Take your team from scattered to aligned

Do you wish your whole team was aligned and moving in the same direction?

For my first six months as a director, I tried to do everything myself. I thought it was my job to figure everything out. My team was frustrated and I was overwhelmed. Then, after an offsite leadership team meeting, I decided to implement the process that had worked for one of my peers. It changed everything for me and for my team; and I now share the process with every supervisor, manager, or business owner that I talk to.

The process is simple but it’s not easy. And it didn’t just work for my department, it has worked for thousands of businesses.

It started with creating a strategy and vision for our department alongside my team. To get clarity around our goals, my entire team worked together to define and agree on our priorities; AND each person knew exactly how they were contributing to those goals. I now lead teams and business owners through this process.

This effort creates strong, engaged teams. They know what they are working on, they know how it aligns with our goals,  and they know that it matters.

Too often annual goals seem disconnected from day-to-day work. They are rolled down, written last minute, everyone dreads them, and then they are forgotten throughout the year.

This process is different. It is transparent and has high accountability that people appreciate.

• Creating annual goals as a team after reviewing what’s working and not working. 

• Breaking those goals down into 90-day SMART goals. 

• Reviewing those SMART goals weekly and discussing them when people need help. 

• Having weekly, one-hour team meetings to review the 90-day goals and solve the issues.

As a director, I led my team through the annual, quarterly, and weekly meetings. It sufficed,  but the better option for me was bringing on a facilitator. It allowed me to be present with my team and truly contribute, instead of figuring out what was next in the meeting. 

I hear over and over from business owners and managers how helpful it was for them and their teams to go through this. I just respond “I know, right!?”. I wish I had this process with my earliest teams.