An Organizational Training, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development Firm

 Reach Peak Potential with Peak Strategies

1. Find a common ground and meet your team members. Knowing which communication styles suits which team member will help to strengthen a sense of interest and respect. Needless to say, adjusting to meet their style will also aid in decreasing problems due to misunderstandings.

2. Under promise and over deliver. When your team buys into your vision and expectations, and you exceed their expectations of you, they may be apt to exceed your expectations of them. People usually work hard for people who work hard for them.

3. Do as I do, and as I say. Be cautious in what you say and to whom you say it. You want to be a role model to your team. Modeling is an extremely effective method of learning, even when we don't want our actions to be mirrored by others. If you show signs of distrust or frustration in your team, they will show signs of distrust or frustration in you. This makes for a sticky situation in which little will be accomplished. You want to model the same character you hope your team will model.

4. Provide consistent feedback for your team. Many leaders wait until there is a problem or there is a need for training before they offer feedback. These times surely require feedback, but they are not the only times. When your team members are excelling or doing just fine, they still need to know that. Much like in a sporting event, you will find that your players' efforts begin to lack enthusiasm or effectiveness if they have no way of telling how well they are doing. Be sincere, genuine, and very specific with the comments you are providing. "Nice job" may not suffice. What is a much better way of expressing your gratitude? How about: "Hey, Joe, you did a nice job on the Shelby case. Your reports were very thorough, and we needed that for the meeting today. Thanks for the efforts." This is to the point, specific, and genuine. It shows that you care and you appreciate the effort.

5. Encourage and reward a collaborative environment. Collaboration is an important facet in building trust and supporting creativity. Both of these concepts are important for a strong team. When all is well, hey, all IS well. When things fall apart, that is when things FALL apart! A well-built, united, and trusting team is an important piece to quick and effective solutions. This type of team also prevents unnecessary frustration and strife at troublesome times.

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate. When you think you have said enough, ask for understanding from your staff. If they have not paraphrased your message, communicate again. The best way to make sure you are not wasting time in meetings is to adapt your communication style to the style of each of your staff members. I have read that more than 30% of a project manager's time is spent correcting misunderstandings due to communication problems. Just think, if you spent an extra 5% of time and effort in making sure each member heard the message correctly and feels as if they are a working part of the team, then you will have 25% more time to do what you need to do instead of correcting communication problems.

7. Commit to being a strong leader. It is important that your team feels you are confident in your abilities and are committed to leading them through a successful project. When things aren't going as planned, it is important that your team members know you can lead them into a better situation. If you are not committed to going the extra mile for your team, they will not be committed to following you one step.