“Productivity is not an accident!’
It always seems like there is so much to be done and that we are never going fast enough. Money is scarce. So is time. And the world won’t wait. We need to move faster, do more, be more.
And the only way to do that is to maximise the amount achieved per unit of time and effort…in short, be more productive!
And not just you, the founder, the leader.
Every member of your team has to be firing at all cylinders because it takes a (productive) village to raise a startup.
So if, like me, you lead a startup team and are struggling to raise the productivity levels of your team , then this might just be the read for you! Here are the 3 things that you, as a leader, MUST DO, to ensure that your team is productive, frugal and motivated (again, mostly!)
1. Be clear about the goal!
I have been part of teams and I have led teams. And I can unflinchingly vouch for the fact that – sometimes – the most confused people in the team meeting are the founders / CEOs themselves.
They want to do everything! And they want it done yesterday.
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At the outset, for any leader, I think it’s important to understand that your team can only drive one clear agenda item at any one given time. And it is for the leader to deal with the internal struggle and prioritisation and decide for herself what that priority really is.
Once she is clear, then the leader MUST commit to that priority for that given period of time so that the team is clear about the time that they have to achieve it!
And only after that starts the struggle for the leader to be able to communicate that goal / vision / target to the team clearly enough, with zero ambiguity, so that the team knows exactly what it is expected to achieve. And part of this activity is the ability of the leader to set a clear, measurable target and timeline for the achievement of this goal.
Then and only then, comes the most important part…
Get the hell out of the way!
2. Don’t change the brief!
Founders & CEOs are tempted by opportunities.
That is the nature of the beast.
We see possibilities behind every team and we can visualise each of them down to the award-winning moment. It’s like a midnight craving, an itch…that you could scratch, if you devoted the resources to it.
But that’s where the real challenge comes in…to ensure that this new possibility, this new opportunity…does not change the existing brief / goal for the team.
Once a team is focused and working on a target, it is like an arrow out of the bow. If you mess with it’s trajectory even one teeny-tiny bit, I can guarantee that it will miss the target. And how!!!
So resist the urge to tweak, improve, refine…(whatever the hell you want to call it) the brief.
It will only do the opposite of what you want – which is to increase productivity.
Cease. Desist. Keep them fingers to yourself.
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3. Praise publicly. Censure privately
Teams need direction.
Teams also need help in increasing their productivity and effectiveness.
But what they need most is frequent and effusive praise in public and gentle yet firm censure in private.
This is the toughest thing by far for CEOs/Founders to pull off.
The temptation is to censure in public and praise in private because at some level deep down, we feel that it makes us look weak to appreciate people publicly & doing do will make us look like weak leaders that are easily satisfied.
Not true.
Teams work harder when they are praised, for if nothing, it gives them a validation of the direction to pursue. And if your team leads slack off after being praised, well then, you know whom to give their marching orders tomorrow.
These are things I am trying to practise on a daily basis.
Not easy. But worth it.
Hope this helps you too! Do drop in a quick comment and let me know how you liked it and your hacks!
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