the chance to learn and teach their peers. This will give the chance for all your team to pool their knowledge and resources. It may inspire those who are struggling to speak up and ask for help. This arrangement feels more conversational and less formal.
You can even reach out to colleagues in your network if you think they will be a good fit. The easiest way to learn is from others. Or encourage your team to seek people they admire and set up their own mentorship.
Even if they can only commit to a monthly coffee or zoom, having a consistent mentor to rely on and share/track progress with gives employees’ a support system. This support increases their accountability and dedication to their goals.
3.) Distributed Opportunities:
Instead of waiting for your struggling employees to step up, bring the opportunity to them. Pull them aside and assign them a special task. Let them know you’re invested in their learning and growth and want to give them an opportunity to shine.
4.) Personalized Employee Development Meetings
We talked in a previous blog why performance reviews don’t work, but this is how you can make them work. Meet with your employees bi-weekly (or weekly). Establish a symbiotic rapport. Build a trusting relationship where you can regularly check-in with their current work, concerns, and general sense of their role. This will give you plenty of opportunities to access where they need support or where they need to improve. Make this a conversation. You both should receive feedback in this exchange. It will help both of you understand how to facilitate the growth and advancement of the individual.
5.) Don’t assume only the most visible are the most effective
Some members of your team may be comfortable speaking and being vocal in meetings, others may not be. That doesn’t mean the quieter voices on your team aren’t making an impact. Find a way to measure your team’s contributions through multiple sources. Are there team members who may be less vocal, but display exemplary written work? Or perhaps you have team members that give great feedback, support, and edits on project presentations, media, or other content. There are many ways to contribute. Make an effort to track the different ways that your employees contribute and brainstorm ways to use their talents efficiently.
Bonus 6.) Make sure everyone is in the “right seat on the bus”
Take a look at how the work in your business is distributed. Are you assigning tasks and responsibilities in alignment with team members’ strengths and interests? If not, change how you divide the work so everyone is playing to their strengths.
Of course, this requires you to think through and define what all the jobs to be done in your business are. You can read more about doing that here.
Putting it all together:
- Listen to your team
- Provide mentors
- Give equal opportunities
- Be open and honest in weekly performance reviews
- Put everyone in the right seats on the bus
You have an incredible opportunity to make the best possible team ever. Use it.
If you’re stuck on how to create a strong and capable team, reach out. We can help you hone your leadership and managerial skills. We empower business leaders to make your business the most successful it can be.
Let’s talk about your team and vision for your business’s future today.
If you are ready to make real change, reach out. We want to elevate your business's impact and success.
Book a free 1-hour Breakthrough Consultation with us.
