Chain is no Stronger Than its Weakest Link

Have you ever been in a situation where you have to push someone to do what he or she is supposed to do but afraid to get their feelings hurt? And no matter how you tried, you just can not get the fire burning in them. It is so frustrated to have people like that especially in a team, you are given a specific duration of time to complete a project but it seems like goal is far too ambitious when that person are not doing his or her job properly and what is even worst, is they are not even aware of it!

For this topic we will be using “pet turtle” to describe these laid-back friends of ours.

So here is how you should approach these pet turtles, and start seeing progress and a glimpse of hope in your deadlines.

Ask what their priorities or would like to have at work- there are some instances where your employees capabilities and skill are just not fitted for the tasks he have, he might be good at something else inside the team, so do not hesitate to ask them, in that way, a boss that wants to know his employees well, will give them a feeling of importance in the team. That is a good start.

create a goal for the team and be authoritative about it! It is okay to be nice and gracious but make sure that your sense of authority is not being push to the side. Be straight-forward about what you want to accomplish at a certain point and monitor each work being done. You just can not let few people sabotage the overall productivity of your team. Set goals and deadlines for your pet turtles and we will see from there if they are really capable of what they are doing.

• Do what you preach. You as a boss cannot be a plain talker or motivational speaker, you should always always be the role model for your employees. Your work ethics will be the voice for your expectations from your team.

• Put a finger on their face- off course not in literal terms but to pinpoint their accomplishments, once in a while people want to be recognized for the extra effort they have imparted on their task, do not be such a cold-heart, let them feel and see that you are noticing their hard work and be appreciative about it. It is a very nice way to rekindle the fire among your team members.

• Offer them career opportunities and promotion. Again, you have to know what work or tasks interest them the most and how long do they see themselves doing that work. In that sense, they will be more motivated to improve or to better themselves because they will think that it is not hard to be successful on something that they really love doing at the first place.

• There is a lot of rooms for improvement- it is critical that you know what your employees are good at, and then give them the materials and training to further develop what they already have. In that manner, you are empowering your work force at the same time, your putting your money on the right place.

Lastly,

• understand that sometimes being too nice is not an option at all- if your power to persuade them is not working, it is not a question of your leadership, there are just some people that is not good at teamwork or just being a plain follower, they might excel better on their own, so do not be afraid to let them go. In that way your are opening opportunities for them to go after what they really want and opportunities for those who really deserve their position. So limit your nicety and be more firm with your conditions. It will better your company and it will better their work ethics as well.

So there you are, I hope you find this article helpful. And I hope that the next time that I will be viewed, it will come from someone who was referred by you.