Keeping your small team motivated is crucial to achieving goals. Your team members’ engagement must be among your top priorities since this is directly proportional to productivity, especially in creative endeavors. Many organizations frequently utilize team-building activities despite being proven ineffective, so how do we keep our teams motivated?
Team building activities have been proven to be insignificant in impacting morale. Instead, it would help if you leveraged intrinsic motivators, such as understanding why your employees show up for work. And complement with extrinsic motivators, such as money.
In this article, we will talk about ways to show your small team your appreciation so they will always be motivated to give their best. We will also discuss team leaders’ misconceptions about team motivation and reality. Let’s begin!
How Do You Keep a Small Team Motivated?
How do you keep a small team motivated?
You can motivate a small team by consistently acknowledging their efforts and providing them with good working conditions. Show your appreciation through rewards such as gift checks, paid vacations, or cash bonuses. Ensure the targets you set are risky and specific to boost their morale.
You can motivate a small team by consistently acknowledging their efforts and providing them with good working conditions.
Keeping your team motivated is essential if you want your organization to grow and thrive. When your team members are motivated, they will be more eager to engage and share more of their time, talents, and skills. They can accomplish more tasks and help you reach your goals and objectives faster.
Old school organizations frequently turn to regular team-building activities to keep their employee morale high, even though it doesn’t work.
Launch a Simple Reward System
Rewards are external motivators and usually only work for simple and short-term projects. The best incentives are intrinsically founded but also much harder to get right.
Reward your team members for a job well done by giving them exactly what they want or need.
Reward your team members for a job well done by giving them exactly what they want or need.
Ask them what kind of rewards they prefer each time they reach a milestone at work. Here are some common rewards that could help motivate your team always to give their best.
Friday night out. Your team members might want to relax and unwind after a particularly stressful week. It will help if you keep these types of rewards voluntary. Do not force mandatory nights out on your employees.
Gift checks. Reward your team members with gift checks to salons, spas, or restaurants. If you give them gift checks related to health benefits, then it is also a win for your business.
Hotel accommodations. A weekend at a nice hotel will give your employees a well-deserved break.
Devise a Gratifying Cash Incentive Scheme
Reward your team members with something that truly matters in their day-to-day life — cold hard cash. This way, they can use it for whatever purpose, for groceries, a massage, or to pay bills.
Design an escalating system that rewards good productivity. The amount team members can earn on how well they perform. For instance, those that deliver increased sales growth within a 20-25% range will receive a more considerable sum than those with only a 10-15% performance.
I am not a big fan of these systems. They are tough to design and often incentivize unwanted behavior.
Studies have shown that if the task is complex and demands creativity, monetary incentives negatively affect output.
Studies have shown that if the task is complex and demands creativity, monetary incentives negatively affect output.
Set Specific and Risky Team Goals
Make sure each team member understands the value of the targets you set.
If they do not see how realizing these goals will impact the team and the organization, they may not be motivated to do their share in the journey to success.
Ensure your teammates understand what value they gain from achieving the goal. What is in it for them?
Just as importantly, ensure that the targets are risky but attainable. If you set the bar too high, employees may feel disheartened and uninspired.
Keep your team in the loop about recent changes or developments. Update them on each other’s progress. This way, they can see their contributions’ value and appreciate how they each fit into the bigger picture.
Create a Workplace They Don’t Hate
Make sure your office is a place conducive to working and is a place where your team members would like to spend time.
The benefit of running a small team is that you can learn what it is precise that your people enjoy so you can create an environment that they like. If your people appreciate nature, give them plants; if they like art, travel to Paris and buy them the Mona Lisa. If that is within your budget.😅
The benefit of running a small team is that you can learn what it is precise that your people enjoy so you can create an environment that they like.
Most importantly, set good examples for your team to be supportive, grateful, and efficient team players.
You can also offer employees perks to help make work more enjoyable and make them feel valued. You can also promote employee well-being and a healthy mindset through these simple yet effective additions.
Relaxation areas. Create a space for couches and bean bags where employees can relax and de-stress. Throw in a coffee machine, snacks, a TV, and books.
Exercise spaces. Your team members might want to de-stress via physical activities during the day. Set aside a space for a treadmill, some weights, and some stationary bikes where they can loosen up during particularly demanding days.
Avoid going full-out Twitter on your workspace; you still want people to be productive.
Say “Thank You!”
Honestly, this is a big deal that many leaders fail at!
These simple words significantly impact how your team members feel appreciated after a well-done job.
Often, when employees execute tasks well or achieve goals, we view these as part of the job, and it is, but that doesn’t matter. Even if you plan to reward them later, it is still best to say “Thank you!” as soon as possible.
According to Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, and the author of my favorite book, thinking fast and slow, timing is one of the essential factors of effective feedback.
Look the person in the eye while saying these words, and you’ll be surprised at the impact you make. You can also give handwritten, personalized notes conveying your gratitude.
Mention precise details about your team members, such as their punctuality, efficiency, or tenacity, that you appreciate the most and credit to their success.
5 tips on how to keep your small team motivated
Myths About Team Motivation
Myths about team motivation
Many team leaders need clarification about how they can keep their team motivated. Limited financial resources make leading and managing a small group incredibly challenging.
There are a lot of misconceptions going around, but some are quite unfounded and surrounded by misjudgments. Here are a few myths about keeping teams motivated and what the actual score is.
Money Is the Only True Motivator
Some team leaders may think money, especially cold hard cash, can inspire a team to push beyond their limits.
They may be partially right but remember that money can only go so far. Ultimately, you must uncover why your team is uninspired in the first place to avoid being back at square one.
Engage with your team members and discover what it takes to keep them motivated. Listen to them and be susceptible to their needs.
You’d be surprised to learn that being valued, respected, and appreciated is what they crave the most. Rewards after strenuous work are just the icing on the cake.
Rewards after strenuous work are just the icing on the cake.
Employees Don’t Care About the Company
You may think your team members are there to do their job and get paid; some might even explicitly utter those words. This mindset will show how you interact with your team, and they will easily sense your distrust. Team members will feel they must be more appreciated and inspired to do their best.
Immerse yourself in your team and get to know your employees better. Ask about their goals, both personal and work-related.
You’ll soon realize that each team member is different and thus have varying mindsets about work. If you know your team more personally, you can align your organizational goals with theirs so you can all work together toward success.
Myths About Team Motivation
Reality
Money is the only true motivator.
Money can only go so far. Being valued, respected, and appreciated is what team members crave the most. Rewards after strenuous work are just the icing on the cake.
Employees don’t care about the company.
Each team member is different and has varying mindsets about work. By immersing yourself in your team and getting to know your employees better, you can align your organizational goals with theirs and work together towards success.
Myths about team motivation
Here’s an insightful video of Brian Tracy sharing 6 tips that you can use to become a more powerful motivator and raise your team to new levels of success!
6 Ways to Motivate Your Team
Final Thoughts
Keeping your small team motivated takes creativity and extra effort. Remember that some may only appreciate what works for one team member. Please get to know your employees better, uncover their needs and wants, and be creative with showing them your appreciation. The key is to make your team members feel valued for their contributions to the team and the organization.
Secrets of Team Motivation: Goal Setting and Objectives (Part 4)
In my twelve years of leadership positions, I have seen one thing that impacts performance almost as much as trust, the ability to motivate a team. But if you want to improve your “motivational skills,” you are approaching it wrong. Motivation is the result, not the means. Great leaders know that engagement and excitement come from a shared view of the future, a future worth pursuing. Our job as leaders is to make this future tangible and understandable!
Setting goals and objectives is one of the secrets of team motivation. It allows your team members to realize the significance of their roles in the grand scheme of things. Goals and objectives must be specific, clear, and challenging to motivate the team to push forward.
This article will discuss how setting goals, and objectives can motivate your team and impact their performance and growth. We will also discuss some of the most common mistakes and misconceptions most leaders have about setting targets, and then I will provide tips on how these can be avoided and how to cascade targets to your team effectively.
How Will Setting Objectives Motivate My Team?
How will setting objectives motivate my team?
Setting objectives will motivate my team by allowing them to see their unique and indispensable roles in the bigger picture. They’ll be eager to do their share when they realize their value. Ensure your objectives are precise so your team knows exactly what needs to be done and how to get there.
Goals are the results your team or organization wants to achieve within a given period. It represents the big picture with which everyone in the team must align.
On the other hand, objectives are specific tasks that will help achieve the goals. They are short-term agendas, bringing the team closer to the set goals.
Objectives are most effective when they are specific, clear, and challenging. These will keep your team members engaged and motivated to deliver high-performance levels consistently.
Be concise in setting and delegating objectives to minimize confusion and misunderstanding within your team. Set the bar high so members feel inspired to push themselves beyond their limits.
How Clear Goals and Objectives Helps a Team
How clear goals and objectives help a team
Aside from boosting motivation, many benefits are linked to setting sound objectives for your team. Here are some of them:
Better Team Performance
It is worth noticing that you need goals and objectives to succeed! How can you complete the race if you still need a finish line?
