Food for thought for the upcoming, brand-new week!
Let me share some valuable tips that have made a significant difference in my journey as a manager. These are not your typical formal strategies; they’re the real deal – personal, powerful, and game-changing! Here we go!
Hope you found them useful. Please feel free to add more in the comment box.
Accelerate everything: Eliminate bottlenecks, streamline processes and belittle established SLAs and turn around times.
Push continuous Upskilling: Curate personalized learning journeys tailored to individual team members, helping them to reach their full potential.
Enhance Stakeholder Relationships: Cultivate close and frequent connections with customers and key stakeholders.
Innovate, Innovate, Innovate: Promote a mindset of challenging the status quo, exploration of new ideas, and a culture of continuous improvement.
Encourage Constructive Debate: Foster a safe environment where team members can express diverse viewpoints, challenging your ideas and collectively driving better solutions.
Inspire with Compelling Goals: Effectively communicate ambitious short-term and long-term goals that captivate and motivate your team, inspiring them to achieve extraordinary results.
Amplify Impact: Think big and envision grand outcomes, then stretch your goals even further, continuously pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, inspiring your team to surpass their own limits.
Drive Growth through Feedback: Hold team members accountable with constructive feedback, guiding them to course-correct, overcome challenges, and grow.
Foster Deep Connections: Cultivate trust-based relationships with your team members enabling a sense of belonging.
Recognize and Appreciate: Acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of your team, not just the end results.
Ignite Collaboration: Break down silos, encourage cross-functional collaboration, and spark a collaborative spirit that drives collective success, across the organization.
Lead by Exemplary Action: Set the standard, walk the talk and inspire your team to follow suit.
Hey there! If you’ve ever been a manager or part of a team, you know that communication can be tricky sometimes. Managers often feel like they’re struggling to get their team to complete tasks the way they want, and team members sometimes think their managers are too controlling or lose their cool. This can lead to a pretty tense work environment and not-so-great results.
But guess what? There’s a way to make things better! By setting up a system that clearly communicates expectations and keeps track of progress, managers can help their team stay accountable and create a more positive work vibe. This system is all about open communication, commitment, and teamwork.
So, how does this system work? It’s built on two key elements:
1. Setting clear short-term and long-term goals related to tasks and results 2. Regular follow-up and adjustments as needed
Now, we’re not talking about situations where team members do the same thing every day (like entering checks into a system or making a certain number of customer calls). Instead, let’s look at a scenario where each team member works on unique projects with different tasks and outcomes.
Step 1: Get your team members to create action plans for their projects, with project completion dates and key milestones. Work together to review and refine these plans using a simple tool, like Excel.
Here’s an example of some milestones:
Finalize business requirements: May 10th Raise purchase requisitions: May 11th Complete vendor evaluations: May 25th Award project: June 5th Get design approved by business: June 15th Launch project: June 25th
Step 2: Have weekly one-on-one meetings with each team member to discuss what actions they need to take that week and offer support as needed. Make sure they understand the importance of getting those tasks done.
Step 3: Review the previous week’s action points. If tasks weren’t completed, find out why and remind your team members that it’s crucial to meet their commitments. Encourage them to ask for help when needed and adjust the action plan for any outstanding tasks.
Step 4: Hold a weekly team meeting where everyone shares updates on their key projects. This helps everyone understand each other’s goals, keeps them accountable, and encourages working together to solve problems. Use these meetings to share company news, celebrate achievements, and discuss industry trends and best practices.
By following this approach, you can enjoy some awesome benefits:
Team members have a clear understanding of their objectives Weekly commitments help everyone stay focused on their goals Regular check-ins keep team members accountable and motivated Everyone knows what their teammates are working on, which makes for a more cohesive work environment The collaborative atmosphere encourages creativity and problem-solving
Trust me, I’ve seen this system work wonders. Give it a shot, and you’ll be amazed by the consistent, fantastic results your team can achieve!
One thing that could be stopping you from getting great sustainable results is your EGO. Do you have a King sized one? Here are some questions to run a quick self-assessment.
