EMPOWER YOUR TEAM TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Let me ask a question.  Is there any other reason to create a team other than to grow your business?  If you want to grow your business by growing your team you must empower your team to act independently.  That sounds so simple and it is.  In fact, those brokers and owners who have been giving their team the tools to act independently are growing much more rapidly than those who are creating roadblocks by holding too much control or not training and developing their team.  Clearly, empowerment of the team creates better outcomes.

Unfortunately, some owners and managers find it very hard to let go. In some cases the need to be right prevents the manager from trusting the team members. If this fear of not being right is stopping you from letting go then you might want to ask yourself these two questions. First of all, have you provided your team with all of the tools they need to succeed?   And secondly, have you clearly communicated the objectives and desired results?

Here are some of the basics of creating high performing teams. Instead of assigning projects with very specific instructions try something different. Here are two different approaches to giving a team member a project.

Let’s say that you are controlling and you have a project the needs to be completed. You lay out a complete set of instructions detailing what you want done, how you want it done, and specific steps to get it done. You follow up to see that each step is completed as prescribed. Although communication is important this type of micromanaging is detrimental. It also impedes creativity resulting in less success for you and your team. According to Gallop, one of the major motivators for a team member is the belief that their opinions count. Did you ever ask for their opinion? Quite frankly, in this example, your team member is more concerned about following your instructions than creating the most desirable result. He or she might think it would work better with another approach; however, he or she does not want to take the chance of upsetting you.

Now here is an empowering approach. You tell your team member that you have a special project and that you would like him or her to take charge. You explain the nature and purpose of the project and the end goal. Maybe you offer suggestions on the process but you stress that you are looking for the employee’s suggestions in the process. You let him or her know that any useful modification would be welcome as long as the general goals are met. You then ask him or her to come up with an action plan for completing the project. You assure the team member that you are depending on him or her for the final outcome and the team member has your support and confidence.

The second approach is more engaging gives the team member the opportunity to take ownership in the project which will lead to a more successful outcome.  As far as the team member is concerned there is the sense of pride in accomplishment.

And you are having more success and are feeling less stress.  You can read a similar post on our website titled CREATE MORE SUCCESS BY EMPOWERING YOUR STAFF.

Are you ready to begin empowering your staff?

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