A self-sufficient and reliable workforce can be immensely empowering for the company you work for. This team works perfectly well without the need for extraordinary supervision and delivers results without being constantly reminded of its importance.
Would you like your staff and employee teams to be self-sufficient as well?
If the answer is yes, your first line of order should be to reconsider your organization’s and team’s performance goals. Next, make sure your team has all the tools and resources to achieve the assigned goals. When you finish this part, consider doing the following to create self-sufficient teams:
Communicate regularly with your team members
Regular team meetings can help all parties to ensure that common goals are being pursued and also help clarify the plans needed to carry out operations correctly. This direct communication is vital to creating an autonomous workforce that gets the job done. This unencumbered communication also offers guidance and leadership to any or all team members, depending on their needs.
All team members and relevant personnel must be present at the meeting. Treat everyone present as a team member and value their input rather than considering them as employed moms. This will help them to be more personal with the tasks at hand and take more responsibility.
Train team members to be responsible
Training sessions are equally valuable for employees in meetings. Make training a regular business practice and help your employees learn to be more responsible with their tasks, both personal and professional.
A self-sufficient group or department does everything on time. And most importantly, they know that the secret to being productive is to be extremely selective with your time. Make sure all team members understand their roles and adapt well to them.
Develop workable systems
This includes giving all team members a well-established and understandable structure to work within. When they have clear objectives, resources to achieve these objectives, and clear guidance on their achievements, there is no reason why they should not rise up and take the initiative to achieve these objectives without further guidance. And remember that the viable plan is not set in stone. Allow the team to work around the plan and develop a version that works well for them.
Delegation is a valuable tool that is often misused or misunderstood. When delegating, be sure to let the team know what the goals are and if there are any constraints before letting them proceed. So the most important part for you is to let them run with it. You’ll certainly want to monitor their progress, but don’t intervene unless they’ve gone completely off track.