10 Ways to Keep Your Team Positive

by Bill Hogg

You may have heard the expression, “2020 (and now 2021) has been a year like no other”. And while much has indeed changed, strong leaders also recognize that many critical leadership skills have remained the same.  I wrote an article in 2018 which challenged leaders to answer 10 questions to help them ensure their team stayed positive. Given the general climate of uncertainty, fear and added pressures in many lives today, keeping your team positive, particularly when they are often working remotely, is more important now than ever before. I thought it would be interesting to review the article from 2018 to see if it was equally relevant today.

I would say yes, although the relative importance of communication has increased even more in a remote environment. Do you agree? I’d welcome your comments at [email protected].

Original story below can also be found here: 10 Ways to Keep Your Team Positive – CSAE Trillium (csae-trillium.tv)

As an association executive you work with both paid staff as well as volunteers. This can make your job of keeping your team positive and engaged even more challenging. Yet, these are the people who represent the primary contact with your association for your membership.

The good news is that regardless of whether paid or volunteer, the same emotional drivers impact attitude and engagement.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself to ensure your team stays positive, focused on message and delivers an exceptional member experience.

• Are you clear on your values and expectations? This is foundational to ensure that a consistent message is communicated across the organization. Without clarity from the top, teams are unclear of expectations and rarely surpass them.
• Are your priorities constantly changing? If you aren’t consistent with priorities and aligning them with activities that your member’s value, you are leaving room for confusion. Eliminating confusion will keep your team focused.
• Are you and your managers leading by example and consistently reinforcing desired behaviours? Teams model behaviours and if you do not demonstrate what is expected, how can you expect your team to behave otherwise.
• Are you providing enough information? Providing a centralized location for information on all existing clients, products and services will give your team the confidence to answer any question without having to rely on others for information.
• Are you providing training for skills that your team may be lacking? If you have hired the right person based on their character and attitude, but they are making mistakes, make sure they have the necessary training to ensure they know how to do it right.
• Are you providing too much direction? If you try to tell your teams how to do everything step by step, you are really limiting them on providing quality member service. If you free them up to do what they know is necessary — based on agreed expectations — you are providing the freedom to make your members happy.
• Do you have enough team members? If you have a team who is spread so thin they can’t provide quality service over the quantity of members served, consider hiring more team members. By hiring more team members, you will enable your team to make more sales.
• Do you motivate your team? You are sure to win more members if you reward your team for delivering a great member experience. Look for ways to provide positive reinforcement on a daily basis in addition to providing performance bonuses, gift cards, or something for your team to earn.
• Do you provide too much information during training sessions? If you supply too much at once, they will take longer to master those new skills. Consider breaking training into smaller sessions to allow time to master a few skills at a time. Teams who feel successful will be successful.
• Does the entire organization understand the critical role they each play in delivering an exceptional member experience? Too many organizations do not place enough importance on internal customer service. As a result, the member-facing teams do not get the support they need to deliver to external members.

Ask yourself these 10 questions to identify areas for improvement. Then pick one and focus on it; attacking too many initiatives at once will lead to frustration.

Once your team has mastered one goal, move on to another. Whether paid of volunteer team members, working together for a shared goal and seeing ongoing improvements will keep the team focused, motivated and positive.

© Copyright Bill Hogg & Associates – All Rights Reserved

Bill works with individuals and organizations to achieve next level performance. For over 30 years, Bill has been the go-to guy when the world’s most recognized brands are faced with challenges that require change — to improve passion, productivity and performance with their people – and bottom line results. Bill provides world class executive consulting, dynamic keynote presentations and transformative workshops.

For additional articles and information on how to achieve next level performance in your organization, or to book Bill for a leadership speaking engagement, contact Bill Hogg or visit us online at www.BillHogg.ca