As a leader, you’re responsible for achieving results with and through others. Productivity is about efficiency. Working smarter and more effectively. It may seem like common sense, but it isn’t common practice in our fast-paced, digital world. Refresh your approach and help your team get better results.
1. Be clear on the priorities. First things first: Are you 100% clear on what’s most important this year for your team to achieve? If you’re uncertain or can’t clearly articulate this, your chances of leading a productive team will be greatly reduced. Manage up to your leader to get the clarity you need. Prioritize as a team and establish individual goals. Check in regularly with your people, particularly if and when your priorities shift.
2. Think enabler, not bottleneck. We get it, you want to help your team succeed. Maybe your confidence is a little low in their current capabilities. However, sometimes the best strategy to help your team work at their optimal level is to empower them to step up to the plate. By providing them with some autonomy, not only will they be more efficient and productive, but you will be too. Bonus: they’ll feel more confident and competent and feel grateful to you for it. This drives employee loyalty.
3. Be a brain-friendly leader. People have different needs when it comes to their work environment. Some can thrive in a buzzing coffee shop while others need absolute silence to get anything meaningful accomplished. Where possible, allow employees time to work in environments that feed their brain power. Encourage regular breaks to recharge and refresh. Consider too -- if productivity means creativity in your business, then sometimes stepping outside of the box requires stepping outside of the office – literally.
4. Show them the way. Are you a model of productivity or do you go scurrying from meeting to meeting never having time to get much done let alone meet with your people? Having a productive team starts with you. By demonstrating time management mastery and following through on the defined priorities, you’ll earn the credibility and the experience to coach your team on how to eliminate time-wasters, minimize distractions and focus on the urgent and important tasks that will drive your business forward.
5. Step away from your inbox. Are you contributing unnecessarily to the formidable number of emails in your employees’ inbox? Are your emails really that important or could the information be communicated at another time or in another format? Employees often feel pressured to respond immediately to an email from the boss. This adds bait to the hook of distraction already looming over people’s heads, further diminishing their focus and productivity.