It is worth noticing that you need goals and objectives to succeed! How can you complete the race if you still need a finish line?
And if you still need to complete something, how can you expect anyone to feel motivated? These are the underlying questions of team motivation.
Productivity significantly improves when team members can see the finish line. This motivates them to complete their tasks and accomplish objectives. This results in higher performance for the team.
Furthermore, the more objectives your people can realize, the more they will be inspired to push beyond their limits and believe in the team.
Boosted Engagement
Establishing shared goals and objectives will help make members feel a deeper sense of connection to the team and the organization. When they see how they all fit into the bigger picture, they will realize the need to share more of their time and skills.
It is vital to stay connected with everyone on the team to monitor each other’s progress and see how these developments affect your own.
Improved engagement will also afford your team members a sense of leadership and independence. Their motivation to succeed will encourage them to initiate efforts to ensure everyone stays on track.
Self-Development
Reveling in the sense of fulfillment that accompanies attaining objectives is incredible. Most people will view this as a motivation to strive harder, as they’ll see a lot of relevance and meaning in their work. They will then take new objectives and goals as opportunities to improve themselves.
You have probably noticed the same in your hobbies; the ones that you try out and initially succeed in doing are the ones that are the most fun and that you continue practicing.
Intrinsically motivated individuals will spend time developing their talents and skills. They will invest more effort in enhancing their competencies and feel more accountable for their work, inspiring them to learn and improve their skillset constantly.
How Clear Goals and Objectives Helps a Team
Description
Better Team Performance
Productivity significantly improves when team members can see the finish line. This motivates them to complete their tasks and accomplish objectives. This results in higher performance for the team.
Boosted Engagement
Establishing shared goals and objectives helps team members feel a deeper sense of connection to the team and organization.
Self-Development
Accomplishing objectives leads to a sense of fulfillment and motivation to improve skills
How Clear Goals and Objectives Helps a Team
Here’s a video of a TED Talk done by John Doerr talking about the importance of having a goal-setting system like “Objectives and Key Results,” or OKRs.
The secret to success is setting the right goals.
4 Most Common Misconceptions on Goal and Objective Setting
Common misconceptions about goal and objective setting
Business planning involves deciding where to take your business and setting a clear course to get to where you want it to be. You must develop well-defined goals, specific and challenging objectives, and smart strategies to move in the right direction.
Effectively leading and managing a team calls for you to be level-headed, realistic, and risk-taking, especially when deciding how to steer your team according to the organization’s direction. However, it can sometimes be easy to fall prey to all the excitement, especially if you’re eager to complete things as efficiently as possible.
Effectively leading and managing a team calls for you to be level-headed, realistic, and risk-taking.
Here are some common misconceptions and mistakes leaders make when setting goals and objectives for the team:
1. Setting the Bar Too High
Goals and objectives must be attainable. Setting the bar too high may make your team members feel defeated and frustrated, especially when they realize they are gradually drifting away from attaining their objectives, no matter how hard they strive to move forward. It may affect their self-esteem and confidence.
But be aware that you don’t aim too low since this has the same effect of demotivating your people.
2. Setting Too Many Goals and Objectives
You may have lofty plans for the business and be fully aware that attaining goals and objectives is the key to success. However, remember that it isn’t reasonable to entrust all these to your team members. It would be best if you learned to prioritize to lead and manage your team forward efficiently.
Rank goals and objectives according to urgency and importance. Consider the time frame you’ll be working with and prioritize only those at the top of your list. This way, your team members will feel safe, and they’ll be able to focus on what truly matters.
3. Unavailability of Support
Attaining goals and objectives entails support from various tools and resources. Influential leaders provide their teams with the means necessary for their success. Typically, sufficient time and a reasonable budget are what can equip your team to get to the finish line.
Ample Time
A reasonable and realistic timeline is necessary for your team members to execute their strategies and plans. These should also align with the organization’s long-term plans and the industry’s projections. Giving your team members more time to achieve their targets may encourage them while allocating too much time might make them feel demotivated.
Giving your team members more time to achieve their targets may encourage them while allocating too much time might make them feel demotivated.
Consider breaking down particularly challenging goals into smaller tasks. This tactic will allow your team members to accomplish smaller daily tasks rather than working on significant endeavors simultaneously. This may help prevent burnout and feelings of dissatisfaction. Small wins may also motivate your team members to keep pushing onward to their goals.
I often use the theory of gamification to drive engagement and employee satisfaction on my team.
Adequate Budget
Leading and managing your team means you’re the ship’s captain, and your team members are your sailors in ensuring the organization gets to its destination. As the leader, you must equip your team members with adequate financial resources to get the job done efficiently.
Plan and map out possible routes toward achieving goals and objectives. Be reasonable and practical in budget allocation, but ensure that your team members will never feel any lack of support from their leaders. A team that feels they’re assisted and championed will always be motivated to give it their best shot.
A team that feels they’re assisted and championed will always be motivated to give it their best shot.
An effective approach that I often use is to let the people closest to the problem spend the resources in the way that they believe will solve the issue the quickest. Just ensure that you are aiming to solve the same problem!
4. Not Allotting Time for Updates
The dream is to have a five-minute PowerPoint on the first of January where you present the goals and objectives of the year, return on the last of December, give every a high five for accomplishing all the goals, and then set new ones. But this is different from how life and business work.
It’s not enough to sit down with your team and strategize on how best to attain your goals and objectives, given the resources available. As a leader, you must also set aside time to regularly check in with your team members to monitor their progress. Regular updates will let you check how far you’ve gone as a team.
Periodic feedback sessions provide great opportunities to assure team members that they’re on the right track. These will also allow you and the rest of the team to harmonize so that the team functions as a solid, unified entity.
Misconception
Description
Solution
Setting the Bar Too High
Setting goals and objectives that are unattainable
Set goals that are challenging but attainable
Setting Too Many Goals and Objectives
Assigning too many goals and objectives to team members
Prioritize goals based on urgency and importance
Unavailability of Support
Not providing necessary resources and tools for achieving goals
Provide team members with sufficient time and budget
Not Allotting Time for Updates
Neglecting to regularly check in with team members
Schedule periodic feedback sessions to monitor progress and provide opportunities for team harmonization
Tips for Setting Objectives
Tips for setting the right objectives
Leading and managing a team requires you to be adept at handling the reins, as the bulk of the responsibility for achieving goals rests on your shoulders. You must motivate your team to give 100% of their effort. Setting ambiguous objectives can cause uncertainty and misconceptions among team members.
Here are some essential qualities that sound objectives must have:
Precision: Let your team members know exactly what needs to be done. Be straightforward in sharing details and information that will help make objectives easier to grasp.
Clarity: Set a clear timeline for each objective. Answer any questions from team members to ensure that they all fully understand what needs to be done and when it needs to be accomplished.
Relevance: All team objectives must be aligned with the organization’s goals. If objectives make sense, your team members will be motivated to take part in bringing them to fruition.
Challenging: Objectives must have a degree of difficulty so your team members will be motivated to push. Driven individuals will undoubtedly love the challenge.
Realistic: Objectives must be challenging yet attainable. It would be almost pointless to set objectives beyond the reach of your team members since these might only serve to make them feel incompetent. On the other hand, setting the bar too low may make them feel demotivated.
Element
Description
Precision
Communicate objectives clearly and explicitly to your team members. Share information that helps them understand what needs to be done.
Clarity
Set specific and clear deadlines for each objective. Encourage your team members to ask questions to ensure they fully understand what needs to be done and when.
Relevance
Ensure that each objective is aligned with the organization’s overall goals. When objectives make sense, team members will be more motivated to achieve them.
Challenging
Set objectives that are challenging enough to motivate team members to work hard and push themselves to achieve them.
Realistic
Set objectives that are attainable yet challenging. Objectives that are too easy may demotivate team members, while objectives that are too difficult may make them feel incompetent.
Tips for Setting Objectives
How to Communicate Goals and Objectives to Your Team
Clearly communicate goals and objectives to your team.
Goals and objectives are what keep a business moving forward. As an effective leader, you must communicate these to your team in ways that will motivate them and inspire them to take action. Constructively presenting the goals and objectives will be crucial.
Here are some tips on how you can effectively communicate goals and objectives to your team members:
Write Them Down
There is something about visual representations that make it easier to process information. Instead of simply stating goals and objectives to your team members, write them down. Seeing goals and objectives in print will make it easier for your team to absorb the information and fire up the brain to formulate ideas and strategies.
Seeing goals and objectives in print will make it easier for your team to absorb the information and fire up the brain to formulate ideas and strategies.
Discuss the Intention
Goals and objectives will only carry a little weight and meaning if your team members are kept in the dark about their purpose.
Discuss with them the reasons behind these targets. Talk about how realizing these goals and objectives can benefit the team and the organization. Being clear about the intentions will help motivate your team members to engage and participate in their achievement.
