22 Jul Don’t Hire and Hope
As a babyboomer business owner, you need to minimize your stress as this can lead to many health issues. Not having a productive team can cause lots of stress. In fact, I often find the reason client’s have major people problems is because of poor leadership.
If the business owner is not disciplined, organized and learned the skills required to communicate and lead effectively the same challenges will occur.
My clients often complain about certain staff members who are not performing in the way they would like them to. When you dig deeper, there are a range of issues which tend to contribute to this and most of it leads back to the business owner.
A perfect example of this was Ben who’s been in business for several years and has a team of 5. He would often complain that his staff were lazy, didn’t use their initiative and would take advantage of him.
The team needed clear direction… someone to follow
We had his team do an anonymous survey about how they viewed Ben in many areas, including his leadership abilities, communication, organization etc. The process also allowed Ben to answer the same questions on how he sees himself. It turned out that Ben thought he was a good boss because he was easy to get along with. However, the feedback from his team showed that he wasn’t a good leader. Ben was inconsistent, changed his mind often, indecisive and didn’t stick to his word. He was a perfectionist and consequently became the bottleneck within his business.
The team needed clear direction… someone to follow. They required a system, guidelines to work within and regular follow-up. They never had a team meeting to discuss what was working well and how to improve things. The only time a meeting was called was when there was a customer complaint.
The Solutions
Before I share these tips with you, be aware that it is extremely important to hire the right type of people for your business in the first place.
Many employers have the ‘hire and hope’ mentality. After the person has been hired the employer hopes they work out, but in reality, this hire needs to be followed up with great management and leadership. And let’s face it, how many small business owners learn how to do this effectively?
1. Regular Performance and Incentive Reviews
Measure your team’s achievements on a regular basis. Formally appraise the performance of each individual twice a year. Salary increases, bonuses and incentives should be based on these performance reviews.
2. Weekly Team Meetings
Learn how to run an effective meeting and have these weekly with your team. Have a set time each week. Ensure the agenda allows for their input.
3. Personal and Professional Development
Invest regularly in their development, both technical and non-technical skills. The new-found knowledge can be extremely valuable to your business. By learning and developing your people, they will also be more motivated.
Looking after the people in your business is vital to ensure its ongoing success… whatever ‘success’ means to you.
4. Become an Effective Leader
There are many skills required including delegation, organization and communication, etc. Learn how to create and sustain a high performing team and a culture you can be proud of. Business and or Leadership Coaching will fast-track your knowledge in this area and then it is up to you to change your behaviours and take the relevant action!
Looking after the people in your business is vital to ensure its ongoing success… whatever ‘success’ means to you. A happy, skilled and motivated team if managed effectively will have a huge impact on your productivity and profits. And if you’re looking at selling your business, you definitely don’t want the additional stress of having poor performing team members.
To continue doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. So if you want to achieve different results, take different action today! Need help to be a much more effective leader so you (and your team) can be less anxious and stressed and do business much better? Find out more about our Effective Leadership Program for Babyboomer Business Owners…just send an email to lorraine@relaunchyourlife.com.au.
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