How do you inspire your team to perform their best?

It’s nearly impossible to inspire a team without them truly understanding the why we are doing something. Explain the why Communicate the how Educate on the what Then we can empower our people to take action! We all know about SMARTY goals (the Y is making them specific to YOU). But do we actually take time to discuss these on a recurring basis? Do we clearly communicate progress and give time for feedback and iterating along the way!

Practising mindfulness at work can inspire your team to perform their best 1) Dont load them with work, prioritize 2) Watch the way team is working, are they exchanging too many emails and meetings, correct it 3) Reitrate goals, cut them into small tasks, complete and appreciate them 4) Be with the team through thick and thin 5) Celebrate milestones But remeber to be mindful and remove distractions

Setting up mutually agreed goals is the first step as the basis of any monitoring and corrective actions. Brainstorming together on options to reach challenging goals is needed as it will engage the team.

Clarity and understanding of goals linked to the corporate strategy at all levels in the organization is very important. Leaders and managers must ensure that this is communicated clearly, broken down to simple, measurable achievable, timebound projects or tasks. That way the entire team is working towards the common goal, and will definitely meet or surpass it.

Regular feedback and constructive criticism is KEY, especially in today's working world where many of us are remote. Celebrating each other, acknowledging the wins no matter how small, and supporting each other through it all is how true thriving company cultures survive!!!

Feedback done in the right way motivates, develops and improves results. It's very important in todays workplace, and we need to make a conscious effort to engage members of our team and provide constructive feedback that can improve confidence, performance and general wellbeing

The best way to retain top talent is to develop them and empower them to succeed! First we have to listen to what each person truly wants to achieve and do on their professional journeys. It’s not one size fits all. This also means that leaders need to take time to do this and also give resources to act on what they discuss - typically a financial contribution! Certification programs can be great. Part time degree programs and more. Perhaps it is as simple as sending your top talent to a conference to learn and grow with peers across industry. Not one size fits all - you will learn more as you listen.

Development and a good earning culture is key. Its one of the best retention strategies. Organisations should use this to improve engagement, offer more options based on the competencies of the team members. If proper attention is paid to talent development there will be many career options/paths available thereby reducing attrition and improving engagement.

Being transparent among your team is crucial! There is zero reason to silo information or to withhold details from those working for you and with you. The way we grow together is by learning from information and being able to adapt together. The truest form of collaboration is being able to listen to each other and cooperation on making great progressive changes!

One thing I have found helpful is to have regularly one on ones, team cadences & opportunities for team to connect & bond with each other. The key is for the team to be able to (1) connect with one another & have fun together, (2) build trust through open and honest conversations, healthy conflict over ideas & feedback, (3) as a leader for you to lead by example and be open to receive feedback, provide your team the opportunity to have open & healthy conflict over ideas & safety to learn from mistakes.

Empowering and delegating not only fosters growth and motivation but also inspires team and take ownership and deliver exceptional results. Instead of assigning responsibilities empower team to take ownership. To ensure success provide them with ample tools and resources and through open communication offer support. Make this the learning experience rather a judgement based micromanaged task. With the support and resources and trust you will be surprised to see the results achieved when responsibilities and Ownership have a combined effect.

Empowering your team requires humility in leadership. Great leaders celebrate their team members for being great and are not threatened by exceptional talent on their team. Poor leaders feel threatened when one of their team is “better” than them. Great leaders must be both confident and humble enough to hire the rock stars and empower them to soar! Delegation then becomes collaboration.

In my experience , empowering and delegating tasks to team members is a way to develop and make them grow. Micromanagement kills creativity , growth and confidence. We must always ensure that when we delegate we provide clarity and clear timelines so that the team is clear on what to do . Thereafter they are free to be creative and complete the task. This makes them confident and accountable.

An example of this is being yourself, being unashamedly you, being vulnerable and recognising it as a strength that takes courage (and say that it’s difficult for you if it is!) and showing up every day as the best you can be that day… and knowing that doesn’t mean you need to be perfect! Humans see through other humans even if they don’t 'know' it, deep down they are aware whether you’re being authentic or not, so all the time you’re pretending, the blow will come all the harder for them when they work it out! We aren’t supposed to know all the answers or be capable of all of everything ourselves, being human means being flawed and admitting it, and that gives our teams permission to be their perfectly imperfect selves too…

Simply practice what you preach...... It's important for at all times to know that we have a team that looks up to us for the right values and direction . We should try to make a conscious effort to uphold the values that others would replicate because we set the standards for organizational culture.

Modern employees want to see that your actions mirror what you say. This means aligning your habitual practices, routines, and behaviors with your core values. That doesn't mean that you get it right every time. But employees are quick to notice inconsistency and contradictions in their managers and leaders.

Leaders need to walk the talk, of course, there are so many dynamics and attributes which contribute to inspiring a team. Most importantly, the contemporary workforce needs transparency in the organization's actions, which percolate down the line through team leaders. It's equally critical for leaders to fulfill the commitment made to the team which brings trust and loyalty towards the organization and their leaders.

I like to add the power of cross functional assignment or cross functional learnings. This comes with the principle that all human beings are powerful and its potential are not fully used. All human beings want to learn more, do more, gain more. Collaborative mindset in the work place with efforts on end to end value chain gives immense learning opportunities for all. Working with new colleagues, learning cross border cultural challenges, finding new ways of improvement, learning new technological advancements and more importantly, connecting daily life to a bigger vision of the company can add lots of value to each involved employee in the cross functional work. Its inspiring, engaging and efficient from organisational perspective.

I would like to add...showing empathy in the workplace is key. Empathy in leadership allows people to feel seen and heard, which leads to their ability to do their best work. When you are able to bring your true self to work, you are able to perform at your best.