Plan for Contingencies
Brainstorm with your team the obstacles that may stand in your way. These will significantly affect how quickly you’ll achieve goals and objectives, so it’s wise to consider ways to overcome them early on.
Formulate strategies that will help combat the effects of these stumbling blocks. Think of ways you can avoid coming face-to-face with these snags. Brainstorming will allow your team members to feel bolder about taking on new challenges, knowing they have you and the whole team to support them.
Delegate Tasks
Leading and managing a team calls for you to ensure that productivity is always maximized. Utilize each team member’s strengths and delegate tasks according to their skills. Allowing each person to contribute purposefully to achieving objectives and goals will help foster a strong sense of camaraderie and teamwork within the group.
Be Creative
Be creative in delegating goals and objectives to your team. Use visual tools to help make crucial points more precise and concise. Your team members may process new information differently, so you must learn to adjust to their needs and expectations.
Remember to frequently ask for feedback from your team to ensure everyone understands the most vital aspects of the targets. Please encourage them to ask questions, make clarifications, and offer suggestions when they see fit.
5 tips for communicating goals and objectives to your team
Final Thoughts
Setting goals and objectives allows you to motivate your team further. If you do it right, you can push them to aim for self-improvement, which will benefit the team’s and organization’s drive for development and success.
The key is to ensure that each of your team members realizes how they fit into the bigger picture. Invest in their skills and competencies because these will be the most valuable tools to push your organization forward. Set realistic and attainable targets so your team will continuously be motivated to shoot for the stars.
Situational leadership is perhaps the most flexible approach to leading and managing a team, and it’s deemed the most effective style by the Swedish Armed Forces, in which I have been an Army officer for the last twelve years. Situational leadership isn’t defined by one particular method or plan of action but by which leadership styles are most suitable for a particular individual or scenario. This management approach is highly motivational and can be utilized to efficiently lead your team members to success.
Situational leadership is the best option for team leaders eager to maximize their employees’ full potential and earn their loyalty. It motivates team members to step up to the plate and take on more tasks and responsibilities. It also inspires them to confront their faults and fortify their strengths.
In this article I will draw from my experience as well as scientific studies, we will discuss how situational leadership motivates a team and how much more beneficial it is compared to other management styles. We will briefly discuss the merits of each leadership approach before defining what situational leadership is all about and how you can apply it to different scenarios within your team. If you’re eager to lead your team members to achieve their full potential, read on!
How Does Situational Leadership Motivate a Team?
Situational leadership motivates a team by encouraging them to exploit their strengths and improve their weaknesses. By choosing this management style, leaders assure the team that they have their best interests in mind. Employees will share more of their time, talents, and skills when they feel valued.
Situational leadership effectively motivates a team to collaborate and strive for success. Employees are more apt to respond positively to management tactics that are tailored to their needs and circumstances. This results in boosted engagement and productivity.
What Is Situational Leadership?
Situational leadership is a flexible type of management where the leader approaches situations with varying leadership styles depending on current circumstances. Situational leaders assess the situation, observe their employees’ behavior, and determine which style would be most suitable at that given time and for each particular individual.
Situational leadership comprises these leadership styles:
Directive Leadership
In this leadership style, the team leader has complete control over the whole team. They decide what needs to be done, when, and how to do it. Employees are practically unable to make their own decisions or give suggestions and feedback.
Some employees prefer this leadership style because they thrive on consistency, predictability, and structure. They like the sense of security that comes with this leadership approach because the team’s direction is clear and well-defined.
However, some team members may not appreciate this style because it may stifle their creativity and inhibit innovation. The complete lack of autonomy and independence may make some employees feel uninspired about work. Hence, employee engagement and morale might dip, especially since team members have a minimal sense of ownership in their tasks.
The directive leadership style is most beneficial in situations of high intensity and stress, something very common in military operations. This is when you set aside all discussions, and your primary focus is to get the highest priority goal accomplished as fast as possible.
Preferably these situations have been included in the risk management plan and already rehearsed.
It means that there is only one focus and that needs only be done to a good enough standard. A typical military situation is combat, where simple commands, sometimes no commands, are sufficient to solve the initial crisis.
In business, this could be an IT security breach. For example, the CEO gives straightforward instructions that all employees must change passwords immediately. Not until the passwords are changed and the circumstances have calmed down will there be time to ask why.
Directive leadership is fast, short-term effective, and authoritative.
Coaching Leadership
Leaders who adopt this leadership style want their team members to grow and be successful. For them, leading and managing their team means providing constant guidance and feedback to help individuals grow and thrive. They believe that helping their team members reach their goals will be beneficial since this indirectly leads to target achievements for the organization as well.
Employees who respond well to this leadership style appreciate how their leaders bank on their strengths and collaborate with them to improve their weaknesses. Mutual trust is a driving force within the team, and employees appreciate that coaching leaders focus on employee development rather than taking credit for their triumphs.
I use this style of leadership every time I have discussions with individuals, when I’m trying to help a colleague achieve something complex and where the answer isn’t obvious. I assume the position of a good friend wanting the best for my colleagues. I ask questions looking to better understand the situation, and I patiently wait for their answer.
As a coach, you never give advice; your task is to ask questions you believe can lead the coachee closer to valuable insights.
As a coach, you never give advice; your task is to ask questions you believe can lead the coachee closer to valuable insights.
Coaching leadership is slow, driven by curiosity, and long-term effective.
Supportive Leadership
Supportive leaders are empathetic. Their team members have no trouble approaching them for advice and guidance since they constantly highlight the value of the team’s well-being and development. Supportive leaders are sensitive to the needs of their team members and are always on the lookout for what kind of tools and support they can offer so they can efficiently achieve their goals.
Employees who prefer this leadership style appreciate the trust their leaders give them. They love the autonomy that comes with deciding on what strategies to employ in their tasks and the assurance that they will be afforded adequate and appropriate support when necessary. They appreciate how their leaders empower them so they can thrive and shine in their own right.
I use this style when we have personal issues on the team that needs to be resolved or mitigated so they don’t affect the safety of the operation. For me, supportive leadership means being a good friend, someone your team trusts beyond the official tasks, and someone who cares about them deeply.
This isn’t possible for most leaders, and I didn’t appreciate its impact on performance until later in my career. I thought being too close to my teammates would make leading them harder and making tough decisions impossible. It’s the opposite I have come to learn.
Supportive leadership helps you see people as vital assets and not cogs of a machine. It gives employees the confidence to approach us when issues are still small, allowing us to solve the situation before it becomes a problem.
Supportive leadership is emotional, trust-building, and transcends managing.
Delegating Leadership
This leadership style highlights the value of giving almost complete autonomy to team members, expecting them to deliver high-quality results efficiently. It is built on trust and the knowledge that team members are well-equipped to handle various scenarios based on their strengths and competencies.
Employees who favor this leadership style have faith and take pride in their knowledge, experiences, and skills. They know their vital role in the grand scheme of things and are willing to do their share in realizing set goals. They are committed to performing with high standards and prefer autonomy over being consistently monitored with their tasks.
This is how I lead everyday tasks, I delegate as much as I can, and I encourage my guys to do the same. Allow people to show them they are trustworthy, and you’ll be supposed how many will step up to the plate and overperform!
My first question when I receive a task is, who should execute this? I try to move all tasks as far down the ladder as possible; this is a great way to encourage responsibility from the new guys since they will quickly have to own fairly complex assignments.
The reason why I delegate as much as possible is simple; it frees up my time so that I can focus on anticipating and mitigating obstacles. My main task as a leader is to remove obstacles from my team’s path so they can perform at peak performance.
How Does Situational Leadership Improve Team Motivation?
Situational leadership improves team motivation by making employees feel seen and respected. They appreciate leaders taking the time to assess their needs before enforcing their management style. Compared to other styles, situational leadership focuses more on the employee than the leader.
Benefits of Situational Leadership
What’s great about situational leadership is that you don’t have to choose which management style you will adopt for your team (and stick with it). With this type of leadership style, you can switch from one style to another, depending on current circumstances and the behavior and characteristics of your team members. You can even utilize a different leadership style for each of your employees.
The key is to choose a leadership approach to which your team members will respond well. If you succeed at adopting one that is tailor-fitted to their needs, you’ll find that leading and managing your team will be less complicated.
During my time as a conscript infantry team leader, I had one guy that only responded to a directive leadership approach. It wasn’t in my nature to scream at someone, but the funny thing was, during a talk, he told me that he doesn’t respond well to why things need to be done; he just wanted someone to tell him what to do. So I did, it worked great for eleven months!
Here are some benefits you can look forward to with situational leadership and how it can help significantly enhance team motivation:
It creates a positive work environment. When employees feel their leaders support them, they become more eager to always put their best foot forward, translating to higher engagement and productivity.
It allows for flexibility. Leading and managing a team can be very taxing, especially since you’ll have to deal with individuals with different personalities, needs, and expectations. Situational leadership allows you to switch from one management style to another as needed to ensure the best results.
