After a challenging couple of years, you might be thinking about 2022 and how to get ready to have an awesome year.
One way to prepare is by focusing on your team and giving them a sense of direction for the next 12 months.
A lack of direction or purpose for your team is often stated as a reason for this disengagement. It may feel strange to hear that there are a lot of people in companies who don’t have a clear understanding of what they are expected to do, or if they do, why they do it.
It’s like getting off a plane at the Tullamarine (Melbourne) airport, collecting your bags and queuing for a taxi. When you get into the taxi they say, ‘where to?’
Imagine if you say, ‘I don’t want to go the Geelong, I don’t want to go to St Kilda, and I don’t want to go to Dandenong’. Where is the driver supposed to take you?
As a leader, your ability to create a sense of purpose and direction for those you lead will mean everyone levels up. Even if you think the direction and purpose is clear, if feedback says otherwise, best to act on that. I have a belief that we cannot over-communicate.
Remember, you may feel you have explained something well, yet the meaning of what you have said is dependent on what the other person understands.
Ask yourself:
- Do you clearly understand your purpose and that of your team, and have you explained it?
- Have you checked that the team understands what their purpose is?
Everyone needs to understand the direction they are going so they can plan how to get there.
I'd love to hear how you create a clear direction for your team. Drop me a line and let me know. Or if you are part of a team, how has your boss clarified purpose?