One Big, not so Happy Family
COMMUNICATION—Oddly, it seems to be pretty rare that the rank-and-file team members are asked their opinion. And again, I just don’t get this. If you are trying to solve a problem, improve a process or workflow, or launch a new product or service, who better to ask then those who are in the trenches every day? This is especially true of the folks who have the ear of your customer base.
Do you have regular meetings? What happens when you change a policy? How do you communicate with your employees? Regardless of the size of the company, people should be encouraged to share their ideas and have someone they can go to in order to express themselves.
ENCOURAGEMENT—Speaking of encouragement, who within your organization is responsible for the positive words, the coaching, the support? If you look around a shop and people have their heads down, no one is smiling and it is dead quiet, how happy do you suppose these team members are? Conversely, if you see a lot of engagement and conversation, and managers talking with their teams, it is fair to assume that you might be in an environment where great performance is rewarded, mistakes are corrected with care and concern, and, generally speaking, people feel nurtured and encouraged to do their best. Where would YOU rather work?
MANAGEMENT STYLE—This one is pretty simple and builds on the last point. If you are a leader that never opens his/her door—literally and figuratively—you could be considered an autocratic leader, and you are missing opportunities to learn, grow and improve. If you are open, encouraging and nurturing, you enjoy happy, productive employees who know that their hard work pays off and everybody wins.
DIFFERENCES IN BIG PICTURE VISION—If the leadership of a company does not agree on the direction to take, you’ve got a recipe for disaster. It is vital that you get together, discuss and collaborate with your entire team, and as a group decide the best direction to go in—especially when significant investments are to be made.
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.
