Building Your Team

This week’s tip is about something that can seem really difficult at first – building your team!

It’s hard to tell whether you are investing in your career or investing in someone else’s success, but one of those things is not like the other.

As a leader, manager, coach, consultant, etc., you need to understand how to invest in others so they help you achieve your goals as much as you help them develop theirs.

And while it may feel good when people say “thank you” for helping them succeed, it also creates additional responsibilities because now they have a job to do too!

If you aren’t careful, this person will keep picking their projects and tasks based only on what helps them accomplish their goal of being recognized for their achievements, instead of on if these picks benefit you.

It’s easy to get distracted by all the great opportunities available to you and your colleagues, which makes it tough to prioritize investment over achievement. After all, who wants to work with under-achievers?

But this isn’t a way to thrive as a professional — this is a way to lose your job. And we’ve seen enough of those already.

At the very least, you will burn out and be less productive than you could be. At worst, you will look like someone who doesn’t deserve to lead or be appreciated.

Make sure your team knows you care about them

As mentioned earlier, being able to build strong relationships is an important part of running any business. It is also one of the most crucial things for success in business. Without strong relationships, it can be difficult to succeed or even survive.

As leader of this organization, you will need to show that you care about others more than just their professional life. You should make time to connect with everyone on your team on a personal level.

This could mean going out for drinks after work, having lunch together, or taking a break during the day to chat. If someone else was looking to meet people, they would look at your social media profiles to see if there are anything related to casual gatherings.

By showing interest in other’s lives outside of the workplace, you signal to those around you that you value them as much as they do you. This creates a supportive environment where people feel loved and wanted.

Make them feel appreciated

As mentioned before, team members are key to your company’s success. They play an integral part in helping you achieve your business goals. Plus, they bring their own set of skills that can be leveraged for your company.

It is important to make sure that everyone feels like they belong here at Workout Wizards. We have discussed how crucial it is to have open communication, but making others feel valued goes beyond just talking about what they do and giving them praise.

Make time every day to tell someone “thank you” for something they did. Or ask if anyone else was able to help with a project because you were the only one who could. The more people feel needed and acknowledged, the higher their motivation will be!

Not only does this boost employee morale, it also increases productivity and trust between each other. When things get done quickly and efficiently, we as leaders lose very little information (and sometimes even know nothing!). This cuts down on wasted time and energy.

Create a fun work environment

A successful team will be motivated by something other than just money, it will want to contribute its efforts to ensure that the company succeeds, not only for themselves but for their superiors, colleagues, and beyond.

This can mean doing things like taking part in external projects or events, supporting each other during times of stress, and working as a group towards a common goal.

As leaders, make an effort to create a positive workplace culture where people feel comfortable talking about anything – even if you think everything is fine already!

Ask questions, listen intently, give honest feedback, acknowledge achievements, praise hardwork when appropriate, reward good behavior.

By creating an open atmosphere, you’ll boost employee morale and motivation, which are two of the most important factors in ensuring success.

Ask your team for help

As mentioned before, being an effective leader is about helping others achieve their goals. This can be more difficult than it seems because leadership also includes motivating those around you to work towards common goals.

As a leader, you will need to ask people outside of your department or organization what they want to accomplish and how they can help you get there.

This is particularly important in these times as most professionals are under a lot of pressure due to limited resources and time.

Ask your colleagues, superiors, and even peers how you can help them and what tasks or projects they could do that would make life easier for them.

It’s not only acceptable, but encouraged!

If someone has something going on that may be helpful to other people, offer to play a part in it by offering your services as a member or participant. You never know when your skills and knowledge can really pay off.

Make them aware of your strengths

As mentioned earlier, being able to identify your team’s weaknesses is important, but so is understanding your own strengths. If you are good at marketing, then offering to do some social media posting or promoting a product using that talent is a great way to use those skills in the company.

If you're good with numbers, there's no need for anyone to ask you to take charge of financial reports -- offer to do it yourself instead! Or if you have excellent written communication skills, see if someone needs help writing an email or making a presentation.

By identifying and developing these talents, you'll be investing in the future success of the organization.

Use your strengths to be a good manager

As a leader, you will spend most of your time working with people. You will have to make decisions that influence others, and you will need to motivate them when they are not motivated to do their jobs.

Running an office is very complex. There are so many different things that can affect how well employees work together and what level of performance each one has.

As a manager, there are several qualities you should develop to succeed. More than anything else, you must understand yourself as a person and recognize your weaknesses before you try to lead someone else.

It is easy to think that just because I talk fast or am passionate about something that everyone would agree with me. But it takes a lot more than that to earn respect from colleagues and superiors.

Your personal strength may be motivating for some, but intimidating for others. What works for you might not work for anyone else.

Be a good listener

As a leader, you will spend a lot of time listening to people. You will have to listen to your team members, superiors, and other leaders to get the information needed for successful leadership.

It is important to be able to listen with full attention without getting distracted or changing the tone of the conversation.

By being a good listener, you will learn a great deal about someone else’s situation, what needs they are trying to meet, and how you can help them achieve their goals.

You will also gain an understanding of why individuals in their group functioned the way they do and if there are any opportunities to make changes that will improve the performance of the organization.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important things to look for when hiring new team members or letting go of an existing one. You want to make sure that you do not see a lot of activity with, say, Facebook, but no interaction at work or with friends.

This could be due to something as simple as someone who works late every day and doesn’t leave time to interact with people outside of work, or it could be much more serious like someone who is constantly exposed to heavy amounts of alcohol or drugs. Either way, this cannot contribute positively to your workplace environment.

If there are signs that they don’t seem to care about their job, put in a good talk with them and find out if they really don’t care about being around other people or whether they just need some extra motivation. If they can’t give you those answers then maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.

At the very least, you will get a few weeks free of these issues before someone complains about you or gets fired because of poor performance.