At the core of any successful small business is an efficient and responsive team behind it. Customer relations are not only dependent on front-end sales and great external marketing, but a team that knows each another and tackles challenges together behind the scenes.
Make your goals no matter what the size attainable for 2019 with these helpful team effectiveness tips.
Get to Know Your Team
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The most effective way to identify where your team’s skills lay is through time and team building exercises. Find out who are the out-of-the-box thinkers and who can work with the resources at hand.
Use each person’s natural skills to your advantage. A free tool you can use is the 16 Personalities test to find out each person’s natural strengths and weaknesses.
Delegate Accordingly
Trying to manage by overseeing everything yourself can feel overwhelming for you as a manager and diminishing for your team members. Delegate accordingly!
While it may be tempting to try and take on everything at once and its minutiae on your own, don’t be afraid to hand-off to people who’ve shown successful skills or leadership traits in those areas. Keep track of these delegations and don’t be afraid to delegate more tasks.
You don’t have to take on the world yourself. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Overloading anyone is just going to result in slower or rushed results. You’re all in this together so let your team do what they do best by trusting them to take on more.
You can use a tool like Daylite to delegate tasks and get notified when they’re done.
Qualify and Quantify
Unexpected twists and turns will inevitably happen along your road to success in growing your small business. Making sure your team can handle anything that comes at them is critical to keeping up sales, executing plans on time, team effectiveness, and morale.
Keep your qualitative results close (like sales figures and expenditures) and measure them often. If it can be measured, it can be improved!
Don’t forget your written results either. Documentation is key! Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. If it can be documented or quantified, keep a record and compare with the team over areas of improvement. Don’t let any opportunities go by the wayside.
Hold a Daily Huddle
Daily huddles, otherwise known as ‘stand-up meetings’ are deliberately short meetings focusing on two essentials: purpose and outcome. They help you set the tone for the day and provide a daily road map while giving team members time to showcase any roadblocks that may have come up previously.
Keep daily huddles under fifteen minutes in length. Keep the meeting focused on what your immediate goals are and what the desired outcome should be.
Be open; outline projected hurdles and ask for feedback. The more open the lines of communication, the faster things can be accomplished.
Don’t Get Bogged Down in Meetings
Meetings are important. They allow everyone to come together in a communal space (in person or virtually) and allows team members to share their progress and set short and long term goals for the future. But too many meetings or meetings run the wrong way can cut into everyone’s day and hold back productivity.
Don’t let meetings become a performance killer. Build a clear agenda with the goals clearly marked. Only involve members of the team that are necessary. The more concise and on-topic your meetings are, the less meetings need to happen. More of your time can be spent on producing sales and addressing your team’s and client’s needs. Read this post for more tips on making your meetings super productive.
Communicate Effectively
It all comes down to effective communication between you, your team, and your customers. Navigating constantly moving pieces can be difficult and overwhelming for anyone heading up a small business. Communication is key to navigate those hurdles.
Repeat was success looks like, ask for feedback on bottles and challenges, and make sure everyone is aligned on the path to success.
Pay close attention to what your customers want and how your team can provide it. Ask your team for input. Don’t be afraid to give praise where praise is due. Clear lines of communication are essential to a successful team environment no matter what the size.
If you need help organizing all the moving pieces, decisions, and details on your projects, check out this article to learn how with Daylite.
Conclusion
Teamwork is an essential aspect to any small business. Follow the above tips to attack 2019 with a better idea of how to lead and work within your team.
Need a tool to help you track your team and manage your goals? Try Daylite to help you win more business & get more done in 2019.
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About the author:
Xander Cavalier is a former radio broadcaster and community organizer with grass-roots experience in Northern Ontario. He is currently based in the GTA. You may reach out to him on LinkedIn.
