You Work For Your Team, They Don't Work For You

Too many bosses and leaders think their employees work for them.

They've reached a point in their career where they get to be the boss now. "Look at all these people who work for me." The reality is this type of thinking is what causes businesses to fail and managers to get fired. The problem with this mindset is you will set unrealistic expectations of your team. You will expect them to read your brain and think exactly the way you do. You will expect them to be bought in with every single strategy you develop in the same way you are. News Flash - Your team will never care about your business the way you do if they didn't have any input in creating it.

Each and every one of your employees will be motivated in a different way, that's almost guaranteed to be a different motivation from yours, and that's not a bad thing! To build a successful team, change YOUR mindset from "You work for me" to "I work for you."

100% about them.

It's so easy to become a manager and assume everyone will have the same fire for success that you will. You can't expect your employees to care as much as you because they are not compensated the same way as you. That is difficult to write and may be difficult for you to read. The economics are different for you as a business leader or manager.

I firmly believe you and I have employees that give a damn. If you are a great leader, the "give a damn" may be way up there, but don't set expectations on your employees comparable to your own. Each of your employees is different. What they care about is different. It's on you as a leader to understand them. You work for them, they don't work for you.

100% Accountability

When you have a team member who isn't having success, take 100% accountability for it. What are you as a business doing wrong? What can you as a leader do for this team member to get them back on track? If you are going to take accountability for the success of your team, you better take accountability for the failures. Respect is earned when managers own their own mistakes. We are all going to screw up. Own it. Learn from it. Be better next time.

If you want your team to be invested in your business, sit them down one-on-one and ask them what it would take to get there. We ask our customers for their business every day. When was the last time you asked your employees for their full buy-in and what it would take to get it? You work for them, they don't work for you.

What if they don't report to me?

If you work for a larger company, there is a very good chance that important people exist within that company that you do not directly manage, but NEED to help implement your strategy. How do you view those individuals? How do you treat those individuals? They have a skill or responsibility within the company that you need. Have you ever treated them as a customer? Such an easy concept when we are trying to sell our product or service to an outside party but the two are not at all different. Would you treat a traditional customer whom you are seeking to do business with in the same way you are currently treating your internal "customer?" You work for them, they don't work for you.

YNT Action Items

1) One-on-One Meetings - First, you need to genuinely care about your team. Second, you need to show them. Schedule a One-on-One meeting with each of your team members today. They are important, make them feel that way

2)Don't Pass The Buck - No one likes a manager who passes the buck in stressful situations. You are there to handle these situations. Your team is counting on you and observing how you handle this.

3)Internal customers They may or may not report to you. Write down a list of your top 5 internal customers and ask yourself if you are managing that relationship with a "You work for them" mentality.

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