Leaders have to face challenges all around. Not only do they have to make sure that team dynamics are steady, but they will also need to ensure that the productivity of their team members stays steady across the terms of any given project. Without that in place, things can become seriously difficult to manage. As a result, you’ll find that there are tips for leaders that can help with productivity.
However, what if the team members grow stubborn, or perhaps tired of working on project collateral over time. What does a leader do to inspire them, and how does one create a substantial change in the work flow? That’s something that many leaders wrestle with as they try and groom the right team placement to deliver the right elements overall.
If you’re looking at creating a far better work environment, and want team members to deliver on the premise of better results, you’ll want to look at the following tips for when things start to get a bit sour, which could very well happen at any given time.
Deliver Correction Fast
First and foremost, leaders have to immediately confront something that is going awry. If milestones are not being met on a weekly basis, then correction has to be delivered swiftly and honestly. This doesn’t mean scolding or doing something that will cause morale to go down, but rather figuring out a way to confront the issue and see what needs to get done to fix the problems.
Without delivering corrections fast here, you’re going to end up losing focus on the bigger picture. It’s easy to lose morale here, if you don’t correct issues as they come up. Leaders may have to not only address the problems, but they may have to coordinate fixes in which they work towards resolution on the fly. Cleaning up the mistakes is a key to leadership examples.
Clearly Define Goals
Goals should be clearly defined and reintroduced on a regular basis. Do not isolate this to just one corner of the group’s dynamic. Clearly defined goals should be something that is a given, and should be reinforced every week in two areas. First, the bigger picture should be introduced, and second, milestones should be considered at each meeting point.
Several meetings should happen between milestones, and no one should be left out in the dark as to what the other is doing. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of project details, but it’s important to snap out of the issues and create substantial changes to move in the right direction. Without clearly defined goals, it’s easy to lose sight on the bigger picture, and corrections can come down fast, and cause a bottleneck in production.
Show The Team How It’s Done
When in doubt, leaders should be able to get into the mix and work on problematic elements. Whether it’s taking on more of a project’s parameters, or simply fixing issues as they come up. Leaders should not be hidden away behind a desk somewhere, and only popping in from time to time to say hello.
Active leadership is the key to getting the most out of a team, especially when they start to slow down or become stubborn. It’s imperative that morale stay high and individuals are not left without seeing leaders working on the project goals as well. It’s here that an open line of communication is key to establishing the right elements of positive protocol. Without this, you may lose a team and projects will get backlogged fast.
Create Disciplinary Actions
Perhaps the toughest thing for leaders to do is within this area, discipline. Disciplinary actions should not be something that gets placed in the backburner. It’s too easy to ignore when someone makes a mistake and it’s easy to run from any type of confrontation. It’s for that reason that you should look into disciplining individuals when there is something awry. However, this should be done in a manner that doesn’t cause further frustration on their part.
Disciplinary actions should be swift, and should not hinder the progress of the team, however, it has to be done with a certain steady hand. Without this, the team could lose out on the bigger picture, which is not a good thing. Disciplinary action should not be something that is hesitated on, or things could unravel fast.
Reward Positive Performance Often
Here is the one thing that many leaders forget to do on a regular basis, and it’s simple, reward positive performance. If the team meets milestones, rewards should be in place, and praise should be given openly. This is an absolutely critical thing within the confines of any major industry. If you could give people support, they will fight hard to continue to gain milestones, and complete tasks.
Even if the team gets stubborn, or slows down, a positive note could help create a substantial jump in how they work for you. Rewarding positive performance is a good thing, and should not be something that is just flattery. It’s easy to just flatter workers, which isn’t the same. Look at the performance of the team, and highlight the positives, while downplaying the negatives as things to work on.
If there’s egregious errors in the performances, then it’s time to correct the issues and shoot for a better reward ratio. This is a balancing act that leaders have to work within on a lot of different bases.
The aforementioned are five things that you should consider for leadership when teams can grow stubborn. It’s imperative that morale is high and individual elements are pushed forward to gain substantial benefits down the line. Check out our post 5 Tips for Leading Your Team For Maximum Productivity for more leadership tips.
It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture here, which is why so many end up with projects that are derailed, behind, and difficult to manage. Remember, team members are human, and therefore a bit of positivity, correction, and reward ratios can all help with creating a better work flow through management. Test different elements and create answers to the issues that could come into play.
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