A few weeks ago, I wrote an article called 5 Ways To Know If Your Team Is Inconsistent. If you haven’t read it, would you click on the link and check it out?
Now that you’ve evaluated the team that you lead and you’ve discovered that they’re not as consistent as you’d like them to be…now what? How do I help them become more consistent?
Well, I’m glad you asked! Here are five ways to help increase consistency:
- Over communicate. When leading a team, I’m not sure that it’s possible to communicate too much. I’m sure that it is, but far too many of us woefully under-communicate that an increase in our communication would be welcomed. But, when we communicate with our teams we are setting expectations. And the more that they hear from us the more likely we are to adequately shape the culture and that leads to consistency and excellence.
- Have a system for development. Often, one of the main reasons a team is inconsistent is because they lack training. Especially in any kind of on-going way. And, if there is training present, it happens haphazardly and without any clear system. It’s important that we have a system in place and that we follow that system to train, assess, and create plans for improvement.
- Focus on the foundation. When a team is inconsistent, it is best to go back to the basics of what you do. Start at the foundation and then build from there. Even if the team has been together for many years, if you find that they’re not operating at their optimal level, it’s time to revisit the foundation. So, pull out the job description, the handbook, or whatever introductory guides that exist and review them with the team.
- Staff adequately. Inconsistency can be a by-product of not having enough people. When you’re people are stretched thin and filling multiple roles, they’re not going to be at their best. So, be sure that you have enough people to do everything that needs to be done. During certain peak seasons or moments of quick growth, it’s even valuable to over-staff so that you can exceed the expectations.
- Inspect what you expect. I’m not sure who to give credit to for this statement, but it’s so true. Once you’ve delegated and once you’ve trained, it’s vital that you then follow up regularly to make sure that the job is being done and that there’s consistency. Often, we set the expectation and then walk away and never check back until there’s a fire burning too big to be extinguished. Also, inspecting what you expect will help you identify what you need to communicate about, what you need to train on, etc.
Which of these can you implement for your team this week? Comment below and let me know…
Great post Tim! I concur with the first one. I tend to under-communicate. I say it once, and expect people to get it expecting execution. But often times I find myself having to say the same thing again over and over.
Years ago I learned as pastor friend who would say the same thing in three different ways every single time. It used to aggravate me. I decided to not use that technique of communication. Only to find out years later that I better use it or do something similar.