One of the most important responsibilities of a manager is to give your team “growth assignments.” A “growth assignment” is typically thought of as an opportunity for someone to take on a project or responsibility that they have not done before. They need to learn new information and possibly develop new skills along the way. One of the most difficult challenges for a … [Read more...] about Improving Your Team’s Performance
Teamwork
Handling Your Staff’s Complaints
Not all staff complaints are created equal. Done productively, complaints can actually provide valuable feedback and lead to improvements in operations. Sometimes a complaint is simply a way for people to vent. If this is over and done with once the venting is complete – then it can be fine. If there is more to it, then it needs to be redirected into a more productive … [Read more...] about Handling Your Staff’s Complaints
Assess Your Team
How can you improve your team’s performance? Recently, I did a training workshop for staff of the Cherokee Nation on Teamwork. Many of their questions centered around this question, and I suggested: “You might think about starting with an assessment.” You can keep it simple and take fifteen minutes at the end of your next staff or Board meeting to ask: *What’s are … [Read more...] about Assess Your Team
Boost Your Team Creativity
Leaders continually strive for more creativity and innovation from their teams. The ever-changing environment calls upon us to strive for continuous improvement. One of my favorite authors, Adam Grant, wrote an excellent book on creativity called Originals. You can check out my blog on his book here. As far as creativity among teams goes, a recent article in Harvard … [Read more...] about Boost Your Team Creativity
Improve Your Onboarding
Do your new employees have a great first day and first week? After all of the time and money you spend figuring out who to hire, it is very important to make sure you onboard new employees well. A positive experience can set a new employee on a trajectory to be very effective and grow into a longtime contributor. Following are some great ideas from a Harvard Business … [Read more...] about Improve Your Onboarding