It helps develop team members. Situational leaders are empathetic and charismatic and can quickly gauge an employee’s professional maturity and psychological state. They can use this knowledge to track their employees’ progress and guide them toward self-improvement.
It helps produce more predictable outcomes. Situational leaders base their decisions on current circumstances. They use their intuition, knowledge, and experiences to determine which tactic should be best employed. Choosing this management style allows you to influence results, especially concerning your team’s productivity.
It encourages team creativity. Empowered employees are more eager to come up with ingenious ideas and think outside the box to help the business grow.
It encourages team loyalty. Situational leadership encourages employees to be open about their weaknesses and strengths. Employees know that they will be supported and guided appropriately by their leaders. This creates a positive work atmosphere where people eagerly collaborate and help each other out.
What It Takes To Be an Effective Situational Leader
Not all leaders are built to naturally adapt to this management style. There are leaders who are naturally dominating. They want to be the sole decision-maker in the group and expect team members to adhere to their regulations to a tee. They determine how things are done and when and how to do them. They do not tolerate deflection.
On the other hand, some leaders are more inclined to interactwith their team members. They encourage innovation and independence within their team. They appreciate input from employees and commend those who come up with brilliant strategies.
However, different circumstances call for different approaches. Given all the benefits of a situational leadership style, adopting this for your team will undoubtedly boost their morale and motivate them to always do their best. The key is to determine which particular management style would best apply.
Successfully leading and managing a team means knowing how to deal with your team members in the most productive ways possible. A team is driven by goals, and it is up to you as the leader to ensure everyone is always on the right track. You must learn how to accurately assess each of your team members to determine which leadership style is best suited for them at a given time.
Poor Skills, Low Confidence
It can be pretty challenging to work with team members who lack sufficient knowledge, adequate skills, and extensive experience to handle various situations related to the business. However, with proper training and the right mindset, these individuals can become promising employees who will eventually become proficient in their field.
Team members with this type of profile will thrive under a directive and coaching leadership style. They will benefit from close supervision and clear, concise instructions on how to get things done. Be encouraging in your approach, and do not be condescending in how you offer your guidance. If you do things right, you’ll motivate them to always aim for self-improvement and contribute more significantly to the organization.
Poor Skills, High Confidence
Sometimes, you might encounter team members who have high morale but lack the skills, knowledge, and experience that ideally go with it. They are eager to perform and please, yet they often fall short of company expectations and standards.
These team members will do well with a combination of supportive and delegating leadership styles. With this approach, you can give them the autonomy they crave in aspects they have strengths. Alternatively, you can provide them with the support they need in areas they show weakness.
Make sure you explain the process to your employees so they understand that your main objective is to help them improve their skills and knowledge and build on their experiences in the business. Be patient in answering their questions and be open to trusting them more with each improvement they make.
Superior Skills, Low Confidence
It can be very rewarding and fulfilling to provide adequate support and guidance to team members who exhibit this kind of profile. They have extensive experience, knowledge, and skills in their field but have low self-confidence and motivation. Perhaps this is due to their personality or innate humility, but a little push from you will undoubtedly bring out their best.
Combining a delegating and supportive leadership approach is best suited for these team members. Encourage them to always share their ideas and help you formulate strategies and action plans for the team. Include them in decision-making processes. Assign them to tasks where they can best showcase and enhance their strengths.
Superior Skills, High Confidence
Team members who can be counted on to work independently and consistently deliver quality results are assets to the team. They must be looked after to ensure they see continuous growth within the company. If these highly competitive and driven individuals sense stagnancy, they might lose interest in their work and start looking for greener pastures.
A delegating leadership style will be most appreciated by these individuals. They will thrive in autonomy, and further grow their skills, knowledge, and experiences with new responsibilities resting on their shoulders. It is vital to let them take ownership of their tasks so they can clearly see their worth and significant contributions to the attainment of goals. They can also be seen as great examples and role models for the rest of the team.
Final Thoughts
Situational leadership is arguably the most flexible and practical management style. It lets you adapt to different scenarios, personalities, and behaviors. It allows you to motivate individuals to develop and excel by helping them improve on their weaknesses and build on their strengths.
Leading and managing a team means you have to ensure goals are met while looking out for your employee’s well-being as well. The effectiveness of your management style will reflect on your team’s performance and productivity, so it is wise to focus on inspiring your team to always push beyond their perceived limits.
Improve Your Leadership Without Formal Training! (14 Ways)
Formal training is a fantastic start to a leadership career, but unfortunately, good ones are rare and very costly. The good thing is that in my twelve years of experience training military and civilian leaders, I have learned that growth is actually accelerated outside the classroom. So how can you improve your leadership skills without returning to class?
One of the best ways to improve your leadership without formal training is by self-assessing your strengths and weaknesses. This gives you self-awareness of what you excel in and what you need to work on to be more efficient. Being consistent with this practice helps you become a better leader.
Are you looking for more ways to improve your leadership skills? You’re in the right place. This article covers 14 tips on how to become a better leader without formal training.
1. Know Your Weaknesses and Strengths
In the past decades, the mantra for being a successful leader has always been “focus on your strengths.” To some extent, this advice is helpful because it encourages you to engage in activities that will push you to the top of the ladder without much effort.
However, every leader has a set of weaknesses, and ignoring them limits the leader’s potential. Leaders that succeed are the ones who take deliberate action to work on skills and abilities that don’t come naturally to them.
If working on your strengths is like pressing the accelerator of your car, then working on your weaknesses is releasing the parking brake before going for a drive.
If working on your strengths is like pressing the accelerator of your car, then working on your weaknesses is releasing the parking brake before going for a drive.
Working on your weaknesses prevents you from being an arrogant leader. It also keeps you humble to ask for help and to learn from those who are strong in areas you’re weak.
Being consistent in turning your weaknesses into strengths and focusing on your strengths builds resilience and the ability to thrive in your leadership position.
Real leadership mastery comes from excelling at your strengths and being “good enough” at your weaknesses.
Leaders should have an innate curiosity to learn from other leaders. Frankly, no one has it all figured out. But by observing how other leaders conduct themselves, you can learn lessons from their good and bad examples.
But remember, every leader has a unique leadership style that matches their personality and beliefs. When learning from others, your ultimate goal should be to gain insight into how to deal with similar situations when they arise but not to copy.
Another way of learning from other leaders is by reading. No matter how busy a successful leader’s schedule gets, they always create time for reading business books and magazines. Reading exposes you to current information and experiences of other leaders that push you to become more grounded in your role.
One of my favorite leadership books is actually on economics. The book does a great job explaining human behavior; Daniel Kahnemans Thinking Fast and Slow is my number one recommendation to all my friends. It has taught me to identify my decision-making biases and allowed me to avoid huge mistakes in my thinking!
Being a leader does not mean you’ll be right all the time. Once in a while, you’ll take the wrong stride, and if your tolerance for taking risks is high, like me, then you’ll make a lot of them ;).
But how you handle your mistakes defines the kind of a leader you are.
It’s easy to cast blame on others when you are a leader. But doing so denies you the opportunity of sitting with your mistakes and learning the lessons to prevent a repeat mistake.
Never blame anything on someone else! Take extreme ownership of your life and your team!
Never blame anything on someone else! Take extreme ownership of your life and your team!
At first, it’s hard to accept one’s mistakes. Research shows 67% of people don’t like owning up to their mistakes. But when you are in a leadership position, you must learn vulnerability and acknowledge your mistakes. The most helpful lessons are the ones you learn from your failures.
When you take responsibility for your errors, you earn respect from your seniors and juniors, making it easy to move on from the mistake.
4. Be Yourself (But Strive For a Better You)
A leader is a blend of their personality, experiences, background, and knowledge. Though leaders may share some qualities, each has a unique leadership style that reflects their authentic self.
Unfortunately, some leaders copy their idols or other leaders with a track record of success without factoring in their personalities. The lack of authenticity in this kind of leadership makes the leader unstable because they’ll constantly be changing themselves to match others.
Imitation is a truly strong part of our biology; that’s how we learn to walk, talk and interact with the world as kids. You can certainly make a strong argument that imitation is the main way of learning throughout life.
Now, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from other leaders. Instead of reinventing the wheel, you should tailor the lesson to your personal qualities.
Remember, being yourself requires you to be self-aware and comfortable with your strengths and weaknesses. And when you are authentic, you can lead confidently and earn your team’s trust because your words and actions match.
My recommendation to leaders is this:
Be yourself at all times; unless yourself is an asshole, then be someone else.
Be yourself at all times; unless yourself is an asshole, then be someone else.
Being yourself has become such a cliche that it has lost its value; it is the same with accepting yourself. If we just accept who we are, then what? What happens with developing a better future self?
I have plenty of behaviors that I wish to improve. As leaders, we shouldn’t aim just be ourselves and expect everyone else to follow us because what happens if that person is unlikeable and untrustworthy?
We have all met people like that, so we must be careful not to become one of them.
