Client Magnets Official Blog

If your goal is to have a business that operates without being totally dependent upon you, you need to develop a team that is self-sufficient.

As your business grows and becomes more complex, things are going to come up that you haven’t anticipated. Your team will be part of the solutions, but it may also, at times, be part of your problem. There will be misunderstandings. There will be mistakes.

When you’re dealing with people, there will be things that go wrong. This is just part of human nature. That’s part of a growing business. Learning from mistakes and implementing new procedures will help to improve the performance of your team, and in turn, improve the performance of your business.

One way you can do this is through weekly team meetings…

• Weekly meetings make you focus more on keeping your team updated. You think about your business more than anyone else does. If you come up with ideas and things almost overnight, you could end up moving forward on something that you haven’t even mentioned to anyone yet.

• Weekly meetings are the one time a week when your team is guaranteed your full attention.

• This means you’re available to tie up loose ends or address any minor issues that need to be handled.

• Instead of your team constantly checking with you on different matters throughout the week, or trading e-mails, you can handle things right then and there in an allotted time slot. This can save you alot of time.

Improving communication systems is another way to improve your team’s performance…

• Setting parameters is a good way to let your team know what’s expected of them.

For example, do you spend an inordinate amount of time answering a constant stream of e-mails with one question in them?  Consider telling your team to send only one e-mail each with all of their questions in it. That’s easier to manage than turning on your inbox and seeing 10 different emails from the same person.  Psychologically it’s easier to handle this way.

• Remember, you are also setting aside time at weekly meetings to address issues.

All of this goes back to your vision; doing business on your own terms. You’ve got to set the parameters. You set this up. You decide how you want it to be.

Progress reports are another great way to ensure your team’s performance…

Arrange for your team to submit a weekly progress report.  That way, you don’t need to be chasing your team and asking, “Have you done this? What’s the progress on that?” At the end of each week, the responsibility is on them to take everything that you have put their way, and give you an update.

And finally, in order for your team to be truly self-sufficient, you need to take some time off.

This may sound odd to you, but it’s important.

Give yourself a few free days.  It’s important for you as a business owner to recharge, to get in touch with your own creativity.

Take a well-deserved holiday at the seaside, or wherever you’d like to go. Leave the laptop home. This will really force your team to step up and take charge. If you make yourself available, you know for a fact there will be a couple of hours worth of emails or questions coming your way.

If you simply aren’t available to them, they will just handle it. This is actually great training for your team. If you want to make them an ongoing part of your business, you have to build free days into how you do this.

At the end of the day, you are paying these people. They are on your team. So you choose how you want them to communicate with you. The leadership and the guidance need to come from you.

Try implementing at least one of these tips this week and see the different to your business and lifestyle.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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