Are you prepared to discover and harness the potential talent within your team, to propel your business to new heights of success? Here are five compelling reasons why you should start now:
1. Discover a crucial skill you might not know you need
A well-rounded view of your team’s abilities means knowing their strong and weak points. One of your more vulnerable areas could suddenly become critical for your organisation. A successful leadership team experienced this when a significant customer restructured their business and unexpectedly removed them as a supplier.
This painful setback happened after the team celebrated 360 feedback showing a strong bias toward action, accountability, and results. Sadly, they had overlooked low scores in strategic thinking and innovation. But, on the bright side, they immediately reviewed market trends and connected with customers to align with their short and longer-term plans.
Ensure you take a future-focused look at your team’s skillset to avoid such mishaps.
2. Draw on individual strengths and interests
When people love what they do, productivity skyrockets. Creative ideas and innovations flow. By delving into each team member’s unique capabilities, you can leverage their skills and interests for superior outcomes.
For example, a leader saw an opportunity to revive a stream of business at risk of closure due to competitor activity. This individual was passionately committed to its continuation for customers who would be disadvantaged if it closed down. With a carefully drafted business case and astute planning, the leader won support to deliver an outstanding outcome.
It shows that one person’s vision and talents can make a huge difference.
3. Pinpoint the skills required to round out the team
By recognising the different capabilities of team members, you can identify and fill any skill gaps, leading to a more balanced and effective team. When an executive team reviewed their organisation’s employee engagement survey, they realised that inadequate technology frustrated many employees.
Despite a sizeable investment to enable remote working, the executive team acknowledged they needed to do more to meet the needs of their people and their business. So rather than relying on IT, they took responsibility and educated themselves on how leaders can actively anticipate and support digital and technology solutions to advance their business.
They subsequently rolled out a series of very successful information sessions to all managers in the organisation.
4. Continually track and enhance your team’s abilities
To keep your team at the top of their game, evaluate their skills regularly, offer them growth opportunities, and adapt to changes in the business world. Imagine a situation where you inherited a team that received very little meaningful development in the past.
A newly appointed leader discovered that their team had made promises to customers that the company couldn’t keep. To address this, the team needed to quickly gain negotiation and financial skills. The solution was a skills assessment followed by practical, hands-on sessions on creating win-win solutions to satisfy both the customer’s and the organisation’s needs.
This approach helped the organisation to maintain profitability whilst delivering in full on customer expectations.
5. Embrace the power of curiosity for team building
To elevate your team’s performance, why not foster an atmosphere of curiosity and collaboration? Inspire your colleagues by being the first to share your thoughts, creating a safe space for others to contribute. One approach is to model a new leader who spent the first 30 days in the role having individual meetings with every direct report and their subordinates.
Simple yet powerful questions such as “What were your biggest contributions last year?”, “Can you identify any obstacles that are hindering your goals?” and “How I can improve your experience here?” helped this inspiring leader gain invaluable insight to improve things for their employees and the company.
By focusing on team building activities and fostering curiosity, you can create a strong and cohesive team that works together towards a common goal, unlocking the full potential of each member.
Demonstrate curiosity today and encourage others to do the same for the growth and success for your team.
