Page 17 - GreenMaster Winter 2024

Culture
nging
Empowering your team with clear expectations enables them to operate autonomously, still meeting or surpassing your standards without your clear direct influence. With clear expectations, your team can support, guide, and mentor one another. The win-win result is your team feels more autonomy and pride while you get better performance with less involvement, which in turn frees up your time for more strategic work that you may be doing after hours or on weekends right now. When your team begins demonstrating shared accountability as they meet your expectations, they are also beginning to think like strategic leaders which may take even more pressure off you.
HAVE GROUP AND ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS
Even if your team consists of you and one other person, I see group meetings and one-on-one meetings as being different.
I see group meetings as a place to share information about what you are doing as a collective team. Whether group meetings are between you and one employee or a dozen employees, they help everyone see themselves as an important part of the team. Group meetings also give multiple employees the opportunity to hear the same information at the same time which decreases misinterpretation and increases harmony / alignment.
I’ve always been a big fan of one- on-one meetings between leaders and
their direct reports. At times these meetings can be the leader sharing performance or project information, but ideally, I like to frame one-on-one meetings as an opportunity for leaders to build a connection by listening to what each team member needs. For example, ask about what project related support your employee needs; be curious about what goals / ambitions they have for next year; and yes, make note of when they would like to take vacation.
I also want to share my recommendation to have a quick one-on-one meeting with every new employee. And don’t limit yourself to only your direct reports. Introduce yourself to new employees who report to your direct reports. There is no question a new employee will feel they matter when their “boss’s boss” makes time for them during one of their first shifts. And even if you are a leader in another department, make a point of introducing yourself to new people, to let them feel they are part of one big team.
You may be thinking, “wow, that’s a lot of time spent in meetings.” Yes, it is. But, one of the most important jobs of a leader is to make sure everyone feels important, supported, and empowered. A captain of a ship isn’t in the engine room or at the helm. They are focused on making sure each member of their crew and the ship are in tip top shape. They are also focused on ensuring their cargo/passengers are safe while also making sure the company reputation and profitability projections are met. Be a captain.
START WITH THE BASICS
If you are asking what you can do tomorrow and where to start, you are not alone. All leaders share that question whether they have been a leader for days or for years.
Before you begin, commit to being authentic. Don’t try to “fake it”, even the newest employee will sense it. Be authentic and transparent. Laugh a little. Have fun.
It may be no surprise that when I’m working with a leader who is trying to turn a new page or who is taking over a new team, I encourage them to go back to basics. Start by patiently exploring each of your core values with your team. Feel free to create a few new ones just for your team if they make sense. And help your team enjoy a group discussion about what each value means to your business and your members. Your job here is to say less and listen more. Your job is to be their captain and guide them, making sure they stay focused on staying safe and using each other’s talents to get to the destination.
Then, help your team know and hopefully exceed your expectations. I hope you enjoy and take pride in developing a strong team and organizational culture built on shared values and shared accountability. And I would love to hear how it goes. Lets connect at brucemayhewconsulting.com. GM
GreenMaster • CGSA • 17