Tag Archives: goals

Do You Believe in Your Team?

20 June 2014

Whether you’re young or old, we all have dreams and aspirations. If you can help someone uncover those goals, then encourage them, and tell them you believe they can do it, you will truly inspire them. As a manager, believing in who your people can become is the most powerful thing you can do.

Think back. When was the last time someone believed in you? When did someone give you a task that pushed you beyond what you’ve already done? When did you last hear, “I know this is a big challenge for you, but I believe you can do it and I’m here to help.”

If you haven’t heard it, I’m sorry. Do it for someone else and see how they light up. If it’s something they truly aspire to, you will see some of the best work you’ve ever seen from them (and for *all* their work, not just related to their goal). They’ll also be very receptive to your feedback and guidance.

I have been endlessly amazed with what members of my Greenhorn Connect team have been able to do over the years because I’ve believed in Paul, Pardees, Angela, Ariel, and others. I saw them for more than the inexperienced members of the startup community they were when each of them joined the team.

Instead, I focused on the skills they could build on and listened to what they said they wanted to become. Greenhorn Connect would not be what it is today without them rising to the occasion in each of their roles, especially since I moved thousands of miles away from the business 2 years ago. And it all started with believing in them.

See more in people.

Ford’s quote is true for you, and it’s true for your team. Don’t waste your team’s careers only doing what they’ve always done. Uncover their aspirations and find a way to make your company or your department a conduit for them to achieve their goals. Even if they outgrow their role, the quality of work you will get before they do so will astound you.

Life is too short to be boxed in by what you’ve already done. Be the one person that sets them free to grow and you will have a friend and ally for life.  This is why the best leaders have people that work for them again and again. It’s not because they like the box their leader puts them in; it’s because that leader helps them truly reach their full potential.

How can you do this?

It starts today. You should be regularly discussing your team member’s goals and the work they’re doing. No other forum is as helpful as leveraging 1 on 1s for this.  In those 1 on 1s, you can discuss their progress, coaching, and learning opportunities. You can also keep a pulse on what they really want, as it will change over time.

Take time and reflect on each person as you prep for their 1 on 1. What are their strengths? How can you help them grow in their role? Progress is the spark for the fire of motivation for each of your team members. Help them feel that progress in their role.

As your team grows, keeping track of all of this can be a struggle. It’s not that you don’t care; it’s that the demands of your job only give you so much time.

Get LighthouseTo make the most of the time you do have, track everything and stay organized with Lighthouse.

I’ve built it to help myself as a manager, and it will help you make the most of every 1 on 1 so you have an excited, engaged, team you believe in.

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What Viktor Frankl can teach us about managing teams

2 May 2014

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Viktor Frankl is a psychologist, author, and Holocaust survivor. In his seminal book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he advocates for everyone to find their meaning of life. This is no small task for anyone, let alone helping someone else discover it, but it is the most important thing anyone can find if they want to be happy and successful.

Frankl’s 3 ways to discover your meaning are:

  1. Creating a work or doing a deed.
  2. By experiencing something or encountering someone.
  3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.

As a manager and leader, you have people working for you who are giving almost half of their waking life towards your company. Fortunately, many of those tasks can fit into Frankl’s 3 ways.  To keep them motivated and engaged, you must find ways to align their meaning with the company. With a little work, this can be achieved.

How to align your employee’s work & meaning

1) Give them ownership

Have you ever been given a task that someone had everything spelled out to a T how to do it? How motivated were you to work on that? If it was something important to you, it likely felt very stifling to not be able to do it how you saw fit.  Don’t do that to your employees. Give them the opportunity to use their skills to accomplish tasks in the way they choose.

2) Help them see the big picture

People join companies for many reasons, and a company’s core mission is often one of them.  Once they’re settled in their job and the day to day grind, it can become easy to lose sight of that mission that attracted them in the first place. Don’t let that happen! Repeating yourself as a leader is very important, especially if it’s reinforcing the core mission.

3) Connect the company mission to their tasks

Having everyone on your team understanding the company’s core mission is important. Tying their specific job to that mission is just as important. When someone feels like what they do really matters and they can see the impact, you create a powerful, motivating feedback loop. And if you manage someone in a low level job and don’t think you can tie their work to what matters, you should watch this.

4) Listen to their personal goals

It’s not all about the company. Your employees have hopes and dreams of their own. The more you can align those dreams with their work and show them how the company furthers their goals, the more motivated they will be. Humans have a natural urge to work on things bigger than themselves and a company is an amazing vehicle for this if you seize the opportunity.

What about the suffering?

Yes, Frankl believes suffering in life is not only inevitable, but essential. It is during times of suffering that we grow the most.  If you’ve ever worked long hours on a project, you can empathize with how major challenges can help you grow tremendously. Often, you work those hours because you were motivated in some way, likely one or even all 4 of the above reasons.

Frankl loved a particular quote by Nietzsche that captures it well:

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

It is when people lose their why that they can no longer endure the how that they are facing. At work, long hours or a project they’re struggling with can wear them down without the above alignment. When this happens, everyone loses as they will start looking for other jobs and their work output will rapidly decline.

Are you giving your team the whys they need?

Get LighthouseWant to help your team to find their meaning and reach their goals? Then sign up for Lighthouse, the app to help you be a better manager and we can help you stay on top of your team’s growth and career goals.

Learn more at GetLighthouse.com