Involve others in goal setting and planning. Your team members are invested in the business. They spend their time, effort, and energy in the company. Find ways to get them more personally invested in the success of the business. If you’d like your employees to think more like owners you have to involve them in the goals and planning for the business.
Keep goals in front of yourself. Once goals are created, everyone needs to be reminded of them regularly. As a leader, you must help people keep their goal in mind and remind them of what success looks. Use bulletin boards around the office and have regular conversations about goals in team meetings.
Find more effective ways to communicate. As a leader, you must communicate key messages frequently. Which means you must complete the communicate loop. You must ensure that the message sent is received. Doing so, especially as your team grows, requires communicating more
Listen more. In trying to make sure a point is made leaders will often share all of their ideas and then ask the rest of the team for input. At that point it is often too late. If your boss just spent ten minutes sharing their ideas, then asked for you input, how likely would you be to chime in? When you want the team’s input and ideas, you must ask questions and then listen. Let the group share their ideas as a means of team building. Be patient and give them time.
Focus feedback on the future. You want people to improve. In almost every case, people want to improve and do great work. Yet most workplace feedback is focused on something that can’t be changed -- the past. If you want to be a more effective coach to your team and help them make improvements in their skills and results, give them feedback, advice and wise counsel about what they can do next time. And be sure you regularly conduct employee performance reviews.
Be a model. Your team is watching and emulating you. Are your behaviors the ones you want them exhibiting? Are your attitude, work habits, and customer focus what you want them to exhibit?
