Unleashing your team from the chains of a micromanaged and controlling culture will create positive growth, a winning team and take your leadership skills to a new level!
Leaders are sometimes afraid to let go of the leash and open a new world of possibility to their firm. When team members are afraid to share and contribute ideas, grow and learn in their current environment and expand their horizons, they become bored, unchallenged and will most likely leave your firm for something better. It is the harsh truth; you must care about your team to create employee engagement, satisfaction and retention.
In our blog, “Implementing Team Development, Programs Often Overlooked”, we outlined a process to implement a team development program. By following each step, you eliminate the need for micromanaging your team. Trust me, your team does not want to be micromanaged! The four components that Ironstone focuses on to implement a team development program are:
- Preparation
- Incentives
- Benefits
- Technology
Read more about each component in our blog : Implementing Team Development Programs . Once you have put these components into your human capital mission, you will find that employees are capable of managing their individual positions within the firm. Support your team members and empower them to be as great as they can be.
How Do You Begin To Unleash Your Team?
Perhaps the first place to begin is to take inventory on your leadership skills. A team that performs well depends on your leadership abilities, training and development you provide and being a coach your team members can trust.
Being a coach to your team is highly motivational and almost guaranteed to improve performance. As a leader, your role is to help your team understand their positions. It is their job to take ownership of assigned job descriptions and design a process to carry it out effectively. Willingness to support your team’s development sets an example and will contribute to the culture and performance of your firm and team members.
Tip: Ask team members how you can help them develop their own solution.
As humans, most of us thrive in a continued growth and development society which consists of ongoing training and learning. A team development program will contribute to the natural desires of dedicated employees. Team development will:
- Help team members adjust to changing job requirements
- Create a pool of qualified team members for possible new roles within your firm
- Develop a more effective, efficient and productive workforce
- Produce team members capable of taking on new significant challenges and reach firm goals
Understanding Needs of Your Team
Identifying the needs of your team is crucial in implementing a successful team development program. Some training will need to be universal and apply to most, if not all, of your team members. However, each team member is unique and owns a specific skill and passion set. Goals and objectives of team members will be parallel when they relate to overall firm goals but will be dissimilar in relation to their individual job duties and responsibilities. Talk to your team to find out what training they want and need. Work with them to develop a personal plan that will help them get the training they need in an economic and efficient manner. Start by holding one-on-one meetings to discuss:
- Job Descriptions
- Training and developmental needs
- Current performance levels
- Areas for improvement
- Action steps to fill any gaps
How Well Do You Develop Your People?
*Mind Tools (www.mindtools.com) offers a great quiz for you to take, allowing you to evaluate your leadership skills and identifying areas for improvement. The quiz identifies five main factors related to developing people. This will give you a clear understanding and foundation to develop a plan for yourself to improve your personal team development skills. Follow this link to take the quiz! http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/team-development.htm
(*Mind Tools-www.mindtools.com)
How did you score? Let us know!!
In the ever evolving world of change, helping your team adjust to change while remaining successful, sends a clear and concise message that you care. If you are willing to support your team’s growth and job satisfaction, you will retain good people and an engaged workforce. Once you have implemented a training and development program into your human capital mission, you will find that employees are capable of managing their position within your firm. Support your team members and empower them to be as great as they can be.
“What’s worse than training your workers and losing them?
Not training them and keeping them.”
– Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker
Learn more about how Ironstone can impact the operational effectiveness of your firm. Read more at www.ironstonehq.com. Want more information on team development? Contact us!
More Resources For You On Team Development
- What Are the Stages of Team Development … About.com
- Stages of Team Development … CliffsNotes
- Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing … Mind Tools
