3 simple ways leaders can leverage teams to deliver more value at work

Thanks to escalating costs and never ending scrutiny of budgets across organisations globally, "how to deliver more value with less resources" is a question leaders all over the world are continually being faced with.?

The most popular solutions include cost cutting exercises; increasing the use of AI and systems and bringing in fresh new talent to solve such challenges.? All of which can bring many benefits, but also come with a unique set of challenges.? They generally don’t turn out to be the silver bullet they looked like on paper.???

Yet when I talk to people working in organisations implementing such solutions, I’m still always surprised to hear that the more basic ways to add more value for the business are being overlooked.

So with that in mind, here are 3 simple ways leaders can leverage their teams to deliver more value at work.?

1. Ask your team for their view on how to solve business challenges

Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that your team won’t be able to help or won’t have a view because they are lower down the organisation.? The fact they are lower down the organisation is the exact reason they are most likely to know what is required.? They see and hear a lot of things on a daily basis that you don’t.? Which means they’re quite likely to have a vital piece of information that would help you solve the challenges you're facing - if only you would ask!??

Not only do they work day in and day out with different people, systems and processes than you do, but they also have a life outside of work (shock horror!).? More so, they also had a life before working for you and therefore will have many skills, experiences, talents and interests that you don’t know about (and nor are you expected to!).

My favourite story I heard recently about this was from a team leader in a manufacturing plant who had a challenge with the storage of glass vials.? When they asked their team about how they might solve the problem one guy stepped right in with the solution.? Taken aback, the team leader asked how they knew such a level of detail about glass, the guy simply? revealed that outside of work he was a window fitter so therefore knew a lot about glass!? Who knew?!??

So go on, what have you got to lose?? Ask your team for their views on how to solve the business challenges that are keeping you up at night and see how you get on.? Who knows, at the same time as solving the problem you might even enjoy it.? Two reasons you might sleep better tonight!??

2. Invest time in building personal relationships with your team members

Remember, your team members are humans, not boxes on an org chart or numbers on a spreadsheet!? Engage in conversation with them like you would any other human.? Get to know them and let them get to know you.? Find your common ground - there will be some, assuming you're both aligned with the organisation’s values. It just might be a case that you have to dig a bit deeper with some of them. ??

It's worth the effort though because the more we know about each other, the more we build trust, and the more trust a team has, the more you will be able to deliver together.??

This one does come with a couple of caveats though…

a) THIS IS NOT A TICK BOX EXERCISE!??

You will need to do it in an authentic way.? If you treat it as a tick box exercise your team members will see right through what you're doing and it will backfire on you which means you’ll get the opposite effect. This sadly will have a detrimental impact on performance.? People will disengage and / or look to leave - neither is very helpful when you're focusing on driving delivery.?

b) It’s a long game.

THIS IS NOT A QUICK FIX

It’s like compound interest or losing weight.? You might not see immediate benefits for a while but all of a sudden, as if by magic you’ll be able to see the returns for a long time to come.? One CEO I spoke to recently measured this on how many issues were brought to him rather than solutions.? Having team members who know you’ve got their back rather than being fearful you’re going to put them under the bus (intentionally or not!) will drive performance much more consistently than ruling with an iron fist.

3. Have career aspiration conversations with ALL of your team members

In an attempt to be efficient, many leaders fall into the common trap of forgetting people are people when it comes to managing talent.?

When people become names in boxes that are discussed in a closed room, it becomes much easier to make assumptions and judgements about them than if you were face to face with them.?

Before you know it, the entire learning and development budget has been allocated to the people identified as having “high potential” which was based on some subjective information and hearsay that was brought into the closed door meeting but without anyone having any prior conversations with anyone on the list.? Sound familiar???

What impact do you think this has on the team members who have not been identified as having “High Potential”???

How motivated do you think they are now to drive performance?

It should come as no surprise therefore that purely focusing on tools and systems without having personal conversations will ultimately lead to a drop in team morale and subsequently have a detrimental effect on business performance. If this doesn't bother you then perhaps it's time to review what value these individuals bring to the team in the first place. You might just get a surprise!

It’s important to remember that all humans have skills, talents and interests and generally no-one comes to work to intentionally do a bad job.? In your role as a leader, it's a no brainer that if you can match the skills, talents and interests you have in the team with the needs of the business then you are going to deliver so much more than if you don’t. ?

Without any conversations, how would you know that someone that wasn't labelled as “high potential” isn’t studying for a qualification that would make them a great fit for the role you currently have a skills gap for???

How would you know that same team member isn't yearning to be noticed because they’d love to step up and do more but they don’t have the self confidence or self belief that they are good enough?

Yes, perhaps they’re not good enough… but how about you reframe that to be “not good enough YET”??

Instead of discounting them, imagine what would happen if you just invested in them.

What could they deliver if they could have enough self confidence and self belief?

On the contrary, perhaps you have a team member who’s like a “fish up a tree”.? Their skills, talents and interests are not really suited at all to the role they’re in but they stay because it pays the bills.

Instead of hoping that one day they might just leave, why don’t you do them a favour and set them free.? Help them find a role in the organisation that’s better suited for them to be able to add more value, and at the same time, free up the headcount space and bring in the skills and talents of someone that is interested in what your team does.? It's a win:win!??

If you have a vacancy in the team, before you go off and spend time and money to hire someone new, why not take the time to pro-actively find out if anyone else in the team is interested in the role then invest in developing them with any skills gap.? The ROI is likely to be much better as you’ll have a team member who’s more loyal because they feel appreciated and valued rather than overlooked because deep down they know they’re capable but yet again an external hire has been brought in that needs bringing up to speed with the company culture.

The key here is to stop assuming and start asking.? You don’t know what you don’t know about people. Yes, you can argue that people should tell you and I agree with you to a certain extent, but that is not a reason for you not to do this. It's a much less painful way of driving performance than some of the methods that are making you prematurely age - don't you think?!

Bonus tip

Resist the temptation to dismiss those who actively try to avoid these conversations or say they don’t have any interests or areas they'd like to develop.? They are human so they do have interests!!

Perhaps the issue is they don’t feel confident to share them... yet!? That’s where investing in an external coach could be helpful for you to help this individual to unlock what’s blocking them. That's my sweet spot so if this is a challenge you face with any of your team then let's talk because I'd love to help you.?

If you found this useful then follow me on LinkedIn for more hints, tips and inspiration to help you and your team Power Your Potential.