Small business leaders may think communication isn’t important to lead teams of less than 10 people. Three simple tactics have made us a very good small company.
1. Daily “Pep Rally.” Bring the team together every day to get a boost, an update and thought of encouragement. Believe me, some days I don’t want to do it, either. However, my experience is your team probably feeds off your daily burst of energy. Give them some!
2. Total Transparency. I’m sure there are business gurus who will say this is just a terrible idea. However, my books are pretty open and are discussed on a regular basis. I want my team to know how we’re doing and the context for some of my decisions. If you’re afraid to show your employees what is under the hood, then you don’t trust them or your afraid what people will think. In either case, something needs to change.
3. Weekly one-on one-meetings. This 30-minute meeting with each direct report was learned by the Manager Tools blog. It’s an extremely powerful tool that enables you to cluster “hey, what about this?” topics, which can cause time-consuming interruptions. A simple agenda: 10 minutes for me, 10 minutes for you, 10 minutes for agreed-upon action items.
I’m sure other actions are critical, but these help reinforce a culture of ongoing feedback, regular communication and trust.
Reflecting on the Year 2021 and a Decade’s Worth of Workforce – Association Field Report (December 31, 2021)
https://youtu.be/zvdyTTRkT_c Observations from the Field: Reflecting on the year and the preceding decade-plus in the workforce. For a little...