1) Do I always feel the need to be in control of situations? 2) Do I get defensive or upset when someone challenges my ideas or decisions? 3) Am I dismissive of the ideas or opinions of others, believing that my own are superior? 4) Do I tend to micromanage my team members and struggle with delegation? 5) Am I quick to blame others for mistakes or problems, rather than taking responsibility myself? 6) Do I prioritize my own needs and desires over the needs of my team or organization? 7) Do I struggle to accept feedback or constructive criticism? 8)Do I feel threatened by the success or accomplishments of others? 9) Am I willing to admit my own limitations or mistakes, and seek input and feedback from others?
If you have answered YES (In capitals that too) for most of these questions, you have to immediately start working on deflating your EGO. You don’t have to take my word for it. Research suggests that leaders who have a strong sense of ego and entitlement are less effective at collaborating with others, more abusive towards their subordinates, and more prone to making risky decisions, all of which can ultimately harm organizational performance and results. Let’s take a closer look at the behavioral characteristics of Managers with and without EGO.
Managers with Ego:
Domineering: They may act aggressively or dominate conversations, seeking to assert their authority and control.
Defensive: They may be quick to defend their decisions or actions, even if they’re not well received by others.
Dismissive: They may be dismissive of others’ ideas or perspectives, believing their own to be superior.
Micromanaging: They may closely monitor and control the work of their team members, not trusting others to handle tasks on their own.
Arrogant: They may act as if they are always right, and may have little tolerance for feedback or constructive criticism.
Status-seeking: They may be overly concerned with their own status and reputation, seeking to advance their own careers rather than benefiting the organization.
Blaming: They may be quick to blame others for mistakes or problems, rather than taking responsibility themselves.
Overconfident: They may be overly confident in their abilities and decisions, not recognizing the need for input or advice from others.
Managers without Ego:
Humble: They may be willing to admit their own limitations or mistakes, and open to feedback from others.
Collaborative: They may work well with others, seeking to build consensus and find common ground.
Empathetic: They may be able to understand and relate to the perspectives and needs of others, and act with compassion and understanding.
Supportive: They may prioritize the well-being and success of their team members, providing guidance and support when needed.
Trusting: They may be willing to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others, trusting their team members to handle them competently.
Decisive: They may be able to make tough decisions quickly and confidently, without being swayed by personal biases or emotions.
Accountable: They may take responsibility for their decisions and actions, and work to correct mistakes or errors.
Gracious: They may express gratitude and appreciation to their team members and colleagues, recognizing and valuing their contributions.
I trust that the list above has demonstrated the importance of shedding one’s ego as a manager, and I hope I don’t have to further persuade you to embrace this idea.
So what can you do to check Your ego at the door and become more successful. Here are 3 super simple and practical techniques that you can start working on right away.
1) Seek feedback regularly: This involves asking for input and perspective from your colleagues, team members, and even your own manager. Be open to constructive criticism and work to incorporate the feedback you receive into your behavior and decision-making.
2) Practice empathy: To practice empathy, actively listen to others, ask questions, and put yourself in their shoes before responding.
3) Practice humility: To practice humility, be willing to admit when you don’t know something, acknowledge the contributions of others, and be open to learning from your mistakes.
These three techniques can be highly impactful in reducing ego and can help you build stronger relationships with your colleagues, improve communication, and ultimately be more effective in your role as a manager.
#leadershipdevelopment Excerpts from the highly acclaimed white paper from Mckinsey and Company titled: Leadership in a crisis- Responding to the coronavirus outbreak: 5 behaviors and accompanying mindsets that can help leaders navigate the pandemic.
#leadershipdevelopment On this rainy rainy day, let’s explore ways to become more trustworthy at work. Here is a simple model to develop Trust. To know more about improving the Trust quotient in your organization, contact me on +971503423552/sangeethibrahim@yahoo.com
#leadershipdevelopment Dear Leaders, here is how you can create a High-Performance culture- by RESPECTing your people more. To know more about enabling these rituals in your organization, contact me on +971503423552/sangeethibrahim@yahoo.com
#MissionInspire1Million 