Taking Care of Your Team

One more week and we’re at the halfway mark of this year.

Hard to believe!

You’ve made it through the craziest part of the spring kick off.

And… you might just be feeling a bit frazzled. 🤪

You know who else may be feeling a bit frazzled?

Your team.

Don’t take them for granted.

I know, we’re all human beings, and we all make mistakes.

But make sure your communication to them isn’t only “popping up” when they screw up.

Make sure there’s a healthy dose of communication complementing, recognizing, and appreciating them too.

Catch them doing something good, and make sure they know you saw that and appreciate it.

Complement in public, critique in private.

As much as possible, give them autonomy.

Allow them to solve problems, or at minimum, ask them for their feedback on how to solve the problems.

Communicate (without heat) the things that bother you, and ask for suggestions on how to fix it.

Bosses don’t ask for feedback. Leaders do.

Bosses tell, leaders ask.

Bosses also get stuck in the Tell, Check, Next loop.

Tell them what to do.

Check their work.

Tell them what to do next.

If you find yourself stuck in that loop, you have a hard ceiling on your growth or how much you can get done in a day.

You’re maxed out by how many to-do items you can create and check on in a day.

Give your team something to look forward to.

When I worked at Tussey Landscaping, the owners did a company lake day in August.

It was a cool little bright spot in the middle of the hottest part of the year.

Make your own goals for the company this year public with your team.

Craft an incentive for when the company hits that goal.

Align a carrot for the team with your goals, and harness the entire team’s energy on achieving it.

Finally, don’t become chief problem solver.

If you let it happen, it will happen.

If a team member comes with a complaint, do not fall into the trap of immediately trying to solve it with your own ideas.

Instill the 1-3-1 rule into your culture.

One complaint or problem.

3 potential solutions

One recommended or preferred solution

The price of “complaining” is “bringing 3 potential solutions, and 1 preferred solution with it.

Until you have those 3 solutions, your complaint won’t be heard or acted upon.

It forces a bit of an owner or problem solving mindset into even the newest team members, who have quite likely never been taught to think that way.

And it relieves you of becoming chief problem solver.

So, as you continue to grind through this season…

Make sure your team knows you appreciate them.

Reward them.

And listen to them ….once they’ve assisted in being a part of the solution.

Cheers!

Weston Zimmerman

SynkedUP CEO & founder

Book a call to check out the SynkedUP app