We must learn from feedback and continually improve in a direction that aligns us with meaning.
5. Listen to the People Around You
Digital leaders are always in a tight spot because of the waves of information battling for their attention. Though technology avails invaluable information that can help leaders improve, it does not compare to the information coming from your team.
Your team has firsthand experience with your projects and knows what’s working and not.
If you fail to listen to your team, you’ll quickly be surrounded by people unwilling to engage with you. This results in a lack of collaboration and cohesion in the organization.
One powerful skill you can possess as a leader is effective listening. It allows you to get feedback and ideas from your team that can help you make informed decisions. Also, it shows you respect and value your team, helping you build trust and loyalty.
6. Find a Mentor ASAP!
Did you know that 100% of the TOP 50 US Fortune 500 US Fortune companies have mentoring programs, but only a few percent of small businesses do?
Small teams and businesses often make the mistake of not using leadership mentors, sometimes the argument is “we are not ready” or “we don’t have the money and time,” but then I want to ask you, do you think these companies joined the Fortune 500 club and then implemented mentorship programs, or is mentorship a reason why they got there?
The biggest mistake I see small teams make is not using the power of coaching to improve their communication, decision-making, and ability to influence. This stops their development.
They get stuck, lose their team’s support, and sooner or later tend to give up on their own ability to lead.
I have personally met former colleagues, only to see them struggling with the same inability to make good decisions that could have easily been overcome with some coaching and mentoring five years ago.
A much better way is to start working with a leadership mentor/coach as early as possible; just like a football player aiming for the NFL will get private coaching to work on their individual needs, so should you!
A good coach or mentor will offer you the truth you need to hear; they will be obliged to tell you how they perceive you, good and bad so that you can improve. They will never tell you what to do but instead enable you to think in new ways and develop a unique leadership style your team wants to follow.
A good coach or mentor will offer you the truth that you need to hear; they will be obliged to tell you how they perceive you, good and bad so that you can improve.
You will quickly experience that leading your team becomes easier; you will have fewer confrontational questions and social issues, and your sense of purpose will make you dang near unstoppable! This is my personal experience with coaching.
When you want to be an influential speaker able to motivate your team while also confident to make tough decisions, I invite you to book a free leadership call with me, and let’s work together!
7. Learn Competencies That Lie Out of Your Expertise
Most leaders believe that they don’t need skills outside their leadership roles. They might say they do, but if we study their behavior, they stay comfortable and unwilling to stretch themselves beyond their daily routines.
Passive leaders believe that the only way they can learn about the organization’s performance is through employees.
However, successful leaders are always looking for learning opportunities. Being open to learning new skills outside your leadership scope helps you become better at making decisions, understanding problems and connecting with your team.
When you want personalized tips on what skills you should practive to improve your leadership, I invite you to book a free leadership call with me!
8. Be Self-Disciplined
Self-discipline is an invaluable skill for leaders that takes years of intentional actions and self-awareness to cultivate. As a leader, you have to juggle a load of responsibilities, from hectic schedules to ensuring efficiency in the organization to managing your team and pursuing your work and personal goals. Without self-discipline, it’s easy to lose focus and abandon projects mid-way.
Self-discipline gives you the agency to stay focused on what matters, regardless of how you feel. You can set priorities and manage your time to ensure nothing falls behind the set timelines. To become self-disciplined, you must practice the following soft skills until they turn into habits:
Emotional intelligence: Your emotions should not influence your decisions. Instead, you should learn self-control to manage your thought patterns, especially in negative situations.
Persistence: You’ll inevitably encounter challenges along the way, but they should not be a reason for you to quit.
Self-awareness: When handling many responsibilities, forgetting your values can happen in the blink of an eye. To keep your values intact, you should regularly do self-assessments to monitor your behavior.
Humility keeps a leader teachable and aware of their limitations. Though it’s not always a popular trait in lists of leadership qualities, leaders who embrace humility lead from a place of strength because they are approachable and willing to consider other people’s opinions.
They understand and accept that the people around them know things that 1) they themselves do not know and 2) are worth knowing. This is the foundation for active listening, one of the key traits of a great leader.
Being humble does not mean you are a weak leader. You can be humble and still lead confidently. How can you practice humility as a leader?
By leading to serve: Humble leaders do not sit around and wait for others to work for them. They lead in the frontline by helping and guiding others to achieve their goals.
Accepting your mistakes: When mistakes happen, and you’re in charge, you take responsibility. You don’t shift blame to others to make yourself look good.
By admitting you don’t know everything: Being humble as a leader allows you to admit your weaknesses and to take lessons from others who are more knowledgeable than you.
Being empathetic: Practising humility as a leader helps you empathize with other people’s weaknesses. Instead of intimidating them, you allow them to learn and improve.
Being humble does not mean you are a weak leader
10. Anticipate and Leverage Adversity
Leading an organization is like sailing in the ocean. Sometimes the waves will be calm, and the sail will be easy. But the waves might be rough on other days, and you’ll have to fight hard to keep your boat from capsizing.
On average, 69% of organizations face a crisis every fifth year, and sometimes they follow each other consecutively, giving you no room to breathe. This can be stressful and overwhelming. However, being a leader requires you to have an attitude of thriving amidst adversity.
Enduring obstacles and setbacks help you sharpen your leadership skills and learn more about yourself. Although you might make mistakes, you get the experience of handling challenges and crises in a better way should they occur again.
Great leaders are forged through adversity and challenges.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
Networking involves forming connections and relationships with other leaders who hold similar positions as yours. It provides opportunities to learn from leaders who have faced the challenges you encounter in your organization. This allows you to apply their lessons to your leadership style and improve your skills.
You gain valuable insights and best practices, stay up-to-date with industry trends and expand your professional network. It also helps you build credibility, increase exposure, and develop a more diverse network of contacts you can consult in emergencies.
12. The Task That Lays The Foundation For Success
Think about this, what do you value the most, someone who is highly competent but that you don’t trust, or someone whit medium competence but that you trust will have your back when things get rough?
Many team leaders I meet are so focused on vanity metrics and output that they miss out on what actually leads to high performance in the first place. This type of leadership tends to see a performance increase over the short term but will soon stall.
Often the manager tries to do more of the same thing, expecting an increase in performance, but instead, the opposite happens. The team gets dissatisfied with the focus on metrics instead of humans and begins looking for opportunities elsewhere.
You have probably seen this happen at your company or heard of it from your friends. It’s like having a Ferrari but only using the first two gears. Step on the pedal as hard as you want; it won’t go much faster.
What we need to do is access all the gears and all the potential of the team. Because if we don’t, people leave.
If you want to drastically increase retention rate and employee engagement and satisfaction, there is one task you must prioritize above all others. Building trust between you and your team!
Employees leave their jobs because they lack trust in their leaders.
Trust is the foundation of achieving your goals; it doesn’t matter if it is trust in your own ability or others. Here’s an example; my last team did three deployments and worked together for four years; this has never been done in my company before. The reason we could do it? We Forged Unbreakable Trust!
When you build a team with a deep sense of belonging that honors and respects each other, the tasks matter less; you get your stuff done because your teammates expect it from you. Suddenly your team can out weather bad decisions and stupid assignments.
When other teams worry about what is coming next, your team looks inwards and becomes stronger, knowing that whatever storm comes your way, you’ll have each other’s back, and you might even enjoy it.
Without trust, there is no team, only a gathering of individuals.
When there is mutual trust between you and your team, both parties feel a sense of safety. This is called psychological safety and has a big impact on your business.
When you are ready to Forge Unbreakable Trust, I invite you to book a free leadership call with me and let's see if we should work together.
13. Share Your Knowledge With Others
Knowledge becomes more powerful when shared. As a leader, you are exposed to a plethora of knowledge that can help your team become more efficient. By openly sharing your knowledge and expertise, you demonstrate your willingness to support the growth and development of your team.
You create a more engaged and motivated workforce empowered to emulate you. This creates a culture of continuous learning and improvement, challenging your team members to take on demanding responsibilities. It also encourages creativity and innovation.
Being responsible for the training of others also pushes you to “get your shit together,” so to speak; it forces you to double-check your facts and separate between opinions and proven successful ideas.
When you share knowledge with others, you become a better leader and drive success individually and collectively.
14. Set High And Specific Standards
Managing a team requires you to set an example for them to emulate. Therefore, you need to have a set of values and principles that guide your interactions with others, your activities, and your decisions.
To become an excellent leader, you should always set high standards for yourself and your team. When you set a goal, ensure you get the best results possible. Let your team know you don’t settle for mediocrity.
Setting high goals alone doesn’t cut it; you will also have to be as specific as you possibly can; the team needs to know exactly what differentiates a hit from a miss. You don’t want to “increase profit”; you want to “improve sales by 10% before the 21st of May”.
However, you must also be willing to support your team by offering guidance and providing necessary support.
When you are ready to learn more about effective goal setting as a team leader, reach out to me here for a free leadership call.
