Your employees look up to you, for guidance and direction but also for encouragement and leadership. Your job requires you to be a manager, a trainer, a coach and a source of inspiration.
As we get into 2022, now is a great time to reconsider how you coach and lead your team.
Here are a few tips on how to help everyone expand and strengthen their careers and experiences in 2022:
Feedback, feedback, feedback.
It’s not just for annual reviews anymore! Having regular, formal and informal conversations with your employees, one-on-one and in small groups, can help you understand what challenges and obstacles they’re facing in addition to how they feel they’re progressing. It’s also a chance for you to point out little quirks or problems before they become bigger ones that derail entire projects. As a manager, it’s your job to correct issues before they get out of hand, but it’s also important to listen to your employee’s concerns and take their thoughts into consideration.
Acknowledge and celebrate the wins.
People want to work hard when they know their efforts are noticed and recognized. This isn’t about giving away participation trophies to everyone; it’s about calling out a person or team for their good work when it’s deserved. Employees who feel invisible are less likely to feel dedicated to their job or ownership of their responsibilities; knowing their work is appreciated can go a long way.
Encourage your team to learn from each other.
Every project has a leader. By stepping aside and letting that project leader actually lead, showing that you trust their decisions and direction and indicating that you want that team to do the same, instills a sense of confidence in the leader. In turn, employees can see themselves in that role, knowing that leadership doesn’t just come from management. This can be highly aspirational! The leader also benefits from your trust in them, growing more confident in their decisions and taking more ownership of the task at hand. Learning from their peers is like taking advice from a friend: It’s easier to hear and more relatable than when it comes from a parent — or boss.
Set goals and monitor progress.
Each employee should have an idea, at the start of every year, of what’s expected of them over the course of the next 12 months. Whether it’s increasing productivity, learning new skills, completing a certain number of projects; it’s good to have specific objectives to be achieved and milestones to hit. Through the course of the year, check-in and see how things are going and whether things are on track to be achieved in time. If they are, fantastic! Congratulate your employee on moving in the right direction. If not? Talk about what’s happened to slow things down and see what changes can be made.
Continue to learn at all levels.
There are things you can learn from your employees, much like they can — and should — learn from you. They might be aware of new trends and tools that can help expand your company’s footprint and reputation (like on social media), while you have the experience and perspective of how the industry works. Share ideas and see how knowledge and innovation can work together to create something very powerful. Picking up new skills should be encouraged: engaged and excited employees are more likely to stay in their current job than be lured away, but if they’re feeling like their skills are getting dull, they’ll start to look. Invest in your employees and listen to their ideas and you’ll all benefit.
Ready to expand your team? Need help fast? Call Sterling Personnel!
No one is a stand-alone expert on any given topic. Everyone has something to teach; everyone has something to learn. By effectively coaching your employees and pushing them to attain new levels of success, you might be surprised by what you learn along the way too!
If you’re looking to add to your superstar team, call Sterling Personnel. Whether you need temporary assistance or permanent additions, we have great candidates ready to start. Give us a call today!
