I believe it is because
we have a need to always complicate everything in our lives and businesses that
we cause ourselves a whole lot of unnecessary stress and discomfort. It is more
often than not the simple solution or option, which delivers the best results
in the end.
Action Idea:
- Clearly define and communicate the outcomes
every staff member is required to achieve? Ensure that every staff member
has the specific skills, knowledge and attributes, required to successful
support the leader to achieve the outcomes they desire?
- Develop measurement criteria, which will allow
the leader to consistently measure each team member’s performance. Each
team member must have a crystal clear understanding of their role in
delivering on the vision and what is required of them every day. They must
be also able to easily measure their performance as often as necessary to
see if the actions they are taking is aligned with the outcomes they need
to achieve with and for the team.
- Develop a culture within their team and
organisation, which will support the overall vision and each individual.
When the culture supports the vision and each team member has the right attitude
and attributes to support the vision success is inevitable.
Fill your Organisation with the right
Calibre of People
The most important role
of any leader is to find and keep the best possible staff, who can support their
vision, which they have set for their team or organisation. It then becomes
obvious that becoming a powerful recruiter and retainer of good quality staff
is one of the most important roles any great leader must possess. The success
or failure of any leader or organisation is dependent on the people within the
organisation, thus filling your teams with the right people must be approached
with finesse and deep thought.
Finding the right people
Most leaders I speak to
say that they inherited the people in their team and as such there is very
little they can do to change things. In the short term they are correct, but
they should not allow the fact that they have inherited the wrong people, to keep
them trapped in a cycle of poor team performance. The best way to start is to
first create a very clear picture of what the perfect person for any position
would look like. Carefully define their characteristics, skills, knowledge and
most importantly what attitude they must have. You can never know if someone is
suitable to fill any position unless you have created this crystal clear
picture of what you are actually looking for. Look at any recruiting drive as
an opportunity to discover people that are an ideal match for any position
within your organisation.
You must clearly define the following
areas:
- What outcomes is this new staff member
responsible to achieve? What skills, knowledge or specific attributes will
they need to achieve these outcomes?
- What measurement criterion will you apply to
consistently measure their performance? They must have a clear vision of
what is required of them and they must be able to measure their
performance as often as possible to see if they are on track.
- What is the current culture within the
organisation and what attitude and attributes must the new person possess
to fit in with the current people.
Know Exactly what you want
It is impossible to make
any positive changes in your team, if you do not know exactly what you want and
precisely who the perfect people are to fill each position in your team or
organisation. The best way to start this process is to first write a very
detailed description of the outcomes you want each person to achieve. The more
detailed the description of the job requirements, the easier it will be to
identify the right person to fill that position. This allows you to get clarity
on exactly what you need from any new person and allows you to define how you
will measure the performance of the person that will fill that new position.
Create a Roadmap for your Teams Success
This detailed description
is in effect a clear outline or road map for every member of your team; they
will have a clearly defined framework, clearly defining your expectations and
they will also understand their individual job requirements too. Once you are
clear about exactly what each person in your team or organisation will need to
do, it is wise to then define the type of attributes, knowledge and skill this
person must possesses to carry out these tasks every day. The more each team
member is able to contribute to the overall culture, which supports the overall
vision. The easier it will be to succeed as a team.
This definition must first
carefully consider the current people within the organisation. Those people who
possess the skills, knowledge and ability to move the team toward achieving
their vision. Any new person, who you want to bring into the team, must have
the right attitude and mind-set, to fit in culturally with all the existing
people, who are suited to help the team achieve the overall vision.
Find the Right Person
It is rather obvious that
unless you know exactly what you are looking for in the new person, it will be impossible
to find the right person. It is always far easier to invest time into clearly
defining what you want from the new person and getting the perfect person, than
it is trying to retrain and mould the wrong person, after you have hired them.
When you fill your teams with the right people, who possess all the right
attributes to meet the needs of the organisation, everything just works and
everyone does what they need to do to promote success within the team or
organisation. It is far wiser to recruit the right people in the first place
than it is to try to change the wrong person after you have hired them.
When you have a clearly
defined picture in your mind about exactly what you are looking for in any new
employee you are equipped to start searching for them and when they show up,
you will be better equipped to know that they are the right person for the job.
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