Rudyard Kipling said, “When crew and captain understand each other to the core, it takes a gale and more than a gale to put their ship ashore.” As a busy mom who is doing double duty as proactive leader in business, your main function is to ensure that your organization or department performs productively, with integrity, and as efficiently as possible. The foundation of every organization or company is the people who fill the positions and diligently contribute to the achievement of the organization’s vision, mission(s) and vital goals while honoring the established governing operating values. Teams of people need to be led but never driven! As a positional or designated leader, you can manage the budget and organization functions, but you must lead people by mastering the skills for successfully influencing and inspiring them to think, say and do the right things. When you do, your staff members will be more dedicated, satisfied and productive. I help my Rudyard Kipling said, “When crew and captain understand each other to the core, it takes a gale and more than a gale to put their ship ashore.” As a busy mom who is doing double duty as proactive leader in business, your main function is to ensure that your organization or department performs productively, with integrity, and as efficiently as possible. The foundation of every organization or company is the people who fill the positions and diligently contribute to the achievement of the organization’s vision, mission(s) and vital goals while honoring the established governing operating values. Teams of people need to be led but never driven! As a positional or designated leader, you can manage the budget and organization functions, but you must lead people by mastering the skills for successfully influencing and inspiring them to think, say and do the right things. When you do, your staff members will be more dedicated, satisfied and productive. I help my Distance Call-A-Coach clients gain and maintain the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes to master the application of the proven principles below. If you do it, you will reduce turnover rates, absenteeism, unneeded expense in training new hires, poor productivity and lost profits. CREATE A TEAM MIND SET AND SPIRIT - View all of your staff members as being professionals on a team with a common mission and common goals. Refer to them as “our staff”, not “my employees or staff.” Ideally, they are diligently serving one another so that together they can diligently do what it takes to serve your customers. Each staff member wants to feel important and significant, not just be seen as a hired hand. Highly successful leaders refer to their staff members as “our team.” This helps increase the team spirit. This lets the staff members feel better about the work they contribute. AFFIRM TEAM MEMBERS AS PROFESSIONALS - Think and refer to each staff member as a professional fulfilling an important position on the team. This includes the custodial staff members who keep your factory and office work place clean and safe for other team members. If you are part of a surgical team in a hospital operating room, you and your patients had better pray that the janitor on your team is a professional! Remind your team members to maintain a professional appearance, appropriate character and optimum competence in all they think, say and do. By expecting and asking your staff members to act and look professional, they will be more professional. They will also have a higher commitment about contributing their best work. Your customers will also notice a professional image about your business. PROVIDE BOUNTIFUL AFFIRMATIONS EACH DAY - Focus on giving at least one sincere affirmation to a different staff members each hour of each day. Look for things that are being done well and affirm it on the spot. Include a specific reason for each affirmation. Since all individuals need to feel sincerely appreciated, this action step will raise the morale of your team members faster than any thing you can do. It will also work miracles on the home front with your spouses, kids and parents. When you are judgmental and critical of a person, your attitude will block their ability to be creative, productive and contribute their best. When there is a need to help a person strengthen his character, competence or commitment, focus on the significance of his actions, not on the person. Give him clear, course corrective, “how to” feedback. This will let the person know you want to help him strengthen his contribution to the team and be more successful. BE OBSERVANT AND LISTEN - People’s inability and unwillingness to consistently use effective interpersonal communication skills continues to create most of the big, time-consuming problems, both in the workplace and at home. Be observant. Listen between the words a staff member expresses and read his emotional messages. Be slow to respond to a question. Try to hear what the question is about and the emotional messages behind it. Even if you have an answer, listen respectfully and hear the person out. This will help you open up communications between yourself and each team member. FOCUS ON RESULTS, NOT METHODS AND MEANS - The way a task is handled may not be exactly the way you would have handled it. What matters is that it gets done in an acceptable way. So zip your lip and don’t say, “I think you should have done it my way.” If you are comfortable in your role as a positional leader, you will recognize, for the most part, that your staff members really do know how to get the work done well in ways that fit their styles, gifts and talents. Your role needs to be supportive and provide assistance and direction. You’re not giving up control, but allowing them space to do the work called for by their positions. SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS - If a person on your team asks for a piece of equipment, a resource or additional training or coaching, avoid making him answer your endless questions as to why he needs it. You will kill motivation and morale. If you see you can’t get him what he needs at the time, explain why and engage him to help you figure out how. If it seems remotely helpful to him or her, get it! It is an inexpensive investment in a staff member’s motivation and cooperation. MAKE EACH STAFF MEMBER’S WORK BETTER AND EASIER - Meet with your individual staff members randomly and informally over a cup of coffee. Ask them what you, other staff members and the organization can do to make the requirements of their position easier and more efficient. This lets your staff members know you sincerely value and appreciate their input, effort and contributions. REWARD EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTIONS - When one of your team members has been going beyond the extra mile do something special for him. Giving him some time off and inviting him to take his spouse to fill in for you at an out-of-town meeting or conference and then enjoy a day on the town are a couple of ways. You will not only help your team member feel better about his position and contribution, you will also help the spouse to feel more supportive. The idea is to do something a little unexpected and special to let team members know you appreciate their special extra efforts. As a leader, roll up your sleeves and engage in front-line activities to sensitize yourself to the people who produce the results. TRUST TO BE TRUSTED - Trust your team members and they will trust you. The main point is to respect them as professionals and give them the tools and time to successfully complete their