Similar to how individuals are the average of the people they spend most of their time with, so too is a business only as good as the people working within it. But that’s not all. The company itself needs to be structured in a way that supports the individuals working within in it in order to promote synergy and a reciprocal relationship that ultimately leads to growth and success.

If you are looking to better your company and the people within it, you need to do the following:

Set the Tone

Do you hate disrespect? How about tardiness? As the boss you need to nip it in the bud as often as possible and watch as everyone follows suit to a point where it never happens again. Maybe you appreciate punctuality. Practice it yourself and express your expectations to your team members as well. Whatever sort of company culture you are looking to establish, you need to practice, preach and formally present to every member of your workforce. In doing so, everyone knows what is expected of them and slowly the norms, values, and, beliefs you want for your team and business will normalise, becoming ingrained in every action you all take.

Get to know your team members

It is counter-intuitive to treat your team members, the people you spend the greater half of your week with, as just an employee or co-worker. It will be impossible to get the most out of them if you barely know what makes them tick to begin with.

This is not to say spend hours getting to know their favourite colour or food, but dig deeper into the reasons you hired them in the first place, and find out how you can bolster their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Some people need more instructing and guiding, whilst others work better under a ‘laser faire’ form of leadership. Your success is dependent on their success, and it’s your responsibility to help them be as successful as possible.

Establish expectations from the jump

Your business has goals it needs to meet, and these should be at the forefront of everyone's mind whenever they step into the office. However, the manner in which you go about impressing these goals on your team members is what makes all the difference.

New hires walk into offices as blank slates, not a clue on how they should work and how hard they should grind. If they come in and see other members loafing or doing the bare minimum, they are likely to join in because no one is expected to do more. So it is in your best interest to let everyone know of the standard that is expected, and what happens when you miss that mark.

Build Trust

You are bound to get the most out of a workforce that feels heard and understood, and the only way to achieve that is through having open and honest conversations about the work that has to be done and everything that is involved. Do you see a future for them at the company? Are they feeling welcomed by team members? Could you be doing better as a boss? These are just a few of the many talking points that need to be had to create an empowering and comfortable work environment.

Remember, Accountability goes both ways

You can only ask for that which you can give, or something of equal value. If you are not able to live up to the standards and expectations you ask of others, your team members are bound to drop the ball just as often.

Set team goals, individual roles and strategies for success.

Everyone needs to know what they should be doing, when they should be doing it and why they are doing it in the first place. Set a goal - one that is achievable by all. Then figure out who is doing what - ideally determined by strengths. But before all that make sure everyone is on the same page regarding why these tasks are important and how they serve the overall goal of the business.

These simple and obvious strategies are all you need to build a team that will help see your mission through. If you can set tone and expectations; develop trust and work strategies and know your team and be accountable to another, then your business is well on its way to the success you have envisioned for it. It is so simple, yet sometimes we fail to implement the simplest of techniques. Lead consciously!

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