Managing people is trickier than actually running a business. Yes, there’s no surprise in that, I know right? You won’t believe the number of leaders, entrepreneurs and senior-level managers who have approached me in person or contacted me via social media, telling me how almost ALL their problems involve managing their teams.
Yes, a lot of entrepreneurs and leaders are actually unable to do their jobs well because they’re job involves an important aspect : managing people! If YOU are one of them, you have to scroll down and make notes – trust me, you will find this very, very helpful because I’m also going to you SOLUTIONS.
1. Lack Of Role Clarity
I CANNOT stress enough on the importance of this! If you’re the kind of manager or entrepreneur who hasn’t shown your employee WHY they have been hired and what is your exact expectation from them, they are more likely to go astray as far as the job is concerned.
Role setting and clarity are the bedrock of team management. And by not providing them a clear document that outlines their role, you are not setting your expectations and the desired outcomes you wish for in the first place.
By having a well-defined role clarity for an employee, two things become increasingly easy for you-
- In case you’re hiring, you know exactly the role and the skill-set required by the potential candidate. So, you’re not going to be vague and ambiguous about WHO you want on the team.
- At the employee level, they become completely clear in exactly HOW they can contribute to the goals of the organization.
2. Direction Of Growth
As a business leader it is YOUR DUTY to show your employee a clear career path with opportunities of growth and learnings. A lot of entrepreneurs brush this aside thinking this is for the employee to simply ‘figure out’. However, this is something an employer cannot figure out for himself. As an entrepreneur, you are duty-bound to your team enough to show them how by contributing to the company’s vision they can also carve out a career with respect to their current role.
Remember, EVERY employee is different and seeks different things from their job. So, make sure to have rounds of discussion with them periodically just to check that they are meeting their personal goals and aspirations. And what will this result in? It will make them feel cared for and valued, thereby increasing their productivity by a manifold.
3. Goal Alignment
The very reason you are an entrepreneur is that you’re innately passionate about the problem you’re solving with your product/service. And that’s your core, your drive, your goal. However, without your team there is NO WAY that your vision can manifest, right?
Now, imagine setting these goals and not communicating the importance of the same to your team. There’s no way that your goals will be achieved. It is because the goals of the company must be in-line with the goals of the team giving them a clear direction to work towards.
So, it’s critical that you and your team co-create the goals for the year and think about strategies and techniques you can use to crack those goals. And this way you will be setting the tone, the agenda for work for the next several months till the goals are met!
4. Lack Of Training
Most entrepreneurs believe that their job is done with hiring their employees. And the truth is, you’re just getting started once you’ve hired them! You don’t simply hire and wait for the magic to happen because it will not.
In fact, you have got to spend time teaching, coaching, and handholding your team until they produce results. Face it – there is no readymade talent available! So, be willing to invest the time and effort in building your team so that you can stop the fire-fighting.
Start spending time with your new hires, demonstrate to them what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, watch them do it, and give them feedback. If a new hire is not shadowing you, chances are they are spending their time staring at their computer screen, feeling demotivated, wasted, and then pretending to do things when you are around, till you figure out that you do not have a team member, but instead a student who is too incompetent to do what you want them to do, and too scared to tell you that they don’t know what to do and/or how to do.
5. Lack Of Communication
How many times have you made the courageous decision to hire someone, and have then felt a sense of relief after the person is hired, with hopes that he/she will now handle everything, and with confidence that your company is now on its way to growth? And how many times have these hopes come crashing down within the first month? There are two reasons this happens:
- YOU don’t spend enough time training them
- YOU don’t give them feedback
Feedback and constant communication will enable your employees to LEARN + DELIVER. At every point, if as leaders you start giving them clear and constructive feedback on daily tasks and deliverables, employees get a clear direction about how they can improve, improvise, and be better.
So, stop making excuses about not having enough time because of your ‘busy’ schedule and fit in the time necessary to spend with your teams because this is primarily HOW you can ACCELERATE growth in your business.
And now, entrepreneurs you too have learnt the art of building a business that can achieve profit, scale and grow without you!
Let’s build the business of YOUR dreams now, shall we? 🙂