Final Thoughts
It’s not necessary to go through formal training to improve your leadership skills. You can become a better leader by:
Being intentional about working on your weaknesses.
Learning from your peers and juniors and tailoring the lessons to meet your leadership style.
Reading leadership books, magazines, and other resources.
Staying up-to-date with your industry trends.
Remember, becoming the leader you want takes time and effort. You must be patient with yourself and consistent.
If you are a team leader, then you are probably (like me) always on the lookout for new ideas that can solve old problems more effectively. The problem is that many teams lack the necessary level of psychological safety to feel comfortable speaking out about new and bold ideas. So how can you know if psychological safety is an issue at your workplace?
Some common signs of a lack of psychological safety include fear of speaking up against senior management, inability to voice individual concerns or opinions, low team morale, ineffective feedback exchange, and a lack of participation in team activities.
The term psychological safety was new to me until a few years ago. On the teams, we simply called it “having someone’s back.” This meant that whatever stupid thing someone did or said, we knew it came from a place of trying to make things better.
We assumed incompetence instead of malevolence; this made everyone okay with taking risks and screwing up in the hunt for a better way of doing our job. Since then, I have learned more about psychological safety as a science, and it has allowed me to explain how we could be so effective as a team and why we stayed together for so many years, although most teams broke up after a year.
In this article, I’ll explain what may signal that your team doesn’t feel psychologically safe and how to measure emotional safety on your team.
The fastest way to create a team with high levels of psychological safety is by showing them you care, in this video I walk through one of the most common mistakes I see during my coaching sessions.
9 Signs Your Team Lacks Psychological Safety
Team members should feel safe expressing their thoughts and ideas.
Psychological safety incorporates many things. Feeling free to express yourself and share ideas without fear of judgment, being comfortable raising concerns and voicing opinions even if they contradict the team consensus, and so much more.
Simply put, emotional safety allows employees to be honest and “vulnerable,” experiment and take risks without fear of failure and be comfortable working to their fullest within the team. Naturally, it highly benefits the company, boosting workers’ productivity and encouraging growth and development.
The relationship between leaders and workers, in large part, defines psychological safety. Managing the team wisely and effectively also means ensuring high levels of emotional safety for its members.
So, how do you know if your leading strategy supports or declines employees’ psychological safety? Here are the nine signs that emotional safety is low and needs working on.
A psychologically safe environment allows employees to voice disagreements professionally without fear. On the other hand, when this aspect of the working environment is missing, they’ll be less willing to disagree, especially with leading and managing team members.
The issue is easy to notice during meetings and discussions that involve management. If team members tend to agree with everything and avoid arguing, it may indicate they don’t feel comfortable voicing their opinions and fear the consequences of challenging leaders.
This limits the team’s opportunities for growth and blocks the way for healthy discussion and constructive debate. Lack of such communication also means fewer opportunities for optimizing the working process.
At your next meeting, count the number of follow-up questions you hear. If there are only one or two follow-up questions, but it’s evident that the person who posed the question isn’t satisfied with the answer, then chances are they don’t feel comfortable enough to get to the bottom of the problem.
Sometimes this is due to time constraints or other reasons that make perfect sense. But often, people stop asking questions because they don’t want to look stupid, or the respondent starts to get frustrated.
This is a clear sign that something needs to be done. You are probably missing out on many great ideas that would propel the business.
2. People Avoid Speaking Up on Controversial Topics
Lack of emotional safety also causes people to refrain from controversial opinions and active participation in discussing potentially sensitive topics. Meetings intended to deal with particularly difficult subjects or talk through complex matters may seem hushed, and those who speak up may be hesitant to express a clear and confident opinion.
Employees feel unsafe sharing their points of view and expressing original ideas, fearing the consequences of being wrong. When emotional safety is lacking, workers are more willing to accept what they don’t agree with than take responsibility for individual opinions.
This could also be a result of the TSL effect, which you can read more about here.
The issue is even more noticeable in discussions on controversial topics. As a result, decision-making lacks the perspectives of workers and alternative viewpoints.
For management, it might seem convenient that their suggestions are not challenged. However, leading a team effectively is only possible with the exchange of ideas and communication.
You can test if your team avoids controversial topics by:
Present an idea you know is provocative to your team (you do not have to agree).
Temporarily take a stand for something that you believe they will strongly oppose, and
Watch their reactions. Do they ask questions? Do they respond at all?
Ensure that when the discussion is done, you declare your honest thoughts and that you want their views on the matter.
I have tried this with my old team as well as on new teams; I use it as an indicator to measure the willingness to engage in constructive conflict and understand how psychologically safe they feel.
3. People Don’t Reach Out for Help
If you notice that your team members don’t ask for help or request workload adjustments even when it’s evident they are struggling with meeting deadlines and completing tasks, this is also a sign of a lack of psychological safety.
This could be a conclusion made from past experiences. It shows that people don’t feel comfortable reaching out to others or seeking aid, likely because they do not expect to receive it. Another reason might be that they are afraid to be judged or receive negative comments about their performance and competence in response.
The lack of support often results in reduced productivity, as the employees get overwhelmed and eventually experience burnout.
More effective team management could have avoided these issues if only workers felt comfortable enough to raise their concerns and admit they require help.
Sometimes the reason why teammates don't reach out for help has nothing to do with psychological safety but rather having an improper-sized team.
4. Employees Avoid Admitting to Their Mistakes
One of the major indicators of a lack of psychological safety is fear of failure. It leads to people being reluctant to admit to their mistakes or even trying to put blame and responsibility on others. Needless to say, this doesn’t create a healthy working environment.
Managing a team where errors are concealed and never properly discussed is difficult and often leads to unnecessary issues that could’ve been avoided with proper communication.
Managing a team where errors are concealed and never properly discussed is difficult and often leads to unnecessary issues that could’ve been avoided with proper communication.
Such issues often arise when people face a lot of pressure, and their mistakes are not met with understanding by team leaders. Even if no mistakes are made, fear of failure is still present, getting in the way of new initiatives, experiments, and risky projects.
When people aren’t emotionally safe to risk being accountable for errors, they tend to stay in the safe space of sticking to their direct responsibilities. You’ll notice them being stressed about getting everything right and finished on time.
You can easily measure your team’s willingness to admit failure by counting how many “confessions” you receive per week. If you have zero per week, then something is definitely off.
My experience tells me that you should be getting at least five confessions per week per employee in a healthy work environment.
My experience tells me that you should be getting at least five confessions per week per employee in a healthy work environment.
And I’m not talking about giant mistakes, of course, because you wouldn’t have a business after five of those. I’m talking about the everyday stuff that we all screw up.
You can compare the amount of “confessions” to the number of times someone attributes a mistake to someone else. You want to foster a culture where people take extreme ownership of their tasks and admit their mistakes.
5. People Ask Only One Question
Another concern is that people rarely, if ever, ask questions when discussing their tasks, new projects, or the working process in general. This signals a lack of involvement, as well as a lack of psychological safety.
You should be especially worried if you end up in a situation similar to my old job, where colleagues only asked one question and never a follow-up. This is a big red flag.
This issue is closely connected to people needing to speak up and avoid expressing opinions. When employees don’t feel emotionally safe communicating their concerns or sharing ideas, they are also not likely to participate in discussions and ask their leaders questions.
Workers may be afraid to look foolish or incompetent or hurt their careers by saying something. Among other things, such fears prevent them from asking questions. This leads to misunderstandings that often stress team members out.
When managing a meeting, be open to questions and make sure to communicate that they are always welcome. It’s also important to let employees know that what they say won’t be used against them.
6. Decision-Making Is Passed to Management
When workers are anxious about making decisions relying on their personal judgment and taking responsibility for it, they tend to pass the duty up the chain. This is also a disturbing sign of a lack of psychological safety.
You may notice that more and more matters that could be dealt with on the spot are transferred to higher levels until they reach the managing team.
It would be best if the employees working on the subject directly participated in decision-making. However, when they don’t feel safe to do so, they choose to escalate the matter.
In the military, we adhere to the saying, “Problems should be solved at the level where they’re encountered.”
In the military, we adhere to the saying, “Problems should be solved at the level where they’re encountered.”
This problem is yet again connected to the fear of failure. As a result, issues are dealt with at higher levels, which means decision-making is less effective, and productivity suffers as managing levels get distracted working on local matters.
Encourage employees to make decisions themselves and help them in the process.
When you are faced with a subject that you know could’ve been addressed without you, participate in decision-making and provide your help, then explain that involving you in such matters is not essential. Show that you trust your employees to make these decisions on their own.
7. Feedback Is Not Effectively Shared
Constructive feedback is very helpful for the team and each of its members individually. In successful companies, it is freely shared and continuously requested, which is a healthy working habit. However, the feedback system is ineffective when psychological safety is low.
Employees who don’t feel emotionally safe will not be willing to provide or receive feedback. This could be due to them not receiving constructive criticism and advice on improving their work in the past. Instead, they’ve likely dealt with toxic comments regarding their skills and competence, which makes it hard for them to see any point in seeking feedback.
