Ever asked “How's everything going?” to be told “Fine”, when really what you wanted was an update on a project or task that you had assigned to a member of your team?
You want to check how they are doing but you don’t want to appear to be micromanaging them, it’s a delicate balance; you need to give your team the freedom to complete their objectives but you want to know that they are on task (and that they really understand the task).
When I first started managing a team, I’d be working ALL THE HOURS fixing errors my team had made rather than getting them to fix their mistakes, ever thought “I can do it quicker myself?”, but I soon learnt that I wasn't doing my team or myself any favours - and I certainly needed more sleep!
So I set clear SMART objectives, created process documents, retrained my team on the processes and used two effective ways to the reassurance that my team would deliver on time (and on a budget).
If you are having the same challenges try::
Schedule a regular catch up meeting, this needs to be 30/45 minutes where you check on the following:
How the individual is doing
If their workload is ok
If there is any support or training they need
How they are progressing with their objectives
Use the OKR document (I discussed in my previous blog) as a working record of progress, store each individual ORK document on your file share and ask each team member to update their progress every week/month dependent on the project, you will be able to see how they are progressing with the results linked to their objectives so that if they aren't on track you have time to make any necessary changes.
It’s time to empower your team so that you can have the freedom that business ownership should bring, while you grow and scale your business.
Get our Management Fundamental Course to build the confidence and HR knowledge you need to be a proactive leader and take your business to the next level or to have a chat about how we can help you schedule a call here .