“She always comes in with an excuse. Traffic, overslept, ran out of time, the client said …. It’s exhausting … I can’t rely on her and it’s costing me business”
It’s amazing the amount of business owners that struggle with getting some members of their team to take ownership and deliver what they need consistently.
Being able to trust your team to get on with things, while you get on with the CEO tasks that you have is vital. If you don’t have time to plan for growth, it won’t happen. And keeping track of what everybody is supposed to be working on, is time consuming and exhausting, not to mention the fact that most people don’t react well to micro management.
And then the next thing you know you are doing EVERYTHIING, despite having a team to support you. Have you experienced this? I know I have!
Its two sides of the same coin …
You need to trust your staff and your staff need to feel empowered and supported in their decision making and that happens over time, because you don’t want a renegade who just makes decisions without understanding the consequences.
So how to get your staff to take ownership, so you have freedom to focus on the things you need to do:
Lead by example
You have to demonstrate the behaviour that you want to see in your team. Let them shadow you when you deal with client issues. Let them see how you prioritise and sacrifice to get things done.
Give them the outcome not the blueprint
Let you team know the end goal and let them find their own path, you never know they might find a quicker, cheaper alternative path.
Ask for the solution to the problem / Issue
When your team come to you with an issue or problem, try asking them for solutions, rather than offering the answer.
Allow them to fail
This is a hard one, but failures teach goo lessons. Sometimes you have to let things slip and observe how an individual fixes the issue without you being there as a safety net.
The only way to stop receiving excuses, is to refuse to accept them. This means that there will be difficult conversations and there may be individuals that are unable to withstand the pressure or additional responsibility. However if you set the standard and demonstrate the behaviours you expect, you will have a responsible, motivated team; which will enable you to take your business to higher heights.
If you need help developing the right behaviours in your team our Management Essentials Training course is available for online self-study or we can tailor it to your policies and procedures and deliver it in-house, contact us to discuss your needs here