Similarly, in an unsafe environment, feedback will be shared reluctantly. You can check if this is an issue in your team by comparing the feedback given in person to that received anonymously. If they differ, it could mean the team doesn’t feel safe being open about their opinions.
When managing your employees’ work, provide constructive and encouraging feedback, and ask for it in return. If emotional safety is lacking, the feedback system won’t be helpful even if it exists. To get it working, communicate the benefits of sharing feedback with the workers and be a positive example.
Feedback is at the core of the Sancus Leadership Philosophy. We have dedicated more than twelve years to trying to understand its impact on team effectiveness. When you want to improve productivity on your team, book a free call with me here.
8. Team Morale Is Low
Various factors can influence team morale, and this fact alone doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of psychological safety. Still, if emotional safety is an issue, low team morale will definitely be among its symptoms.
All the aspects we’ve discussed above, including fear of failure, feeling uncomfortable sharing opinions (and voicing concerns), and reduced participation, affect the overall team spirit. Employees lose confidence and a sense of their value to the company; they feel stressed and anxious and often get overworked and burnt out.
As a result, the team morale suffers, negatively impacting productivity and performance. Leading the team responsively and working on improving psychological safety will help resolve this issue and many others.
You can measure individual morale at the team level by the amount of “unnecessary” but engaging activities that your team participates in;
Are there any spare time activities being organized?
Are people engaging in practical jokes?
Is the team starting to develop its own words and language?
9. Not Enough Trust Between Employees and Management
This description may seem vague; however, lack of trust can take various forms, contributing to low psychological safety levels. If you notice these patterns in your team, it’s a clear sign that emotional safety is an issue.
For instance, you or other leading members of the team may extend your control to the local level of decision-making and execution. You aim to manage at the micro level to ensure everything is up to the mark and done on time.
This, however, signals a serious lack of trust in your employees. When you don’t give them enough freedom to perform their duties, your control feels intrusive and negatively impacts their psychological safety.
When workers feel they’re not trusted, their trust in management declines, too. As a result, their performance and your relationship with them suffer. Instead, try improving your communication, set clear and precise expectations, and practice giving constructive feedback.
When workers feel they’re not trusted, their trust in management declines, too.
Another form of a lack of trust may be excluding some team members from decision-making or restricting their access to information. You may notice that you rely on the same people in discussions and keep in communication with them, while others are missing out on certain updates or meetings.
This may feel sensible, for instance, if you think some information is not worth sharing with everyone or specific meetings only concern particular employees and not others. On the other hand, you may find that you don’t trust other team members enough or consciously prefer not to involve them.
There’s a balance to be struck between overwhelming and under-sharing information; both tend to lead to distrust, as far as my experience goes.
There’s a balance to be struck between overwhelming and under-sharing information; both tend to lead to distrust, as far as my experience goes.
When this becomes a pattern, the emotional safety of the excluded team members declines. Their lack of participation leads to miscommunication and frequent misunderstandings that cause mistakes. Employees experience distress, while the reason for their errors is they are simply underinformed.
Sign
Description
Team Members Rarely Challenge Leaders
Team members hesitate to voice disagreements or challenge leaders, indicating a lack of comfort in expressing opinions and fear of consequences. This can be observed during meetings and discussions involving management.
People Avoid Speaking Up
Due to a lack of emotional safety, individuals refrain from expressing controversial opinions and actively participating in discussions on sensitive topics. Meetings focused on difficult subjects may become subdued and hesitant.
People Don’t Reach Out for Help
Team members fail to ask for help or request adjustments despite struggling with deadlines and tasks. This points to a lack of psychological safety, resulting in reduced productivity and potential burnout.
Employees Avoid Admitting Mistakes
Fear of failure leads employees to avoid admitting mistakes and shifts blame onto others. This behavior creates an unhealthy work environment, with individuals stressing over perfection and timely completion of tasks.
People Ask Only One Question
Individuals rarely ask questions during discussions related to tasks, projects, or the overall work process. This indicates a lack of engagement and psychological safety. Encouraging questions and assuring non-repercussion is crucial.
Decision-Making Is Passed to Management
Anxious about making decisions and taking responsibility, team members frequently defer decision-making to higher management levels. This reflects a lack of psychological safety and hampers effectiveness and productivity.
Feedback Is Not Effectively Shared
In an environment of low psychological safety, constructive feedback is not freely shared or requested. It is important to provide encouraging feedback and create a culture where feedback is valued and actively sought from employees.
Team Morale Is Low
While low team morale can be influenced by various factors, it often stems from a lack of psychological safety. This impacts productivity and performance. Fostering psychological safety improves team morale and addresses other issues.
Not Enough Trust Between Employees and Management
Insufficient trust in various forms contributes to low psychological safety levels. Lack of trust between employees and management affects performance and relationships. Enhancing communication, setting clear expectations, and providing constructive feedback can help improve trust.
In this short yet insightful video below, Harvard University’s Dr. Amy Edmondson talks about how psychological safety is important in building great and excellent teams.
Creating Psychological Safety at Work
How to Measure Psychological Safety at Work
Evaluate your workplace’s level of psychological safety.
Now that we’ve discussed what you should look out for let’s look more specifically at how you can evaluate your workplace’s current level of psychological safety.
One way to approach this is to take a comprehensive survey that can help you determine if employees feel emotionally safe and what aspects concern them the most.
You can ask questions or suggest a set of statements your workers can agree or disagree with.
Here are some statements you can include:
I feel comfortable expressing my opinions during discussions, even if they contradict the consensus of the team.
I feel valued within the team and believe that my potential and skills are successfully utilized.
I feel like my mistakes are held against me.
I am uncomfortable asking questions and feel like they make others question my competence.
I actively participate in team meetings and feel like my contributions are significant.
When I need help, I feel comfortable reaching out to others or discussing it with management.
I feel like everyone on the team is treated equally and fairly.
I don’t feel safe taking risks or taking responsibility for experimental initiatives.
Measuring Psychological Safety at Work
Another way that I recommend to all small teams is to take all the tips from above and the questions below and incorporate them into your daily work life.
Start becoming aware of your workplace!
Self-Management For Small Team Leaders! (Actionable Tips)
A common mistake I see when working with team leaders is that they are so focused on organizing the company and their team that they forget about themselves. This often leads to a lack of trust and missed deadlines. You’re likely to have heard the terms “self-management” or “personal management,” but you might not know how fundamental skills they are for competent leaders. So what exactly is self-management?
Self-management entails skills relating to managing your time and tasks without needing outside input or assistance. Self-management is removing distractions, identifying what is important, and completely focusing on achieving it.
Want to learn how self and personal management affects your team and the bottom line? Keep reading to get all the information you need.
Self-Management Definition and Examples
Leaders must have self-management skills.
Self-management (also known as personal management) is the process of managing yourself and taking accountability for your actions and work. Rather than relying on someone else to manage your workload and tell you what to do at all times, you can depend on yourself.
Even if you have a manager, it’s still essential to have self-management skills so that you can work successfully on your own and as a valuable team member.
Even if you have a manager, it’s still essential to have self-management skills so that you can work successfully on your own and as a valuable team member.
If each project member has self-management skills, delegating tasks will be easier. Less input from management will be required because everyone will be capable of looking after themselves.
In the military, we call this “Someone who can carry their own backpack.” It means that you can take care of your own stuff AND be a valued asset to the team.
Below are some examples of self-management:
Taking Full Responsibility for Your Work and Progress
First and foremost, self-management involves taking full responsibility for your work and progress rather than relying on someone else to take the heat if something goes wrong.
It also means you’re responsible for making progress with your tasks, so you must take accountability if you need to catch up in certain areas. In almost all jobs, people must take responsibility for their work and progress, which is why self-management in a professional setting is so important.
Let’s say you’re in a group project, and all your colleagues are ahead of you and hitting their targets. You, on the other hand, are falling behind and not meeting deadlines. In that instance, you need to take responsibility and ask yourself why you’re not meeting the same targets as your colleagues.
Rather than shifting blame, think about what you can do to improve your performance individually and as a team member–this might include reorganizing tasks or implementing better time management.
No matter the case, taking full responsibility for your work and progress is an excellent example of self-management.
Here's a great assessment on taking extreme ownership, where you can learn if you are taking or avoiding responsibility!
Setting Targets for Yourself
Setting targets for yourself is another example of self-management. Rather than relying on a manager or team member to give you a target or goal, you should be able to set one yourself.
Suppose you can successfully set targets for yourself. In that case, you’ll find it easier to set targets for others if you’re interested in taking on higher positions in the future (like higher management roles).
If you can successfully set targets for yourself, you’ll find it easier to set targets for others.
Not only that, but the target should be risky and achievable. When you set targets for yourself, you must stay committed to reaching them within the specified timeframe. This is especially important if you’re working in a team where failing to meet your targets will affect others.
