Connect With and Empower Your Team

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." – Andrew Carnegie

One of the best ways to ensure that your employees feel valued and are engaged is by utilizing the method of strengths-based work culture. This ensures that, as a leader, you are embracing and celebrating the unique contributions of each employee. This kind of work culture ensures that everyone is treated with respect, leaders do the right thing, and all employees are valued for their strengths and contributions.

Managers and leaders should keep communication and engagement within their teams high to ensure that employees feel like they are connected with the purpose and goals of the organization and that they are empowered to go forth and do their part to achieve those goals. There are many different ways that leaders can ensure they are effectively connecting with and empowering their teams – here are a few.

Create and Maintain A Feedback Loop

Leaders should create an open and safe environment in which their employees can share insights, ideas, and input. Whether this refers to company-related issues, what they are noticing in the field, or how new changes affect their workflow, feedback is absolutely essential. If you are going to connect with your team, you need to understand them, and understanding their feelings and attitudes requires a lot of honest communication.

Leaders also need to know how to act upon this feedback. This is an even more vital tool than creating the feedback loop.

Develop Your Employees

Your staff should never feel like they are running in place. There need to be clear and transparent career development opportunities. Allowing your staff to sometimes take the reins and run certain projects or initiatives can foster leadership development. When team members know that the company they work for invests in them, they become more invested in that company.

 Mentor Your Team

Find ways to help each and every team member develop their strengths and contribute their skills to the team and the organization’s overall goals and purpose. Assign tasks that will encourage your employees to grow while taking on additional responsibilities. This motivates them as it demonstrates that you believe they are valuable, competent, and an asset to your team and your organization. Mentors do not need to be leaders, they can be senior employees that offer the skills and knowledge someone else may lack.

Foster Open Communication

Connection and engagement can’t occur if there is no communication, and teams do not communicate if they do not feel they have the best place to do so. Make sure that you are clearly communicating your projects, ideas, and goals to your team members.

Encourage them to do the same with you – communication is a two-way street.

Construct an environment in which your team members are comfortable in expressing their thoughts and opinions, and feel free to experiment and share new ideas. Your team members should actively feel comfortable enough to contribute to brainstorming activities and team feedback.

Express Gratitude

After putting in the leg work and using a bit of elbow grease, it is essential to let your employees know that they are doing a good job and add irreplaceable value to your team’s goals. The gratitude does not have to be a massive or grand gesture, just a genuine recognition of a job well done.