Leadership & Strategy | April 10, 2017

Is Your Team Flying Blind?
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It takes a strong team to make a business successful. Being clear with your team about company goals, their role in the business, and your expectations of them can help everyone work together more productively. Learn more about why your team needs clarity.

Why Your Team Needs Clarity About the Mission

Most business owners ask each employee to be a team player. As team players, employees should be able to get behind the mission of the company. That can’t happen unless the mission of the business is clear. How can you expect a team to be passionate about your business if they don’t know what you’re trying to do?

Your company may have had an incredible year, with big profits and an outpouring of positive feedback from customers, but what are you planning to do with that? Having a clear plan for the business as you move forward will help everyone stay on the same page. Outline your vision, set clear goals, and communicate those goals to every member of the team.

Why Your Team Members Needs Clarity About Their Roles

Once you’ve outlined the goals of the company and have asked the team to work together to achieve those goals, each person needs to understand how he or she fits into the plan. It’s very difficult to excel at a job when you aren’t clear about the requirements and responsibilities that your job entails. Therefore, it’s important to clarify the role played by each member of the team.

When discussing individual roles and responsibilities, use clear and straightforward language. A job description shouldn’t be vague. Clearly outline the responsibilities of each member of the team, including their goals and objectives. The structure of the entire company should be clear as well. That makes it easier to see how each position fits together to support the overall mission of the company. It’s also a way to show employees their potential for moving up in the company over time.

Why Your Team Needs Clarity About Expectations

If roles and responsibilities for each position are clear, it makes it much easier to set expectations and address performance issues. Let your team know exactly what you expect from them, give both positive and negative feedback often, and be clear about what will happen if expectations aren’t met. Being very clear from the beginning will help avoid issues and difficult conversations later on.

Unfortunately, performance issues do come up, and it’s important to address them quickly and directly. If you see a problem with a member of your team, discuss the roles and responsibilities of the position, explain why they aren’t meeting those requirements, and outline the repercussions they can expect if they don’t change. Make your message clear to prevent confusion later.

Be clear with the members of your team to help them reach individual success and advance the company mission. You can grow your brand and build your team morale at the same time.

Seeking Success

The recipe for success is there for everyone; all you have to do is incorporate the right habits into your daily life.