How to Execute Well, Get More Work Done & Avoid Failures

Good intentions, great ideas, and detailed planning aren't enough to guarantee your success. You need a strong?execution?strategy to get your employees working harder and smarter. Execution involves achieving goals and objectives and includes skills like collaboration, time management, and organization.

A key point – if you're looking for ways to improve productivity – is that it starts with you!

The following are a few tips to help you reduce distractions and?improve productivity.?

Be Clear and Methodical

Many people tend to jump in headfirst when they're excited about a project or something new. They often act before they create a plan, get organized, or delegate tasks.?

It takes discipline to organize people, gather resources, and create a plan others will commit to. Leadership is essential. When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. Clarity of who has what responsibility is obviously important but giving the individuals with responsibility the authority to act is equally important. Let them know you trust them to solve issues and make adjustments, but also let them know when to check in with you.

There is a line in one of the?Star Wars?movies that roughly goes, “The more you tighten your grip, the more that will slip through your fingers.” It’s good advice. Give people the authority to make decisions and expect some mistakes. It is part of the learning process so treat it that way. Teams treated this way will amaze you with their productivity.

Provide employees with decisive direction and a sense of connection to the project. Help them understand how this project benefits the company and ultimately, them. This helps motivate them to care about their work and the company's mission.

Without forethought about how you position a project, your employees may question the relevance of what they're doing or how it benefits them in any way. Being clear and methodical can help you?improve office communication, employee engagement, and overall productivity.

Give More Positive Feedback

Many people only hear from their supervisor or boss when they've made a mistake. If you only communicate with your employees when you reprimand them, your execution skills are missing the mark and you are failing as a leader.

Consider motivating your employees by listening to them, taking an interest in their lives, and praising their hard work. Your job is to put people in a position where they can succeed and feel a sense of accomplishment and growth. If you establish a positive and supportive relationship with them, they will listen and respect you more.

You may have to reprimand them from time to time but do it the right way by making it a learning experience for them. Ask:?Knowing what you now know, what will you do in the future to avoid making similar mistakes?

Positive feedback and praise go a long way. When your employees know you value and appreciate them, they're more likely to show up and do their best.

Resolve Conflict

Conflict and hostility in the workplace are the quickest routes to inefficiency. When your employees get along and collaborate well, it increases business output and adds to your business value.

Creating strong teams is a critical element of good execution. The single biggest factor for building strong teams is?reducing conflict.

High-performing teams trust one another. Conflict is constructive rather than personal. Strong teams begin with strong leadership.

Well-planned work assignments, reasonable deadlines, and regular feedback are all essential elements for building strong teams that will produce for your business.

Set Goals

It's important to set clear goals for you and your team. For example, you can set a goal to increase sales or improve company efficiency.

Setting goals can provide focus and help you execute short-term and long-term plans for your business. You can set weekly, monthly, or yearly goals for yourself and your employees. Be sure to hold regular weekly meetings to review progress and discover who needs help while there is still time to react and not stall a project.

Don't make all the rules and set all the goals by yourself. Your employees are more likely to care if they've contributed to the vision of your company.

Include them in goal setting. Ask them for their ideas. Listen to their concerns and answer their questions. The old adage that “you are either part of the solution or part of the problem” certainly applies here. Make them participants in the goal setting.

Collaboration is the key to creating engagement and employees who are invested in the long-term success of your business.

Provide Resources

You can't expect your employees to work and produce great results without providing the proper resources and materials. Make sure they have the tools and technology they need to perform at the highest level.

Lack of resources can be frustrating and can lead to disengagement and resentment. Unrealistic demands and lack of resources can drive away your top talent.

Have an open-door policy with your team.?Make sure they know they can come to you for whatever they need. Providing ample resources is an investment in your employees and the future of your business. Be there for them.

Execute a Few Things Well?

Executing well requires focus. If your priority list is too long, you can't focus on accomplishing anything well.

Consider what matters most right now. Focus on improving two or three things at a time.

When you can narrow your focus, you're much more likely to meet your goals. Although lofty plans are ambitious, you can't accomplish everything at once. An old saying is “Anything is possible, everything isn’t.”

Overwhelming your employees with company goals for the future is frustrating. Instead, reduce distractions by giving them a focus. Help them see the value in accomplishing a particular goal. With this strategy, you're more likely to see the changes you hope for.

Once you accomplish a goal, add another to your list and hold a small celebration. Even if it’s just a meeting to thank and recognize the effort each person put in, it’s important to morale.

Review Your Progress

Regular review and analysis of your progress will help you stay on top of what is working for your business. This can help you increase employee productivity and increase your business value.

Regular reviews are the only way you know if you need to make a change or adapt a different methodology moving forward. Share these successes and failures with your team and include employees in decision-making.

In any business, there will be things that do not work due to market conditions, the state of the economy, consumer habits, unforeseen roadblocks, and more. Understanding this and making necessary changes early on is a critical execution skill for a business owner or manager.

When your approach isn't working, have a contingency plan in place. Being adaptable to changing economic times, technology advances, and the needs of the consumer will help you grow your business and remain competitive in your industry.

Here is a valuable tip:?Do a premortem. Write an article about why this project failed. Explain all the things that went wrong and why it didn’t get fixed. Get the team involved in the document and you’ll find that you’ll discover many things to watch for or change before even starting your project.

Steps to Improve Productivity

The key to successful execution in business is to plan, organize, and engage your employees. They must understand the significance of their work to be engaged in the process.

Good leaders are skilled at execution. Setting goals, having clear guidelines in place, and building trust with your employees will improve productivity.

Inspiring your employees begins at the top. Make sure they're on board and invested in your company goals and plans for the future.

Our goal is to remove the roadblocks and hassles holding you back. Get in touch and let’s chat about ways you can run your business more effectively and efficiently and get the most productivity and growth from your team.

Joan Sebring (833) 362-2578?Email Me