Do your team members know where they stand?

How directly do you communicate with your team?

In the world of leadership, your team needs to know where they stand.  How are they performing?  What can they do to improve their skills?  If you don’t have an open line of communication with them, they might not know these answers.  As a leader, you most likely are very comfortable speaking to the entire team, but don’t forget about the one-on-one meetings as well.  The #CJJblog this week gives you some tips on how you can be direct with your team members and let them know where they stand.  Enjoy.

• Team mission. Be very clear on this topic.  Everyone in the organization must know what the team mission is and what you hope to accomplish together.  Make sure you appoint a CRO (Chief Reminding Officer) to hold people accountable.
• Expectations.  Have you recently gone over specific expectations with your team members?  Do they know what is expected of them?  Give them the opportunity to figure out how to make things better.
• Individual goals. Be clear with the individual goals as well.  Do they fit in and match the team goals?  Make sure you are aware of both.
• Non-negotiables. What are a few values that your team must abide by?  For me, it was integrity and being punctual.  Make sure your team knows your organizations’ non-negotiable behaviors.
• Feedback.  The feedback should be an open discussion of both positive and negative things.  It is hard for a team member to know exactly where they stand if you are “fluffing up” your feedback to them and always being obnoxiously positive.
• Mentoring program. Do you have a mentoring program on your team?  If there are a few veterans who are well-respected, ask them to mentor a couple of the newer team members.  Peer mentoring can do a long way with the growth and development of your team.
• Confidence.  Give your team members the confidence to share their thoughts and feelings.  Make sure they are not ridiculed or called out for speaking their mind.  When problems arise, instead of playing the blame game, there should be an exchange of ideas for the proper solutions.
• Discipline.  What must change to get things back to where they should be?  Is a team member falling short of expectations?  Have the discipline to have these tough conversations.
• No surprises. If the communication is open and you are honest with your team, there will be no surprises when it comes time to make tough decisions.  Create an atmosphere where your team craves success.

Did You Know?  Coach Jim Johnson will be hosting a Zoom Webinar with Dr. Rehnuma Karim, Ph. D entitled “Blueprint for Modern Leaders” on August 12^th at 11am EST.  Registration link soon to come via social media.

Life Tip #7:  Treat every person you meet like a million dollar customer.