Leading a team of 5 or 50 is no easy task. If there is something that builds or breaks a team, it is every employee’s motivation at the dawn of the day to work for you. And the energy directly translates into productivity. Uniting distinct people with disparate temperaments at any point has its own advantages and roadblocks. As a matter of fact, it is the team’s productivity and efficiency that will take the bullets.

Besides, the pile of emails, unproductive meetings, miscommunication within the team, ambiguous objectives and deliverables and not being updated about what the other team members are working on can also prevent you from being efficient and productive, as a manager.

Although it may sound hard to believe, it is certainly possible to reclaim your productivity and your team’s mojo with a systematic approach at the start of every week.

Prioritize your work and your team’s work

The good news is, as a manager, prioritizing work, planning your team’s task, and ensuring their key deliverables is as essential as planning your own work. Step back and take some time to contemplate what exactly you want your team to accomplish. Define understandable and realistic goals based on every member’s capability. Leverage software to track the work and shed your manual hours. Break the project into achievable silos and motivate your team to complete it in time. The attainable short-term targets will empower them to be more productive and, eventually, efficient in the time taken.

First things first – Communicate the objectives ‘clearly’

Half done isn’t done at all. When members of your team know what is expected of them, there won’t be much room for chaos and frenzy. Ensure your emails and communication are succinct. You can add more, but brevity is the best. Seek acknowledgment from every member to ensure they have understood their key deliverables right off the bat.  

Conduct daily huddle meetings

The most famous book, “Scrum – The art of doing twice the work in half the time,” cites daily stand up meetings are a proven and competent way to understand the roadblocks in one’s productivity and efficiency. Get every member of your team to answer the 3 simple questions daily and work on it.

  • What did you do yesterday to help the team finish the sprint?
  • What will you do today to help the team finish the sprint?
  • What obstacles are getting in your way?

This will instill a sense of responsibility and accountability in every member of the team. If you take more than 15 minutes, then you need to revisit the meeting.

Foster every individual’s strength and weakness

Every member of the team has their strength and weakness. Make some time to analyze every member and delegate the right task to the right person. Know everyone’s individualism and skill-set to reinforce a productive and efficient team. This will help you get more work done in a creative way, and you can explore new horizons. Coax cross-functional collaboration between one another when deliverables and goals overlap.

After all, over-achieving the deliverables is any day a good testimony.

Time every task and respect everyone’s time

Time is the entirety. Learn the art of coaxing your team into doing their work efficiently. Get your team from an adobe of repose to an expanse of performance. Although it is easy enough to shout ‘Carpe diem!’ from a stage to inspire the crowd, reality hits when you need to pull it off. Sit down, buckle up, and put it in real words across your team, and you will be rewarded with work.

Offer real independence

Autonomy is an essential human need. It empowers employees at work to be healthier, happier, and more productive. Encourage every member’s ideas, and this will motivate them in more active learning. Assure your team that you trust them, and autonomy is one form of trust.

Praise a job well done

Appreciate in front of the team and disparage in isolation. This is the best technique to assure your team that they are under the best leader. You know nothing can strengthen productivity if an employee feels demotivated or isn’t valued enough. The ‘subtle’ public act of appreciation will inspire not only the individual but the entire team to support one another more and will promote healthy competition.  

Leverage technology to aid repetitive tasks

Lastly, leverage technology and software at your disposal. Between understanding your team members and assigning tasks to them, you will swing like a pendulum. To grow your productivity, exploit project management, and performance management software to constantly stay updated about what’s happening in the team and be ready for an appraisal well in advance. When there is a poised manager, nothing can stop the team from performing great.

Upshotly is a people-centric platform to help you tap into the potential of every employee. Unite teams, keep track of progress, motivate and give feedback, recognize wins and lastly, cross hurdles as a team.

Over to you now. What is your timbre to improve team efficiency?