Effective teams are critical to the success of any business. Most of the business owners I work with recognize this, and dedicate a significant amount of time to training and developing their teams. I’ve had the privilege of working with a whole lot of business owners over the years, and in that time I have met some many truly brilliant leaders. Today, I thought I would share one of the most important team-building tips that I’ve seen over the years. I’ve used this principle with great success in my own businesses, and I’ve helped clients to do the same.
The principle is simple: to get the best results from your teams, take advantage of the unique strengths each employee has.
It sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how often business owners view their employees as interchangeable. And rather than put their employees in the best position to succeed, they end up “forcing” the employees to fit a role or a position that doesn’t best utilize their skillset. It is a little bit like trying to fit the proverbial round peg into a square hole.
The far better approach is to place your employees into roles that suit their personality and their strengths. But that is easier said than done, as many business owners have discovered. Below are three tips that will help.
1) Hire employees that fit your needs. Many business owners hire for the wrong reasons – they’ll hire an individual solely because of the strength of his resume, or because of her prowess during an interview. While these are both good qualities, it’s critical to first ensure that the employee’s strengths and personality are a good fit. For instance, if you’re hiring an individual to primarily focus on paperwork and accounting, an extrovert that needs to be around people to stay engaged is not likely to be a good choice, no matter how impressive his resume may be. First and foremost, look for individuals who are good fits for the roles you’ll need them to fill.
2) Provide flexibility for employees to “do it their way” – within bounds, of course. It’s important to provide your employees with the freedom to approach their role creatively. If you micro-manage, you’ll quickly kill the motivation of your employee, and his or her unique gifts will never come into play. Set guidelines—but give your employees the opportunity to use their natural ability and creativity to get the job done.
3) Listen to your employees. Finally… listen from time to time. Ask your employees how they’re doing, if they feel fulfilled, if they feel like they are using their gifts. You don’t have to grant their every wish, but the more you can leverage the strengths of each employee, the better off you both will be. So listen!
The strength of your teams will go a long way towards the success of your small business. If you’d like to learn more about building strong teams in your workplace, please get in touch with me today!