work. Like all human beings, they are going to make a mistake or two. Make sure they feel there is room allowed to make and correct mistakes and to maintain their incentive to move out and risk a little. If you hit on them for every mistake, you will start seeing them pass the blame rather than taking responsibility, assessing their errors, gaining insight and moving on. EXPECT THE BEST - Set goals and show staff members the benefits they will receive for their contributions to the company. Support them in getting the widgets built, sold and delivered. You’ll get what you expect, inspect and correct with respect! clients gain and maintain the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes to master the application of the proven principles below. If you do it, you will reduce turnover rates, absenteeism, unneeded expense in training new hires, poor productivity and lost profits. CREATE A TEAM MIND SET AND SPIRIT - View all of your staff members as being professionals on a team with a common mission and common goals. Refer to them as “our staff”, not “my employees or staff.” Ideally, they are diligently serving one another so that together they can diligently do what it takes to serve your customers. Each staff member wants to feel important and significant, not just be seen as a hired hand. Highly successful leaders refer to their staff members as “our team.” This helps increase the team spirit. This lets the staff members feel better about the work they contribute. AFFIRM TEAM MEMBERS AS PROFESSIONALS - Think and refer to each staff member as a professional fulfilling an important position on the team. This includes the custodial staff members who keep your factory and office work place clean and safe for other team members. If you are part of a surgical team in a hospital operating room, you and your patients had better pray that the janitor on your team is a professional! Remind your team members to maintain a professional appearance, appropriate character and optimum competence in all they think, say and do. By expecting and asking your staff members to act and look professional, they will be more professional. They will also have a higher commitment about contributing their best work. Your customers will also notice a professional image about your business. PROVIDE BOUNTIFUL AFFIRMATIONS EACH DAY - Focus on giving at least one sincere affirmation to a different staff members each hour of each day. Look for things that are being done well and affirm it on the spot. Include a specific reason for each affirmation. Since all individuals need to feel sincerely appreciated, this action step will raise the morale of your team members faster than any thing you can do. It will also work miracles on the home front with your spouses, kids and parents. When you are judgmental and critical of a person, your attitude will block their ability to be creative, productive and contribute their best. When there is a need to help a person strengthen his character, competence or commitment, focus on the significance of his actions, not on the person. Give him clear, course corrective, “how to” feedback. This will let the person know you want to help him strengthen his contribution to the team and be more successful. BE OBSERVANT AND LISTEN - People’s inability and unwillingness to consistently use effective interpersonal communication skills continues to create most of the big, time-consuming problems, both in the workplace and at home. Be observant. Listen between the words a staff member expresses and read his emotional messages. Be slow to respond to a question. Try to hear what the question is about and the emotional messages behind it. Even if you have an answer, listen respectfully and hear the person out. This will help you open up communications between yourself and each team member. FOCUS ON RESULTS, NOT METHODS AND MEANS - The way a task is handled may not be exactly the way you would have handled it. What matters is that it gets done in an acceptable way. So zip your lip and don’t say, “I think you should have done it my way.” If you are comfortable in your role as a positional leader, you will recognize, for the most part, that your staff members really do know how to get the work done well in ways that fit their styles, gifts and talents. Your role needs to be supportive and provide assistance and direction. You’re not giving up control, but allowing them space to do the work called for by their positions. SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS - If a person on your team asks for a piece of equipment, a resource or additional training or coaching, avoid making him answer your endless questions as to why he needs it. You will kill motivation and morale. If you see you can’t get him what he needs at the time, explain why and engage him to help you figure out how. If it seems remotely helpful to him or her, get it! It is an inexpensive investment in a staff member’s motivation and cooperation. MAKE EACH STAFF MEMBER’S WORK BETTER AND EASIER - Meet with your individual staff members randomly and informally over a cup of coffee. Ask them what you, other staff members and the organization can do to make the requirements of their position easier and more efficient. This lets your staff members know you sincerely value and appreciate their input, effort and contributions. REWARD EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTIONS - When one of your team members has been going beyond the extra mile do something special for him. Giving him some time off and inviting him to take his spouse to fill in for you at an out-of-town meeting or conference and then enjoy a day on the town are a couple of ways. You will not only help your team member feel better about his position and contribution, you will also help the spouse to feel more supportive. The idea is to do something a little unexpected and special to let team members know you appreciate their special extra efforts. As a leader, roll up your sleeves and engage in front-line activities to sensitize yourself to the people who produce the results. TRUST TO BE TRUSTED - Trust your team members and they will trust you. The main point is to respect them as professionals and give them the tools and time to successfully complete their work. Like all human beings, they are going to make a mistake or two. Make sure they feel there is room allowed to make and correct mistakes and to maintain their incentive to move out and risk a little. If you hit on them for every mistake, you will start seeing them pass the blame rather than taking responsibility, assessing their errors, gaining insight and moving on. EXPECT THE BEST - Set goals and show staff members the benefits they will receive for their contributions to the company. Support them in getting the widgets built, sold and delivered. You’ll get what you expect, inspect and correct with respect! If you need help in mastering and implementing any of the skills and tactics mentioned above, I'm here for you! Please visit the Distance Call-A-Coach section of my web site for more information, and contact me if you have any questions.
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Dr. Millard MacAdam is a personal, professional and business enhancement coach, consultant, professional speaker and author. His firm is ProActive Leadership Consulting, Training & Coaching in Newport Beach, California. Order a FREE subscription to his monthly ProActive Leadership Advisory Tips E-Mail newsletter and discover sound and proven principles, practices, and tools that you can use to strengthen yourself and your business.