Are All Your Moving Parts Working Together?
“Managers get business done through people, Leaders get people done through business”
Larry Wilson
Like a fine tuned sports car advisory teams have a lot of moving parts that have to work in synchronicity with each other in order for the whole to function. If one part fails the whole machine is affected. What are the key ways you can keep your team on track?
- Practice Servant Leadership with everyone on your team. Traditional leaders are generally interested in the accumulation of power. By comparison the servant leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform at as high a level as possible. You can’t create a trusting environment if everyone is working for themselves instead of for each other. By putting their needs first you demonstrate to them that you care about their wellbeing and they will reciprocate accordingly. Chuck Pagano of the Indianapolis Colts has said “my team works well together because they feel like everyone on the team is their brother.” Does your team feel like they are a family?
- When you are growing a team practice it is important to assign your team members different roles in order to insure you are giving your clients the best service possible. You can assign a team member to each of these five roles: Planning, Plan Implementation, Marketing and Sales, Service and Leadership. Evaluate each element at least once a year and look for ways to improve.
- Use the Supernova Gameboard when you have your weekly meetings. The Gameboard is an accountability tool (see page 101 in the Supernova Advisor for a description) that guarantees nothing falls through the cracks from a performance standpoint.
- Every morning have a 5 minute “stand up meeting” with your team. This refocuses everyone on work for the day.
- Communication with your team is vital to your success. Plan weekly, quarterly and annual meetings and have everyone participate.
- Reward your team with an evening out or weekend at a high level service based facility like the Ritz Carlton. Let them experience the level of service you want your clients to have.
It takes energy as well as time to create a fine tuned machine. Focus on being present, listening carefully and helping each other achieve your goals so your team can grow and be successful.