Do you ever find yourself getting let down by members of your team, or by your team itself?
You know what your team needs to be doing and the level you all need to be playing at, but despite this, you can’t quite generate the results your company needs.
If this is you—don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, this is a problem many of the senior leaders we speak to experience.
And there is a simple lesson we share with every single leader who is encountering this problem: You get what you inspect, not what you expect.
The reality is as leaders, while yes, you need to empower your team to take their own initiative and act independently, one thing you need to keep in mind is that empowerment without inspect is a recipe for disaster.
Does this mean micromanaging everything your team does on a daily basis?
Definitely not. This can also have the unintended effect of inhibiting performance and results.
Instead, you need to have frameworks in place which hold your team accountable. Frameworks that offer a lens of ‘inspection’ without creating an atmosphere of micromanagement.
So how do you do this?
There’s a four-level structure of communication that you can put in place which will enable you to better inspect what is happening within your team, and ultimately drive performance.
Level One: Morning Walks
The ‘morning walk’ is a casual and candid way of checking in with members of your team. Use this to check in not only on how they are going with everything work-wise, but also check in with them at a human level. Doing so might seem insignificant, but it’s these small interactions that show your team how much you care.
Level Two: 1-on-1 Meetings
This is a structured catch-up you should be having with each of your direct reports on a weekly basis. This is your direct reports’ opportunity to fill you in on progress, address any challenges and ask for feedback or advice. It’s also your opportunity to ask questions and check-in that they’re on top of everything.
Level Three: Leadership Meetings
This is about getting your leadership team together and deciding upon the direction of the organisation. Be prepared to ask hard questions and make tough decisions in these meetings about whether you are making the progress you need as an organisation.
Level Four: Team Meetings
This is an opportunity to get your entire team together and ensure you are all on the same page. While part of this meeting might be keeping the team informed and updating everyone on what’s going on at a company level, be careful to maintain a two-way dialogue as this can also be a way of gauging how your team are feeling and gathering feedback.
We dive more specifically into each of these levels of communication and how you can use them to drive performance within your team in the video below. If this topic is important to you, set aside five minutes of your time now to watch it.
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