We lose half of our brain power on distrust

4 Steps to Boosting Production On A 4 Day Work Week:

1.    5 Minute Huddle: 
Gather together to voice job expectations. 
Example, the expectation may be to produce as much as you do in a 5 day work week.
Ask your team how you could meet the expectations as a team and guide them to setting their own goals. 
Example, try asking “how can we do this?” and turn their feedback into goals. 
Let them know what victory looks like and ask them to set a consequence.
Example: If we succeed, then (you fill in blank); if we fail, then ( they fill in blank)

2.    Keep Score: 
Verbally recognize the value of the team’s performance by measuring production and visually allowing them to see if they are falling behind, on tract or exceeding expectations.  Try giving them an update at least 3 times a day (at the start, middle and end of the day).
Example: Wow, way to push through team, we’ve already accomplished (fill in the blank), only (fill in the blank) till we get (list reward). 

3.    Blow the Whistle:
Remind your team not to cut corners or ignore safety rules and regulations just because speed is increased.  If you see someone compromising their safety or the safety of others, speak up and remind the team that the unsafe practice will only slow the team down.  Give examples of injuries that have occurred and get them to commit to creating a safe and comfortable working environment for themselves and their team.  Remind them to take breaks and lunch when needed to avoid monotony and low energy levels. 

4.    Deliver the Trophy:
Congratulate your team and stick to your commitments by delivering what you promised if the goals are met and do so in a timely manner (the sooner the better).  If the reward is handed out instantly, employees will have an incentive to meeting goals the next time you have a short work week.  If the reward is given out late, employees will lose interested and overlook the fact that the reward was part of the plan. 

If the employees fail to meet the goal, stick to the consequence and hold the team accountable.  You could always set new goals and a new deadline and aim for the prize all over again. 

Go!

Way to go!

In our personal lives, we congratulate others to express joy in the success or good fortune of one another.  In business we should do the same for our colleagues and employees, especially after they have completed a project or task that we have delegated out to them; even more so when their hard work results in our success.  Congratulating your employees for a job well done will make your employees feel good about the work they did for you and hungry for more recognition resulting in satisfied and motivated employees.  What does this mean to you?  Production!  Every time you congratulate someone on a job well done, you are doing your job and driving production.  Here are a few Successful SUPERvisors techniques to recognize employees:

Personally:  Take the time for some face to face recognition by offering a hand shake, verbally recognize growth, congratulate on successes and thank employees for their hard work.  If you don’t have the time for a one on one, do it as you pass each other in the hall or next time you meet at the water cooler. 

Publically:  Let everyone in on your appreciation; in an environment where you are visible to the team, offer a high five, say good job, cheer your employee on, get loud – this stuff only takes seconds of your time.

Technically:  Email a thank you note (option to include upper management), leave a voicemail, hang a flyer, blurb about it in the company newsletter, post it on the company website, post a recommendation on linked-in…

Take Action:    Congratulate
Keep On: 

Follow Up
Delegate
Supercharge Employees
Interval Train
Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production
Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards
Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.
Being Proactive rather than reactive
Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   
Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.
Delivering the VIP Treatment
Being the Expert Extraordinaire
Giving and continue to establish a good reputation
Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past
Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.  

Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Out of sight, out of mind, right? Just because you’ve delegated the task to someone else, doesn’t mean you can completely forget about it.  Since you are the person ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project, it’s important that you watch over the project and provide motivation, support and encouragement.  Following up creates accountability, therefore making yourself available in the following ways to ensures that the work will get done:

• Coach – A Successful Supervisor  trains, guides and motivates his/her team to perform
• Player – A Successful Supervisor takes part  in the game 
• Cheerleader – A Successful Supervisor enthusiastically encourages his/her team to perform and applauds them on the work completed

Go! Follow Up.

Take Action:    Follow Up

Keep On: 

Delegate
Supercharge Employees

Interval Train

 Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production

Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards

Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.

Being Proactive rather than reactive

Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   

Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.

Delivering the VIP Treatment

Being the Expert Extraordinaire

Giving and continue to establish a good reputation

Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past

Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.  