Each time a large milestone is met, it’s good to celebrate in some way to promote further motivation and happiness in yourself and other team members.
Each team member should be capable of setting targets for themselves and reaching those targets to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Time management is a vital aspect of self-management and a skill that every professional should have, no matter the industry.
Time management involves different things, including:
Setting a specific amount of time for each task. You may have to deal with various tasks in a group project. In this scenario, the best thing to do is set a certain amount of time for each job to allow for better organization. I like to see this as a budget; the more important the task, the higher the budget is.
Setting time aside for breaks (personal time). While you must get all your work done within a reasonable timeframe, setting time aside for rest or breaks is equally important. Allocating time for holidays allows you to recharge, reduces the risk of burnout, and improves performance over time.
Understanding how long different tasks might take. Before managing time between tasks, you must have the ability to determine how long each one will take to complete. There’s no point in allocating insufficient time to a job or allocating too much time to one that doesn’t need it. Never give your employees The Impossible Task.
Adjusting time frames where necessary. There’s no doubt that everyone makes mistakes now and then. For example, you might realize you didn’t allocate enough time for a particular task. In that instance, you should be able to recognize the issue and adjust the time frame.
Without proper time management, you risk producing poor-quality work and missing deadlines.
Being Organized and Punctual
Another aspect of self-management is being organized and punctual. Someone with good self-management skills should always keep their work organized to avoid a potential mess or confusion, mainly when working with a group of colleagues.
I struggle with this a lot. I hate maintenance, but I have learned that to move really fast, we sometimes need to slow down to improve or repair something and move even faster.
I hate maintenance, but I have learned that to move really fast, sometimes we need to slow down to improve or repair something, and then move even faster.
There are different ways one can be organized when managing and leading a project. Here are some examples:
Having an efficient workspace. Having enough clear space to get your work done is effective. Organizing all your documents and equipment will ensure you have enough room to work comfortably. It also makes it easier to find things and therefore saves you time. Think about how you can remove distractions.
Creating folders. If you have to deal with a lot of paperwork, creating folders for different topics is a great way to remain organized. It could also include creating other digital folders on a computer if you don’t deal with physical paperwork. Take your time to figure out what is the most effective way to categorize your information; I like to use the “often vs. rarely” method.
Have a system for note-taking. In some instances, an issue or something else might come up. When that happens, you should have an organized way to take notes and keep them safe for future reference. I use Google Keep and Google Tasks; they allow me to take notes in seconds which I then organize at the end of the week.
Being organized also has mental health benefits, as it can make you feel more relaxed and happier. When you’re happier and more relaxed, you’re more likely to be motivated to get work done and be a valuable leader and member of a group.
When you’re happier and more relaxed, you’re more likely to be motivated to get work done and be a valuable leader and member of a group.
Punctuality is also an aspect of self-management. Someone with excellent self-management skills will most often be on time for work and meetings.
Consistently being late reflects poorly on you and indicates you need to improve your self-management skills.
It’s also generally considered disrespectful to be late to things frequently, especially when you’re leading a project and have people relying on you to show up on time. If you want to improve your self-management skills, you should always aim to be punctual (unless something more important needs to be done, of course).
The Ability to Identify Emerging Threats and Destroy Them
A valuable personal management skill to have when managing a team is the ability to recognize and rectify a problem before it’s too late.
For example, you might have a problem with a specific task you’re currently working on. Alternatively, you might notice a problem with a job someone else in the team is doing while leading the group. If something isn’t adding up or working the way it should, you should have the ability to recognize that and make the necessary changes sooner rather than later.
If you don’t recognize an issue early on, it could cause more significant problems down the line, so identifying an issue is a critical self-management skill. You should also encourage others in the team to be on the lookout for mistakes or problems that might sometimes go unnoticed to possible disruptions in the future. Good problem-solving skills often require thinking in new ways.
Self-Management Skill
Description
Taking full responsibility for your work and progress
Taking accountability for your own work and progress rather than relying on someone else and being responsible for making progress with your tasks
Setting targets for yourself
Being able to set goals for yourself rather than relying on a manager or team member and staying committed to reaching them within a specified timeframe
Managing time accordingly
Managing time effectively by setting specific amounts of time for each task, setting time aside for breaks, understanding how long different tasks might take, and adjusting time frames where necessary
Being organized and punctual
Keeping your work organized and being punctual for work and meetings to avoid a potential mess or confusion
Identifying emerging threats and addressing them
Having the ability to recognize and rectify problems before they become significant issues and encouraging others in the team to be on the lookout for potential disruptions in the future
Self-management skills and their corresponding descriptions
Why Self-Management Is Important as a Team Leader
Encourage your team to take responsibility for their work.
While self-management relates to taking responsibility for yourself, plenty of people with self-management skills are also team leaders. When managing a team of workers, you are responsible for ensuring other people pull their weight by leading them while also managing your own tasks.
Therefore, self-management is imperative if you’re interested in working in a management position within an organization.
If you are leading a team, your first priority should be self-management. When you are highly organized and can manage your tasks well, it will be much easier to be responsible for others.
If you are leading a team, your first priority should be self-management. When you are highly organized and can manage your tasks well, it will be much easier to be responsible for others.
As a manager, you should also promote self and personal management to your team, encouraging them to take responsibility for their work. Doing this can improve your team’s workflow, meaning jobs can get done more seamlessly.
How to Self-Manage as a Team Leader
Below are some specific ways you can self-manage when leading a team.
How to Self-Manage as a Team Leader
Make Time to Communicate With Your Team
Setting time aside for communicating with your team is a vital part of self-management when leading a project.
It allows people to disclose issues or concerns they may have. Regular communication also ensures everyone remains current on the latest developments, which is vital for a project to succeed.
Communication lessens the chances of things going wrong (like two co-workers accidentally doing the same task).
You should always set time aside for team communication, even if you have a busy schedule. A meeting is one way to achieve this, but I recommend more informal events like having a coffee together. Consider making some free time in your schedule for a daily or weekly meeting.
Use a Diary or Journal to Plan Your Week
Another excellent way to self-manage as a team leader is to use a diary or journal to “budget” your week.
Identify what tasks need to be done.
Give each task a time budget.
Identify two high-value targets to achieve each day, and do those first.
Don’t let anything less Important distract you until you are done.
Doing this ties in with the organization point mentioned earlier in the article, and it’s imperative when managing people.
Set Time Aside for Team Activities
When managing a team, you want everyone to pull their weight and get their jobs done. To achieve the best results, consider setting time aside now and then for team activities, as these can boost people’s moods and general morale.
If the moods are boosted due to such activities, team members are more likely to work well due to increased drive and enthusiasm.
While planning your weekly or monthly schedules, make sure to incorporate some time for some fun team-building activities. Failure to make time for certain things (like setting time aside for team activities) could indicate your self-management skills may need improvements.
However, if it’s getting close to crunch time and there is a lot of work, it might not be possible to do team activities. Still, you should aim to organize something once the workload eases.
Self-Managed Teams
In a self-managed team, each person has equal responsibility.
In most instances, a team will have one leader or manager. However, self-managed teams also exist. In the case of a self-managed team, there is no primary team lead. Instead, everyone is equally responsible for leading and making decisions.
Self-management skills are imperative when each person has equal responsibility. If each person can manage their time and workload efficiently, it’s easier for everyone to finish the job.
How to Build a Functioning Self-Managed Team
Below are some of the ways to build a functioning self-managed team.
Promote Communication and Teamwork
Effective communication and teamwork are among the most critical aspects of a self-managed team. From the get-go, team members should be capable of delegating tasks and discussing concerns or issues with each other.
If you feel like your self-managed team could have better communication, organize a meeting or another activity to encourage others to speak up and not be afraid of judgment or saying constructive things.
In a self-managed team, everyone should be leading the way and making contributions, so promoting these things is vital.
Encourage All Team Members to Make Decisions
As well as encouraging communication and teamwork, it’s also good to encourage team members to make decisions for the group. When no specific person is managing a team, each person should hold equal responsibility for leading and making important decisions.
Once everyone can contribute by making important decisions, the self-managed team should be able to function well.
Ensure Everyone Knows the Importance of Personal Management
Everyone (within the team environment) must know the importance of personal management. As no specific person is leading the team, all members must be able to sufficiently manage themselves while contributing to the team.
All team members in a self-managed team are responsible for the following:
Prioritizing their own tasks
Organizing their workspaces and paperwork/digital files
Being punctual
Setting time frames for different tasks
In a standard team project setting, the team manager is usually responsible for setting time frames and task priorities. However, this is not the case in a self-managed team, so each member must understand the importance of personal management.
Here’s a quick but informative video identifying the building blocks of self-managed teams.
How to Build a Self-Managed Team
Conclusion
Self or personal management is taking accountability for your actions and work instead of relying on others. Having self-management skills is vital to be successful in any work environment, mainly when working as part of a team.
Personal and self-management are also essential if you are leading a team of employees–to manage others, you must first be capable of managing yourself.
