Do your employees or people on your team do just enough so they don’t get fired? Sound familiar?
Do they just seem to be giving minimal effort? Can you imagine if the employees at Disney just gave a minimal effort? What would the Disney experience look like if their employees and fellow team members just did enough to get by? It certainly wouldn’t be Magical!
When I work with clients, in helping them create a Disney-like team culture, we focus a lot on leadership and team dynamics. The environment is impacted by the leader of the department or owner of the business who set the tone for the employees to follow. We also evaluate team dynamics and I help teams be more cohesive and work together to achieve a common goal or more importantly a “win”- “win” situation for a positive environment.
Here are a few tips I used, while leading my teams at Disney, to move forward and to help them discover and achieve a new level of engagement and performance.
- Give Strong Direction: A productive team needs strong direction. Make sure that everyone knows the common purpose or “why” it is important to do what you want them to do. Are the expectations fully clear? Has it been conveyed to everyone on the team that has a touch point with a customer? Are there check points or discussions along the way? Are there any consequences of not meeting those expectations driven by the leaders or fellow teammates?
When people know what good work is suppose to look like, they require less supervision and give more effort. There are no surprises. Everyone is on the same page.
- Provide a Safe Working Environment: Have you or a fellow teammate ever had an idea that could improve the operation, product, service or customer experience, yet when you shared it you received a sarcastic response? Do ideas brought about by the team seem to just get squashed and put on the back burner? When an idea gets put down, the chance that future ideas will be shared become minimal or none.
When staff or team members bring their ideas you need to listen intently. Listening is the greatest respect you can show someone. Ask more questions to get more information to show genuine interest in their suggestions or feedback. This will help provide a safe environment for more input from your staff or team.
- Express Gratitude: Expressing gratitude for the contributions of team members seems like a given, yet it is easy to take people’s efforts for granted. It is also easy to see what is going wrong rather than what is going right. By looking at the positive and catching people doing things right, you are expressing gratitude.
I learned a long time ago, that people need encouragement more than praise. Praise is normally given after something or project has been completed, yet people need encouragement and positive affirmations along the way. Learn to offer encouragement on a regular basis.
When team members have a clear vision and the expectations of what they need to do, feel safe in discussions and providing feedback and are thanked for their efforts along the way, they tend to be more creative with ideas, problem solve, and take initiative in creating a positive team culture and customer experience. Now that is Magical!