One of the most constant questions I am asked leader is, “How can I lead my team to a higher level of productivity without either killing them or throwing more money at them?” It’s a legitimate question all leaders face, one that we all ask ourselves every day.
The pressures we face to produce more and more are real, daunting, and at times, extremely scary. There is, however, a simple yet very powerful model I teach business leaders in how to breakthrough five common roadblocks to productivity.
Five Common Roadblocks to Productivity
Here are five common roadblocks to productivity and how to address each one.
Roadblock #1: Unclear goals. You may understand the goals, but never assume your team does. Simply stating the goals at the beginning or the year, or even having one mid-year review is not enough. Through consistent, timely (weekly/daily) reviews of the company, department, and individual goals, you will go a long way to overcome this simple yet reoccurring roadblock.
Roadblock #2: Unclear standards. Standards are the minimum acceptable level of performance. Again, do not assume your team knows “how well” they are supposed to perform their duties. By ensuring every key goal has clear, measurable standards based upon quality, quantity, time, and/or cost, you will eliminate one of the most common reasons for under performance.
Roadblock #3: Unclear rewards or punishments. If you have any kids, you know exactly what I mean! Through reinforcing both the upside of good performance and the downside of poor performance, you can inspire higher performance in all employees.
Roadblock #4: Lack of accountability. This roadblock is perhaps the most frustrating to both leaders and employees. Who is accountable for the results? Ultimately, the leader is accountable for the team’s performance. Yet too many leaders only delegate responsibility (task-focused) without accountability (results-focused). The fastest way to overcome this roadblock is to (and you’ve heard this many times) inspect what you expect. Don’t delegate then abdicate. Follow-up with your employees at the right times (see Roadblock #2).
Roadblock #5: Lack of urgency. All too often employees and entire teams seem to lack any sense of urgency in getting things done. This often stems from misunderstanding the importance of timely goal completion. When employees fully understand the critical nature of the “when,” they are far more likely to finish the task with both urgency and excellence.
The First Step to Higher Productivity
Before leaping into complicated, even esoteric approaches to breaking through your roadblocks to productivity, I recommend you first clarify with your team the:
· What (goals),
· How (standards),
· Why (rewards),
· Who (accountability), and
· When (urgency).
Original? Not really. Simple? You might be surprised – you may need to invest some serious time in one of more of these areas. This time, however, will certainly return a huge dividend through crystallizing for everyone how to overcome the roadblocks to your team’s productivity.
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