It is part of the role of the leader to help the team maintain a productive pace and to strengthen the team to produce a prosperous and balanced result.
One of my recommendations directed at leaders is to have them plan the year with the help of their team in regards to productivity, balance and the reduction of urgencies. Applying this kind of strategy for the second half of the year is constructive, since it aligns the team with a plan for the following months.
Some points are essential in planning the team’s productivity, and as the leader, you must be ready to develop these strategies:
1 – Review what can be improved – Question the team about what hasn’t worked out this year so far and what needs to be changed in the following semester. This can include a review of processes, the implementation of new tools, an analysis of a possible lack of communication, including the improper use of e-mail, relationship problems with clients or suppliers, etc. Perform a thorough check of these critical areas and create an action plan to minimize them.
2 – Create a Reduction of Urgencies Policy – help your team to clearly understand what is urgent, what usually brings about these urgencies, and create a plan to prevent them. Remember that good part of urgencies can be reduced with planning, preparation and prevention. Often enough, simple properly thought out and applied checklists can minimize the problem. The definition of clear priorities may also help a lot as well.
3 – Define balance strategies – the longer your team has for what is truly important, the greater will team productivity be. Within the possibilities of your business, what could be done to enable everyone to use their time more effectively?
Perhaps rewards in the form of time (such as days off, etc.) could motivate the team quite a bit.
See what can be done and elaborate a bank of benefits with the help of your team.
4 – Stimulate the use of productivity tools – The more people are able to plan individually, the lesser will the quantity of collective urgencies and delays be. Train your team to use their tools, such as e-mail, video conference, etc. wisely. The improper use of productivity tools results in time administration problems, which everyone ends up feeling.
5 – Discuss the reduction of meetings and interruptions – A lot of companies perform recurrent meetings that provide inconsistent results. Analyze the possibility of reducing one of these group meetings or a more intelligent way of conducting it. This also applies for frequent interruptions, which can be eliminated by using rules or tools for sharing knowledge.
Intelligent leaders understand that a team with no time cannot achieve results in a productive and balanced manner. It is the role of the leader to create strategies to be shared with all the involved. Don’t let wasted time jeopardize results!
