You are a small business owner; you have decided to grow. This means bringing on people to help you. However, you may have experienced the frustration of constantly supervising your team and feeling like you have no time left for more strategic or revenue-generating tasks. This could be particularly painful if you had hoped that hiring people would give you more freedom, rather than less. So, why does this happen, and what can you do about it? The answer lies in the importance of clarity and specificity when managing staff.
Clarity and specificity are crucial in ensuring that your team members are aligned with your expectations and goals. Without clear and specific instructions, your team members may not know what to do, how to do it, or why it matters. This can lead to confusion, wasted time, and even conflict. As a result, you may feel compelled to micromanage your team, which can take up a significant amount of your time and energy.
The pain of constant supervision
The pain of constantly supervising your team is twofold. Firstly, it can be demotivating for both you and your team members. If you feel like you have to continually check on your team to ensure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, it can make you feel like you are not able to trust your team. This can lead to a lack of motivation and a feeling of being stuck in a cycle of supervision and correction.
Secondly, constantly supervising your team can drain your time and resources. As a business owner, your time is precious, and you need to be able to focus on strategic or revenue-generating tasks that can move your business forward. Spending all of your time supervising your team can prevent you from being able to do this, which can limit your business’s growth potential.
The Clarity – Skill – Will Diagnostic
To address this issue, it is essential to diagnose the root cause of why you feel the need to constantly supervise your team. The Clarity – Skill – Will Diagnostic can help you do this. This diagnostic tool is based on the principle that for team members to perform at their best, they need to have clarity about what they need to do, the skills to do it, and the will to do it.
Clarity refers to the extent to which a team member understands what is expected of them and why it is important. If a team member is unclear about what they need to do or why it matters, they may not be motivated to perform at their best.
Skill refers to the extent to which a team member has the necessary skills to perform their job effectively. If a team member does not have the skills they need, they may struggle to perform their job, which can lead to mistakes, rework, and a lack of motivation.
Will refers to the extent to which a team member is motivated to perform their job effectively. If a team member lacks the motivation to perform their job, they may struggle to stay focused, be easily distracted, or not put in their best effort.
By using the Clarity – Skill – Will Diagnostic, you can identify which of these areas is causing your team to underperform. For example, if your team members are unclear about what is expected of them, you may need to provide clearer instructions or set more specific goals. If your team members lack the necessary skills to perform their job effectively, you may need to provide training or coaching. If your team members lack the motivation to perform their job, you may need to provide incentives or create a more engaging work environment.
The outcome
Once you have addressed any issues identified by the Clarity-Skill-Will Diagnostic, you may find that you are able to reduce the amount of time you spend supervising your team. In fact, research has shown that high-performing teams require only around 60 minutes.
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