There’s a difference between a business owner and a leader. A business owner manages a business and the team within it, but a leader must be able to set the course for that team, to set a direction that everyone else is able to follow. However, a lot of business owners have trouble really getting their employees in sync and in-step with their goals. Here, we’re going to look at how you can do that.
Be able to break down your goals
First of all, you and your team of leaders and managers must be able to break down organizational goals into the individual steps that comprise them. Your employees must be able to understand what they can personally do to contribute to goals. Project management software such as Wrike makes it much easier to do just that, seeing what steps lead to the completion of the steps that comprise your organizational goals.
Ensure effective communication
While everyone should know what role they play in those broader goals, they should also understand the broader goals as well, a practice made clear in methodologies like Hoshin Kanri. What is Hoshin Kanri? Effectively, a way of systemizing how you communicate business goals so that they are better understood and translated into actions throughout the business. When your team understands the goals they’re helping work towards through their own labor, it can improve their motivation and engagement with their work. We all like to know that our work matters and why it matters, for instance. Effective goal communication can offer just that.
Reward goal-oriented behavior
If you want to make sure that your employees get a certain value or aim that you’re trying to drive, then there is no better way to nail the message home than by truly incentivizing it. When it comes to getting the best out of your staff, then rewarding them is one of the most effective ways possible. People not only getting a reward that has some monetary or other kinds of value, but they appreciate when their work is recognized, as well. When other employees see you rewarding goal-oriented behavior, then they will consciously or unconsciously follow the same cues.
Lead by example
Of course, if you want people to follow an example, then you have to mind what kind of example you are setting as well. All too often, supposed leaders will do the work that they want to, rather than what they should. To make sure that you don’t fall into that habit, you can make use of a prioritization matrix. What is a prioritization matrix? It’s a system by which you arrange your daily tasks and duties based on both their urgency and their importance to your goals. As such, you can make sure you’re always putting the work in each day to reach the same goals your team is supposed to help you with.
By ensuring that goals are clearly communicated throughout the organization, getting to know what those goals mean for individual teams and workers, and then rewarding those who follow those goals, you can set the example you need to as a leader.
