7 Min. Reading

A team’s productivity during the first and second quarters of the year is crucial. It is the best moment to make changes in work dynamics and evaluate past goals; it comes with the new-year energy. But making its effects last is a matter of leadership technique, not only if your team members’ goodwill. So, what can you do? 

Here are some ideas you can use. 

1. Know your team 

The deeper the knowledge you have of your team, the better you will know how to deal with everyday tasks and how to react to challenges. From basic bio information, to the skills in which they outperform, what they need to improve, and with whom they work best, all this information will give you the tools for guiding your team. 

If you know their skills and areas for improvement, you will be able to make balanced teams for specific tasks. If you know with whom they work best, you will ensure the correct people work together  leading to the best results. 

Additionally, by showing your team members you know them well, you will also let them know you appreciate them. With details such as remembering their hobbies, or family members,you will be on the road to building a stronger, happier team. 

2. Give your team members ownership, don’t micromanage

As subtle as it may be, there is a difference between being available for your team, guiding it, and micromanaging. If you over control every single one of their activities and small decisions, you won’t get your own done, and your team will feel as if you are going to turn down any idea they come up with before presenting them.  

A better path is having a clear definition of the tasks they must perform, what is expected of them, and how much decision power they have over their duties. 

This way, they will have a sense of ownership of the matters they are working on. They will get more involved in their projects and make faster, and more accurate decisions. By clearly knowing what they can or can’t do, they will know when to reach out for help. 

Suppose your team members know how their decisions impact other team members’ performance. In that case, they will also develop a greater sense of responsibility to the company and the entire team. 

3. Give your team incentives

It’s safe to say that although not all, manywork to get paid. Regardless of the reason, everybody should strive to do the best they can; but that doesn’t mean that a payment at the end of the month makes everyone  work at their   best. Mainly because once our basic needs are met, our need for recognition becomes more vital than our aim to make the same amount of money month after the next. 

Setting an employee engagement program that rewards them when they achieve or outperform their goals will make them commit to their work, try new strategies to improve their performance, and enjoy their work.   

Even more, since we all began working from home, incentives programs have gained urgency since the bond between employees and the work environment slowly began to decrease. Before the pandemic, we had other elements that made us engage with our jobs: the friends we made at work, how our routines changed, etc. Since those factors no longer exist, employers should consider sparking those feelings through other techniques. 

4. Rethink meetings 

No one answers “The meetings!” when asked what they love most about their jobs. Meetings are useful and necessary, sometimes they are unavoidable, but when you have too many or your meetings are  poorly managed, they become a headache. The point is the time your team spends in meetings should be really productive. If they feel they are wasting their time, they probably are. 

Here are some ideas to consider: 

• Never hold a meeting just for giving information. In that case, probably an email is more efficient. Having unnecessary meetings exhaust people’s cognitive energy, which they need for being productive.
  
• Set a plan, be clear about the purpose of the meeting, and stick to what you have planned.

• Keep meetings as short as possible. By having shorter sessions, you will guarantee everybody is focused (instead of exhausted) and will try to solve the issues they need to work on. 

• Keep meetings as small as possible. Large meetings make it easier to diverge from your plan. It’s also more likely that someone will spend the whole time quietly and unengaged. If the conversation goes astray and you don’t return to the main topic or if someone is silent during the hour (or four hours) of the meeting, then you have all lost. 

5. Have shared and visible metrics of success

Having a common standard for what success means to your employees makes it easier coordinating their efforts, as they will know precisely what is expected from them. This strategy works best when it is visible and gamified because a sense of competition will emerge, this will push them to meet their goals. This strategy is even more powerful when a rewards program is coordinated with success metrics because employees will use the boost of recognition with a clear purpose. 

What other strategies have you found to boost your teams’ productivity? Let us know in the comments.

Business Trends – HOW CAN YOU LEAD YOUR TEAM TO BOOST ITS PRODUCTIVITY AND REACH THEIR GOALS?
By: Ana Maria Enciso, April 2021
Edited by: Isabela Rosa