If you are in a position of leadership and influence, consider it your responsibility to keep your team motivated consistently.
Every career experience is deeply significant in understanding and expanding your vision. As a Management Consultant & Mentor, my years as a Ballroom Dance Educator & Trainer have been truly insightful in understanding teamwork and collaboration and the values of direction and motivation from a leadership perspective in team performance.
Here are a few tips to manage & motivate your team.
Attitude: A team is a set of individuals who are meant to align towards a vision and mission. Start of by getting the hiring process right. Hire the people with the right attitude.
Connection : Begin to connect with your team with genuine interest in their work plan, issues and tasks at hand. You are more likely to understand the pain points, their strengths and find proper resolutions
Trust building : Building trust in your team starts with a leader who knows when to engage and when to back off. Trust creates responsibility and makes team members accountable.
Safety : A team that is ensured, mental, physical, social, environmental safety feels well-supported. Understand how important it is for every member to sense the safety so that your team can take steps with confidence.
Respect: Give respect to get respect. Create a platform to collaborate without character assaults and biased opinions.Always remember there is the benefit of doubt.
Non-judgmental : Avoid & Reduce personal bias and judgements in assumptions from affecting your team. Be inclusive and create a diversity in the team such that it becomes a source of strength.
Attention: Care to pay attention and nurture your team. Be available and wholly present to guide, mentor your teams through their tasks and issues. But reduce dependencies.
Appreciation: Last but not the least care to celebrate their small & large wins, take time to appreciate the good work.
A young woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her extended family was coming over for festival lunch the next day. She was not feeling very thankful at that time. As she turned her gaze sideways, she noticed her young daughter scribbling furiously into her notebook. “My teacher asked us to write a paragraph on “Negative Thanks giving” for homework today,” said the daughter. “She asked us to write down things that we are thankful for, things that make us feel not so good in the beginning, but turn out to be good after all.” With curiosity, the mother peeked into the book. This is what her daughter wrote: “I’m thankful for Final Exams, because that means school is almost over. I’m thankful for bad-tasting medicine, because it helps me feel better. I’m thankful for waking up to alarm clocks, because it means I’m still alive.”
It then dawned on the mother, that she had a lot of things to be thankful for! She thought again… She had to pay taxes but that meant she was fortunate to be employed. She had house-work to do but that meant she had a shelter to live in. She had to cook for her many family members for lunch but that meant she had a family with whom she could celebrate.
We generally complain about the negative things in life but we fail to look at the positive side of it. Yes there is a positive in every negative . What is the positive in your negatives? Look at the better part of life today and make everyday a great day.
In management its good to rememberTime is borrowed, so has a priceToil is bought so has a priceEffort is expected in a priced dealBut some things are priceless!They can never be bought.
For they are intrinsic in natureThey come from you, no matter the dealTalk of loyalty, initiative & enthusiasmThey are all intrinsically motivated.
No amount of money can keep them consistentTo have value for time, have value for peopleTo have a dedicated effort, respect the people who are dedicated at workTo lead with care and considerationTo be humane in the ways of management.
For to get respect you have to earn it by showing the way.By deeds of kindness and appreciationNo amount of criticism can do what nurturing in appreciation can do.Appreciation is an evolved method of improving productivity.Such is the quintessence of management.Savvy
To all the ‘Crazy Busy’ Bossy kind of People, who say and feel they don’t have time…
For anything or anyone anymore!
If you don’t have time for your near and dear ones
You are perhaps indifferent and are taking people for granted.
Be cautious…Patience runs out of time!
If you are always dominant and intimidating by nature
People will follow you only by force and not from their hearts.
Be careful for soon they will become indifferent to your rants.
If you speak cutting people off mid-sentence.
You may be showing you are the boss
But people never appreciate not being listened to.
They will never turn up to you with suggestions.
All you will be harboring will be
The ‘Yes men ‘… think about it!.
If you have never walked along with your partner or your child or a pet dog…
Perhaps you should rethink if you have truly appreciated life’s moments you have had.
The joy of walking with another is a beautiful blessing only known to the ones who take a walk.
If you have never had time in your life
To do the things you wanted
And you keep giving excuses that if I had it this way I would do that…
Perhaps, you must realize life is best lived, doing what you love.
No one told you to sit it out.
If you feel you have little time
You are the reason.
You are still alive!
Take a step.
You have the way to change its course the way you choose!
A Professor started his class on a very serious Topic. The moment he turned towards the blackboard, one of the students whistled. He turned, looked at the class and asked the Whistler’s name. No one answered.
The Professor peacefully kept the Pen in his pocket saying: “Lecture ends here. I’ll tell you a story to utilise the remaining time”.
Everyone became interested.
