17 July 2019

Make certain that you and your team are on the same boat

One of the most horrible things that could happen to a business is when its employees do not fully grasp the objectives and expectations of the company. We’re not just talking about daily targets and monthly quotas; we’re talking about the long-terms goals that you as a business leader would like to achieve.

Why is this so important? Why do lower-level employees need to see the bigger picture?

What you don’t want is to have your employees perform tasks blindly without even knowing what exactly they are contributing and what those contributions mean for the business. Not all employees need to know every single detail of what’s going on, but there should be a certain level of transparency and clarity when it comes to what the team intends to accomplish in the grand scheme of things.

So how do you ensure that your people fully grasp your personal and business “why”?

When you set targets, do it in specific and quantifiable terms

The only way your team members can meet your expectations is when they know their mission by heart. In cases of miscommunication, the blame is not solely on the employee; you should have made sure that your expectations were clearly and explicitly communicated.

This also applies in a broader scope. Groups of employees or teams may have this idea that they’re doing each of their goals the right way, but once everything is done and the collective results don’t meet the bottom line, a huge amount of resources would have been wasted.

Create a specific definition of their individual and shared success. State your goals in terms of numbers and what those numbers mean. Provide your employees with start and end dates helps to reinforce expectations. Clarify specific roles and people who would be accountable should they fail to meet the goals.

Do things to gauge their level of understanding

If you really want to make sure your employees are fully informed, you can check whether or not they have fully understood the communication. If your employees don’t perform as expected, the fault lies with you.

How will you do that? By doing a simple follow-up. If you had gathered everyone inside the conference room to discuss your targets, make sure no one leaves the room without knowing exactly what to do, how to do it and why they need to. You can also send a simple follow-up email detailing the discussion and having people to reply with their corresponding targets and timelines. Use whatever resource you have to check if they’re in the right mindset. If you want to make it more personal, why not talk to each person and assess their level of understanding?

Start evaluating the progress sooner

Check if everyone’s on the right track as early as possible. If things are doing fine in the initial part of the process, chances are everything’s going to be smooth and that your people were able to correctly get your points. But be careful in checking the progress. There’s a difference between nagging and asking for updates.

If possible, look for ways to check how everything is doing by not actually checking. Have people send quick reports at specific times or stages. Use automation to check running trends and numbers without having to constantly bug people for data. If all movements point to the right direction, you may not need further monitoring and you can go back to working on more urgent things while waiting for final results.

Be the best business leader you can be and reach the full potential of your business.

Business goals matter. They help ensure that a company understands the necessary steps needed to get to wherever they want to go. REACH the full potential of your company by working with a Business Coach like myself. My extensive clientele consists of companies based in all of the Midlands including Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. Discover how REACH Business Coaching can help you grow your business by attending our free workshops and seminars.

Get access to an Award-Winning Business Coach’s knowledge and experience built since 2007 all bundled into an online package. All backed by my 100% Bullet Proof Guarantee. Visit the REACH Club page to learn more.

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