How to Empower Team Members with Communication

Do you want to lead a top-performing team? Someone once shared with me that a true sign of a strong team is how they operate and perform when their leader is absent. This idea stuck with me, and I became curious about what it would take to build a team that could function at a high level without me. I concluded that if I wanted my team to be the best, I needed to make myself less of a factor (”zero” myself out). Not so I can disappear and play golf; I am horrible, by the way, but more so to ensure the team continues to elevate. With that, I asked myself a couple of questions: - What do I need to do differently as a team leader? - What factors should I consider as I go through this process? Here's what I landed on: 1. Empower Through Delegation: Give your team autonomy and ownership over meeting agendas, projects, and tasks while providing guidance and support when needed. Trusting your team members to make decisions fosters confidence and boosts morale. 2. Encourage Collaboration: Foster a culture of collaboration where ideas are valued, respectfully challenged, and everyone's voice is heard. Encourage open communication and teamwork to leverage the collective intelligence of your team. Collaboration not only enhances creativity but also strengthens togetherness. 3. Provide Ongoing Development: Invest in your team's growth by offering continuous learning opportunities. Whether through 1:1 connects, team calls, or training programs, prioritize their development. 4. Provide Access: Connect your team to different departments and resources within your company. To enhance their network, try to give them access to some of the leaders and decision-makers you interact with. This not only gives them valuable exposure but also allows them to gather information and influence decisions. 5. Celebrate Successes: Recognize and celebrate your team's achievements. Celebrating successes reinforces positive behavior and motivates the team to continue their collective journey. Remember: -Be present daily for your team. -Success belongs to the team; the leader owns any misses. -Tailor your approach to your team's abilities. -Enjoy watching your team grow! #Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #TeamSuccess

Tired of getting frantic calls from your team while you're on vacation? Here's the secret to enjoying your time off without your business falling apart... A CEO of an 8-figure company called me, inspired by my last post and ready to unplug on his upcoming vacation. His question? "How do I trust my team to handle things while I'm gone?" The answer is simple but not always easy: Make it okay for them to make mistakes. Mistakes are learning opportunities. When your team knows they can make decisions—even if they mess up sometimes—they become more confident, innovative, and resourceful. This not only lightens your load but also strengthens your team, fostering a culture of trust and growth. Imagine your team handling a client complaint gracefully or making an intelligent adjustment to a project timeline without your input. Here's how to create a culture of empowerment: 👉 Set Clear Expectations: Define roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority. Make sure everyone knows what's expected of them. 👉Provide Resources and Training: Equip your team with the tools and knowledge to make informed choices. 👉Foster Open Communication: Encourage open dialogue where everyone feels safe to share ideas, concerns, and potential solutions. 👉Celebrate Wins AND Lessons Learned: Recognize successes and learn from setbacks together. This dual approach builds trust, fosters a culture of continuous improvement, and keeps your team motivated and engaged. Empowering your team is a win-win. You get peace of mind on vacation, and they gain valuable experience and confidence. When you build a thriving business, even when you're not around - you create an exponentially more valuable business. This is the power of empowering your team, a strategy that can transform your business and your leadership. #leadership #empowerment #teambuilding #delegation #culture #growth #trust #predictableprofits

I was fortunate to work with some other Senior Leaders to teach a Leadership class where we focused on empowering front-line leaders with practical tools to ignite their teams' potential and inspire superior business results. Here are four simple yet impactful steps we emphasized: 1️⃣ Connect the Dots It's crucial to ensure every team member understands how their daily efforts contribute to the organization's overarching goals. When everyone sees the bigger picture, motivation and alignment skyrocket! 2️⃣ Goal-Driven Empowerment Embrace a quarterly goal-setting approach where team members are empowered to set both professional and personal growth goals. This fosters ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement. 3️⃣ Regular Check-ins Establishing regular check-ins isn't just about discussing goals; it's about nurturing strong personal connections. These interactions build trust, enhance communication, and pave the way for collaborative success. 4️⃣ Feedback & Recognition Leverage intentional and continuous feedback, recognition, and communication to uplift and inspire each team member. Acknowledging their efforts fuels morale and fosters a culture of growth and excellence. While these steps may seem straightforward, they're often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of leadership. However, investing in these foundational practices can unlock your team's full potential and inspire remarkable results. Let's commit to prioritizing these fundamental principles and watch as our teams soar to new heights! 💼✨ #LeadershipDevelopment #TeamEmpowerment #BusinessSuccess #ContinuousImprovement

