Part of maintaining powerful growth as a company comes by building and retaining a team of top talent and continuing to grow and mold that team with time and experience—even when the forecast feels shaky. It can be difficult to remain positive if you’ve had a rough year, but if you choose to focus on the downsides, professionally or even personally, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and lose sight of the good things—like the team that always has your back. And sometimes, no matter how bad things look, you just have to keep moving forward.
Here are four ways to keep you and your team optimistic and invested in growth, even during low points. These things, when done well, make my job as a recruiter that much harder because a happy employee makes a lousy candidate!
Say “Thank You”
It may sound trite or obvious, but try saying “Thank you” every time someone goes above and beyond to pull a project together or goes the extra mile to close a sale. Taking a moment to acknowledge the extra effort that your dedicated team puts in every day can really put things in perspective. It only takes a moment to acknowledge their effort, and it will make them feel valued. This can also help you identify potential weak points, if someone is always stepping in to cover a task that is somehow perpetually undone.
Offer Real Choices
If you’ve had a major lay-off, or lost a big client, or failed to make a major sale, offering a team member their choice of project can help raise morale. They’ll be more passionate about whatever they do if they got to choose it, and you’ll benefit from having an enthused team member. This can take the form of anything from taking volunteers to decorate for the holiday party, or letting your graphic designers pick from available projects instead of assigning. Offering choices whenever possible also lets your team know that you trust them.
Ask For Advice
Your team is invested in the success of your company, too. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice when things get rough—and who better to ask than those who are in the trenches working with you every day? You may be the big dog, but you didn’t get that way without help, and you won’t stay there long if you don’t ask for input now and again. Asking a team member for advice will make them feel valued and can provide valuable insights.
Different Is Good
No matter how cool you are, you cannot be everything all the time. Even the best leaders need people different than themselves to make up a balanced and multi-talented team. You need communicators, analysts, empaths, salespeople, innovators, and more, all on your team. They don’t have to think, act, or operate like you, in fact it’s often better if they don’t. Acknowledging your team member’s different strengths and playing to those can help strengthen your team and your overall performance, even at low points. It can also help you learn where you need to hire, as you identify weak points.
As we move forward into the new year, if you’ve identified a weakness in your team and are ready to fill it, let me know. I have a team of talented professionals ready to join your dedicated team. Contact me today to see if I can help.