“Yesterday night I tried hard to sleep, but it was miles away from my eyes, so I thought I’d better get petrol in my car, which will save my time next morning and might induce sleep. After having my tank full, I started roaming in that area, enjoying the peace of a traffic free ride.
Suddenly, on the corner I saw a girl who was as young and beautiful as the clothes she was wearing. Must have been returning from a party. Out of courtesy, I turned my car towards her and asked if I may be of any help. She asked me if I could drop her to her home, she’ll be very obliged, to which I agreed.
She sat in the front seat with me. We started talking, and to my amazement she was very intelligent, had control on many topics which many youngsters don’t.
When we reached her address, she admitted my courteous nature and behavior and accepted that she would love to meet again.
I also admitted her intelligence and beauty and that I’ve also started liking her. I told her about my job as a professor in the university.
The girl asked my number, which I gave her willingly. Then she asked me a favor, to which i couldn’t have denied naturally.
She said that her brother is a student in the same university, and asked me to take care of him, since we’ll meeting each other more now.
I asked the name of the student. She said that I’ll recognise him with one of his very prominent quality, *He whistles a lot!*
All eyes in the classroom turned towards the boy who had whistled.
The professor said: “I didn’t buy my Ph. D in Psychology.. I earned it”.
A youngster was attending a video conference with his Manager who was upset over the background noises. The Youngster turned around and told his grandmother to keep quiet.
She walked towards the youngster, to take a look into what he was doing and saw a person on the Monitor and asked, “Who is he?”
The youngster muted his audio and video and said, “He is my Manager”.
She said, “I want to talk to your Manager”. But the youngster denied. By the time the Manager started pinging the youngster and the youngster unmuted to talk and his grandmother shouted, “Manager I want to talk to you”.
The Manager agreed and the youngster unmuted the video. The grandmother, with a smile said, “Namaskara” and introduced herself and the Manager also greeted her.
She said, “You look upset”.
The Manager said, “Yeah, some kind of work tension, a lot of noise around your house and we are not able complete the meeting in time”.
The Grand Mother asked, “May I help solve your problem?”
Her grandson was stopping her and telling her to keep quiet.
The Manager said, “It’s ok, let her speak”.
The Grandmother narrated, “Once there was a Young man, who sat under a tree for taking rest. He was continuously hearing a bird’s sound. He lifted his head and seeing a bird, started chasing it, so that he could peacefully take some rest. The bird came closer to him and said, “You are taking rest under my nest. I will not ask you to leave this place but you should learn to co-exist with us”.
The Grandmother looked at both of them and said, “Your Home is your nest” where you are supposed to take rest and bond with your dear and near ones. I do understand the Covid-19 situation, but you should also understand that our home is not your office.
*When we come to visit our family members at your office place, we are expected to behave professionally or maintain a certain decorum.*
Similarly, when you are using our home for your office work, you should understand the situation at our home.
There is nothing wrong with working from home, but remember, it is the family members benevolent nature, that is keeping the corporate world functioning today and the economy running.
She looked at the manager and asked, “Am I correct ?”
*The Manager’s mother peeped and said “You are absolutely right”.* 👍😊
1: an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction
Setting up protocols is a tedious process
But once set, it makes things much easier.
When a team shares the same language they communicate effectively so protocols aid in communication.When rules procedures are set as the protocol to follow, workflow improves without hitches With protocols laid down like a step-by-step process every employee can have clarity on ways to address conflicts if any, and how to seek resolution.
Why is there a need and necessity of creating rules systems and follow protocols?
In the workplace, it can be a guideline for proper behavior at work and also can help prevent conflicts or protect from harassment.
With changing times and situations as they are, whether it’s a ‘Work from home or office’, netiquettes and manners can make a huge difference in the way businesses are run.
Every small exchange of interaction can make or mar the communication levels.
Setting up protocols and training modules can increase productivity and improve professionalism in conducting business.
Communication for Implementation
For protocols to be successfully implemented It has to be relevant and easy to understand. Often the rules can seem too confusing so communication is very crucial in getting protocols in place in any organization understood. And even more so in this changing world.
Standards and protocols when defined properly, can certainly help increase productivity at work. And as expectations are set and there is clarity for what methods are for the deliverables and the timeframes, there is greater ownership, attention and accountability in the organization to follow the procedures.
As a Consultant I have enabled teams across departments setup their systems in place as well as improvising on the set procedures , while making the required changes such that the process can work efficiently. Ensuring the protocols are followed is just as challenging as setting it up. However, it becomes easier when they are followed as a practice with checks and balances in all teams without too many exceptions to the rule, to support new employees to ease in to the system.
How important have Protocols been for your organization’s efficiency?
Have your teams been following through the set norms and have they been effective?
