Thank you for listening to The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher! Does your team understand success? Leaders run fast after their goals, but they don’t always do a great job communicating their definition of success to their team. They assume that other people will “get it.” The reality is, they don’t. In today’s podcast, we’ll discuss how to evaluate whether or not your team understands success, reveal the two questions you must ask your team regularly, and give you six strategies to help you align your team to your shared goals.
How To Help Your Team Understand Success
1. Start by deciding what success looks like to you and what leadership style will be most effective for your team. The right goals must consider a team member’s desires, the company’s culture, and the objectives needed at that growth stage.
2. Spend time with your team and determine what matters to them and how they define success. Where do they want to go? How do they want to grow?
3. Align your team’s goals with the company’s needs. Creating a focused set of interconnected, reinforcing goals will help you focus on the activities that drive the business and long-term success. Your team needs to understand their individual and company goals and how they contribute to the company’s success.
4. Evaluate your performance. If you notice low productivity and high turnover rates, you may need to change your approach to the first three steps.
Q: Do you currently do any of the things on this list? Where do you think you need to spend more time? What could you measure to determine whether or not your team understands success?
2 Ways to Determine If Your Team Understands Success for Them and The Organization
How would you define success for yourself?
How would you define success for our organization?
Q: Have you ever had a leader who communicated the definition of success well? What did they do? How did they evaluate your understanding?
Practical Ways to Get Your Team on The Same Page
Clear Communication: Start with clear and consistent communication. Articulate the organization's mission, vision, and goals, and how each team member's work contributes to them.
Set Clear Objectives: Ensure that every project and task comes with clear objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). Team members should know what success looks like for each project.
SMART Goals: Encourage team members to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for themselves. Help them break down these goals into smaller, actionable steps.
Regular Feedback: Provide regular constructive feedback to your team members. Let them know when they are on the right track and when there is room for improvement.
Clarity on Values and Culture: Ensure your team understands the organization's values and culture. Success should align with these principles to create a cohesive and harmonious environment. Remember, culture leaks! As leaders, we must live out the culture and reinforce it whenever we can.
Recognition and Rewards: Recognizing and rewarding team members who achieve success can be a powerful motivator and reinforce the definition of success.
Q: What helps you feel connected to your company’s vision? How does your team feel most connected? How can you bridge the fact between the two?
Application Activities
When you meet with your team to set goals for 2024, ensure that you are setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals. Going through this system for goal setting will help ensure you and your employees are on the same page and have a unified, clear definition of success. The specific and measurable steps will be especially important, so don’t be afraid to take a significant amount of time discussing them!
Discrepancies between the values of the company and the expressed values of the company can create a lot of confusion for employees. Consider sending your team a survey asking them to rate on a scale of 1-5 how well your team lives each of your company’s core values. Include a few values that are not in your company’s official statement for comparison. Allow people to share why they rated the team where they did. Recognizing the difference between the values you want and the values you actually have will help you know what you need to change.
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