How do people manage to achieve their dreams and make what seemed impossible real? In a personal capacity it’s all about finding motivation and driving it all the way through until your goals are achieved. Getting what you want in a business setting works in the same way theoretically but in reality everyone has different goals for themselves and the key to making organisational structure work is by marrying personal goals and ambitions with the greater vision for the company.
At the end of the day you want the people to succeed so that you get what you want at the end of the day; success for your business. Companies approach getting what they want from people differently; for some rewarding and celebrating the achievements of their people works effectively while other businesses use punishment and the fear of repercussions to make the staff toe the line.
This brings us to a great debate that divides how people build company culture: what works better reward or punishment? Punishment gets you the results but that’s the only positive thing you get out of the people that work for you because they will work out of fear and under pressure, making mistakes more likely. Punishment also doesn’t win loyalty so one can expect a high staff turnover when workers are made to feel like robots.
Rewarding and acknowledging the good things about your team gets you way further than punishment ever can. This is because it pushes people to work hard for the recognition and reward and it also makes them more loyal to management and likely to work with a better spirit. The key is making sure the culture of reward doesn’t breed a culture of negative competition because this can so easily lead to sabotage and animosity between staff members. Rewards show that you’re paying attention to the work people are putting in for you and as a result, they feel that they are working in an organization that actually cares about their advancements.
As a mompreneur you understand the delicate balance that exists between the debate on punishment and reward. It’s something you face head on with your children. It’s different in the workplace, but your experience as a mom, helps to shape you as a better boss. You have a deeper understanding of people and you are more intuitive about how you deal with the ebbs and flows of the business.
How to manage a small team
Getting what you want when you’re running a small team is all about encouraging a strong team culture where everyone feels valued and important. It’s also about constantly reminding people of the passion and goal of the company. Make sure you don’t micromanage every little thing in your team even if it is small. Rather give your workers the independence which comes from trusting that they will produce excellent work.
Setting rewards around manageable KPIs
A business sets the KPIs and this filters down to each team and individual so that they make their contribution to the greater performance of the organization. People understand the KPIs when they are manageable because they seem possible. A great way to incorporate rewards is to build them around the KPIs so when they are reached you can celebrate and reward your team for their contribution to each milestone. Staff members are happier when they see how their role or work contributed to how well the company did. It gives the feeling of being necessary in an important system which makes them perform better.
How to be a good boss
We often address what makes a bad boss more than we talk about how people can be better bosses. A system that works on reward and not punishment is created by a good superior who has an understanding of how this makes people work better and strive to succeed. Being a good boss also comes down to not only understanding the role that each person does but also understanding each person – what makes them tick, what they like and who they are. This helps you manage each personality better and it creates an air of familiarity that shows care and concern and not superiority and the official company line.
The key to being a better leader is working with the team to reach the goal, going into the trenches with them and pushing the dream forward together instead of ordering people around without actually taking on part of the job, even as a superior.