Too Much To Do & Not Enough Time To Get It Done; When to Delegate

Do you often find yourself with little time to supervise employees and production due to a long list of tasks that need to be completed “yesterday”?  If so, you’re not alone; one of the most common aches & pains supervisors share is having “too much to do and not enough time in the work day to get it done”.  So, what do you do, leave before the work gets done or stay late and get it done?  Neither.  A successful supervisor looks at what needs to be done, delegates the list of tasks and supervises the work to ensure it gets done.  In fact a common trait Successful Supervisors share is knowing what and when to delegate and what and when to do it themselves.  Most determine their work load by asking themselves the following questions:

1.     Is this an acceptable task to delegate (one that is not mandatory I complete on my own)

2.     Who (besides me) on my team can get the job done?

3.     Am I committed to supporting and supervising the team member I assign to the task?

Answering yes to these three questions before making the decision to delegate is crucial!  You must acknowledge that the task does not have to be completed by you, recognize someone on your team with the skills and capabilities of completing the task and commit to taking full responsibility of the team member’s work through your support and supervision commitment.  Remember, delegating a task does not take your responsibility away from it. 

Answering no to the questions listed above means that assigning the task would violate policy and/or jeopardize your position within the company, there is absolutely no other member on your team with the skills and capabilities needed to complete the task and that you are not committed to fulfilling your job as a supervisor by overseeing and supporting your team member to complete the assignment. 

You’ll find that the more you delegate the more fulfilled your employees become, especially when you begin to task them with more important projects.  As the tasks you delegate are accomplished, you’ll begin to trust your employees more and allow them to grow as they take full ownership of their delegated responsibilities.  Delegating is a win, win situation for all!

Take Action:    Delegate

Keep On: 

Supercharge Employees

Interval Train

 Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production

Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards

Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.

Being Proactive rather than reactive

Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   

Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.

Delivering the VIP Treatment

Being the Expert Extraordinaire

Giving and continue to establish a good reputation

Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past

Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.  

Stay tuned for: What & When You Should Delegate...

The Secret to Successful SUPERvising: Delegating

Successful SUPERvisors set themselves apart with one very distinguishing attribute: the ability to delegate.  At some point in their career, they were able to let go of the excuses associated with not delegating and embrace the course of action required to effectively delegate tasks to employees.  The issue is never telling people what to do; instead it’s the unwillingness to share authority and responsibility, the resistance of putting complete trust in team members and the lack of motivation to commit to support the team member with the task.    A SUPERvisor puts a lot on the line when they delegate, but even more when they don’t.    Below is a 5 step course of action practiced by many SUPERvisors who delegate effectively:

1.   Decide to delegate
     Establish which tasks you will farm out
     Know how you will approach & assign the tasks to employees (in private, during dept. meeting, etcetera…)
     Remember to (on less crucial projects) allow employees to choose tasks they’d like to work on.
   
2. Select the right delegate
   Consider experience, skills, strengths and weaknesses; your goal is to set them up for success, not failure. 
   Get your team excited about the selection
   Make the delegate feel special  and make sure everyone can see what’s in it for them
   
   
3. Arrange a “business” meeting: 
   A meeting will make it official, create accountability and establish commitment
   Explain why they have been chosen to complete the task/ project
   Describe the task, the timeline and the outcome you are looking for (tie it in to the team’s ultimate goal)
   Answer any questions the employee may have
   Set expectations
   Give clear instructions on responsibility and authority
   Ask how they plan on getting the job done (provide guidance if they are off track)
   Set up a progress report time schedule and establish how you will communicate (in-person, email…)
   Inform them that you are available for questions and that you want to know about obstacles along the way
   
   
4. Build Trust
   Allow your delegate to head the task/project his/her way
   When questions or obstacles arise, guide your employee to a decision rather than making the decision yourself
   Be available for support even when you don’t have immediate time available by setting time for a later meeting
   Set routine times for progress report/check up meetings so that you know that your employee is working on the task at hand and so that your employee sees that you trust and believe they can get the job done
   
   
5. Accept, Respond and Recognize
   Review all work carefully
   Provide an evaluation and critique of work submitted, this includes complimenting the work and sending it back if it lacks something or if something needs to be modified. 
   When the work is acceptable, accept the work and recognize it amongst the team. 

As leaders, these Successful SUPERvisors know that the end results depend on them.  The course of action and time they take to guide and supervise their delegates set the task/project up for success or failure.  These leaders take full responsibility for the outcome and don’t forget that in the end, they are the ones ultimately responsible for production.