Here are some reflections from the slopes. It’s a little wet today so tucked into the lodge at Sugar Bowl Resort for a hot Americano and some reflections on what ski/sbowboard coaching can teach us as leaders: 1. **Delegate According to Skill Level**: Just as a ski coach would not assign a beginner to tackle a black diamond slope, leaders should delegate tasks based on the skill level and experience of their team members. This approach, known as the SLII model, suggests that leaders should adjust their leadership style based on the development level of the individual on each specific task or goal. 2. **Invest Time in Training and Communication**: Before delegating tasks, it's crucial to invest time in training team members and communicating expectations clearly. This helps avoid misunderstandings and ensures that the delegated tasks are completed effectively. In ski coaching, clear rules and expectations are established from the first training session. 3. **Trust and Empower Your Team**: Delegation is not just about assigning tasks; it's also about trusting your team to deliver results[1]. In ski coaching, coaches serve as liaisons and provide support, but they also trust their athletes to perform[5]. Similarly, leaders should empower their team members, giving them the autonomy to make decisions and solve problems independently. Bonus: don’t expect perfection right after you’ve taught a new skill. Make room for practice and coaching before expecting independendent excellence… patience pays off ;) These lessons highlight the importance of understanding your team's capabilities, communicating effectively, and fostering a sense of trust and empowerment. Thank you to Henry Ryerson for your leadership and investing in us (your team)!

The greatest leaders don’t control, they empower. 5 ways to empower your team effectively: — 1. Delegate decision making Letting employees own their actions is a superpower for: - Building trust - Growing confidence - Developing decision-making skills Vulnerable share: I HATED and felt ashamed when I was being a micromanager and didn’t empower the team. I felt insecure about the team being able to perform at the level we needed to scale and avoid burnout. Big mistake, big lesson learned the hard way. Give authority to your team members on projects or tasks they have expertise in. The more they get to decide → the better they’ll perform. — 2. Recognize and reward initiative Public acknowledgment in meetings and tangible rewards motivate employees. Create recognition programs that reward taking initiative, problem-solving, and innovation. We used Bonus(dot)ly (amazing tool, a must in my view), to help teammates recognize each other based on our core values. Awesome feature with tokens that you accumulate for rewards! Everyone needs to know their extra efforts aren’t going unseen. — 3. Invest in professional development Your team doesn’t want to do any more frickin LinkedIn learning courses. They invest more effort when they know you actually care about their growth. If I could go back in time, I would hire WAY more coaches/consultants for each area of the company that we wanted to master. Why on Earth did I try to solve so many things on my own, with SO many experts out there? — 4. Foster a culture of feedback: Tension is low when feedback flows freely in a company. This is something that I don’t regret. We were extremely open and yet candid with constant feedback. Anyone could challenge anyone (even the guy/girl from CS to the CEO), if it was done with solid facts and respect. We all acted as equal share-holders. The best feedback follows a simple structure: - Regular not random - Focuses on behavior, not personality - Future facing, not dwelling on the past And always aligned with the companies best interest and mission. — 5. Establish clear goals Empowerment doesn’t mean a free-for-all. Most of the times we felt that the team wasn’t internally aligned, was when the incentives and goals weren’t clear nor aligned between areas of the company, and the company’s long term. Let team members operate autonomously with: - Clear goals - Defined boundaries - Achievable milestones Most people “know” about the SMART goals concept, and yet when we analyze their goals, I usually see undefined or difficult to measure goals. Don’t overlook Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This allows for autonomy while still being aligned with company objectives. — If you’re ready to empower your people through your leadership…. Apply these 5 steps immediately. Your team members will thank you. — Repost ♻️ to your network to share, and follow Ignacio Carcavallo for more like this.