Confidence Boosters: Three Elements to shape your Team’s Environment
One year ago, my family bought a tee ball set for our 2-year-old son’s birthday. He couldn’t contain his excitement when he unwrapped his gift and immediately took it outside to play with it.
I put it together, placed the ball on the tee, gave him the bat and said, “go for it, kid! Take a swing!”
Timidly, he stepped up to the plate, and tapped the ball off the tee. Our family celebrated and cheered him on, saying “great job buddy! Do it again!”
That gave him the confidence to step up to the plate over and over again, with every attempt building his courage to take a swing.
Seeing this sight made me think about how to translate that to my leadership.
As a team leader, I want to see our staff to have the same feeling of accomplishment, acceptance, and assurance to reach their goals and meet organizational outcomes.
For that to work, we would need to cultivate three elements in our leadership to shape our team environment:
Be Engaging
What I love about my son receiving that gift is that our family got to know him and what he would like. They went out of their way and engaged him where he was.
As leaders, how well do we engage our staff? Do we understand where they are coming from, what they are striving for, and how their work contributes to the greater organizational goal?
Our staff is looking to us to get to know them because they are more than just a seat in a cubicle. If we want them to feel like they are a part of the team and produce quality work, we need to do the work in interacting with them regularly.
One way I like to do this is through weekly rounding and monthly 1:1’s. I get to ask specific questions around their perspective of the work, the team, and clarify any issues they may be facing. Both events provide opportunities to see the work from their perspective and problem solve in the moment.
Equip Others
Without the tee ball set, my son would not have been well-equipped to practice his swing. Sure we would have been able to figure it out by pitching it to him, but it is appropriate for his age to have the right set of tools to set him up for success.
Now, let’s look at our teams. After we have engaged with them and their work, we should be able to identify opportunities to solve their problems.
Do they have what they need to be successful? If not, what can you do to support them?
One of my goals as a leader is for people I oversee to be problem solvers with very little intervention from me. Since I have been developing an awareness of their identity, skill sets, and goals, I can best equip them by coaching, collaborating them to others, or even connecting them an initiative that will strengthen their skills.
Give Encouragement
If we didn’t celebrate my son’s attempts and encourage him to try again, he probably would not want to step up to the plate. But because of our cheering, he felt that boost of confidence to keep at it.
We know that not every attempt at work will be a success, or a home run, but team members taking baby steps towards an action requires a celebration! We want our staff to feel confident to make strides towards their goals. The more attempts, the more we learn, and can apply that knowledge to the next attempt.
Using the Lean Management system encourages staff to try something new, in efforts to continuously improve our work. Not every opportunity will equal a positive result, but seeking something to improve encourages spaces to learn.
It is my role to foster that. I engage with them, give them what they need to take a step, then encourage them to keep going.
Be a leader who shapes your team’s environment with these three attributes: Engaging, Equipping, Encouraging.
As we develop an environment that is engaging, equipping, and encouraging, we will see our staff have greater confidence and courage in themselves towards their goals. This will, in return, grow in our ability to thrive as a team.
Reflective Questions:
- Who is someone who has engaged, equipped, and encouraged you on your journey?
- What is one action you will do to engage, equip, and encourage your staff this week?
Share your response in the comments!
