Do you feel that your team is in solution mode and result-oriented? Is it sufficiently so?
And an element appreciated by the majority of leaders is to feel supported and supported. Are you one of those types of leaders? I bet you do.
Here’s how to facilitate and maintain the dynamics of a team so that it is in solution mode and result-oriented.
A. Sharing the reality
When I finished college, I was a programmer-analyst (yes!). I was developing wood measurement management systems (in the Quebec forestry sector). I’m honest with you, it wasn’t an area I knew about. I was a professional so I did my best, I asked questions to understand what the system I was working on was for, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So my questions were limited by my knowledge.
We don’t know what we don’t know, right?
So my boss asked me to program something that read files. He tells me: a measurer is in the lumberyard, he enters data into a small handheld computer, and then he goes to the office and has to transfer that data into our system.
And that’s not the kind of thing I was interested in and it was completely abstract to me.
I do. I don’t validate too much. In fact, I know that it doesn’t make mistakes but I don’t do hyper exhaustive tests. You see? The kind of thing that works, but we don’t go any further.
A few weeks later, my boss and I are on the road to attend a conference. We stop at a customer’s site. I don’t have a very active role so I’m observing.
And I observe that the famous meter that enters to do a data transfer, does this 7 times in 2 hours. The stress that has risen!! I took my laptop and started to go see my programming of this thing that I had done “quickly”…. Fortunately there was no problem, but I was hot.
Reality creates clarity. Clarity creates productivity.
The point I’m getting at with this story is that until I saw reality, I didn’t understand it.
And that if your team lacks clarity about reality, you’re missing out on an easy potential to create more solution-oriented, results-oriented people. Because they will understand.
Clarity makes you move forward.
Here are some ideas and a coach’s question
Ideas to facilitate the understanding of reality:
- Training for all, on the “floor”. For example: even the people on the payroll team should have bought your product, or sold your product, or spent a day immersed in operations.
- Promote direct contact with customers and suppliers.
Coach’s question:
- What can you do to connect your team more with reality?
Bonus point:
If you’ve ever had feedback from operations teams or vice versa about a lack of understanding from a particular team, this is your idea. Even in a restaurant, go cook your waiter and vice versa!
B. Bringing the following motivating factors to life
You know when you have a new relationship how beautiful everything is at the beginning? You please the other person, you make sure that she feels good, etc. And at a certain point, the relationship is a bit taken for granted and you stop doing what you were doing at the beginning?
Or when you have a new employee, do you supervise them diligently at the beginning and then let them go?
The two key points here are: there is a lot of attention at the beginning and then a letting go resulting in much LESS attention.
Which has a NEGATIVE impact on long-term motivation. And it’s the long-term motivation that keeps you engaged, and motivated to achieve results!
So, if you make sure to maintain a link with your team members, with the help of these 5 motivating factors below, you will foster and facilitate a team in solution mode and result-oriented.
Loans?
1. Meaning
Giving meaning allows the other to understand why they do what they do, what their work contributes to, what their contribution and impact is.
Example: Your work helps to facilitate the work of the marketing team. Thanks to our team, they have the data they need to optimize our social networks.
Meaning can turn the most mundane tasks into motivating tasks.
2. Clear objectives
Giving clear goals means sharing your expectations in a concrete and specific way.
Examples:
- I expect that during our meeting you will be prepared on these 3 subjects precisely.
- You will be evaluated on these 3 criteria and here is how I will proceed with the evaluation: …
Clarity removes blur, allowing you to move forward faster.
3. Knowledge of results
Share the result of the work.
Example: The customer jumped for joy when they saw the new interface you created.
Measuring results and sharing them is an invitation to want to continue to achieve results.
4. Autonomy
Give a margin of discretion based on the person’s qualifications.
Example: Encourage team members to propose solutions, to try ideas.
The key here is to give a margin that is ALIGNED with the person’s skills. Otherwise, we train and support her.
Team training is a good way to have quality time, share a common vocabulary while developing new skills, and this is our approach to our leadership journeys.
5. Adequate social stimulation
Whether we are in person or virtually, human beings need social stimulation. Try to adapt to people’s preferences as well as the company’s culture by making activities mandatory and others optional.
Example: team lunches, team lunches, lunch & learn, team building days, team meetings with an informal side or activities such as challenges, etc.
Create your culture.
Coach Questions:
- Which element(s) do you do best?
- What element(s) do you do but on which you could improve?
- What important element is missing?
Dig deeper: Learn how to adjust your leadership posture to drive more motivation, set goals, follow up, and deliver recognition, using agile principles and without reinventing everything.
In conclusion
In this article I have not talked about external factors such as salary, benefits, physical working conditions (noise, space, etc.). They are important but do not contribute to motivation and commitment in the LONG TERM. That said, these factors must be perceived as fair by the person. In short, they should not be a brake, and at the same time they are not the LONG-TERM accelerator.
To stay in solution mode and results-oriented, share the reality and focus on simple motivators that are maintained over time.