3 LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO CREATE TEAM OWNERSHIP OF THE BUSINESS

October 12, 2017 / Andrea Bullard / Comments Off

Your leadership is key to building a collaborative team who takes ownership of the business. Yes, YOU, the owner, are the “secret sauce” that gives your team the Vision, Dream, and Goals necessary to build your business. Your Team is critical to the success of your business. And, you are critical to the feeling, drive and motivation of your team.

Today I would like to talk about your Team Meetings and how they can create individual ownership of the business, allow every member of your Team to feel engaged and energized, and, in general, allow the Team to run the business as if they were each owners of the company.

The following are 3 types of meetings I highly recommend you implement in your business. I am going to recommend specific ideas for each meeting that will have a big impact on how your Team will feel about you, your business and their work.

WEEKLY TEAM MEETINGS:

You must hold weekly Team Meetings that are held the same day and same time each week. The purpose of these meetings are to first, determine if you and the team are on track of hit the goals. Next, you will answer questions and give information regarding specifics of the business. This is a sharing of information and a time to clear up communication. These meetings should run for One Hour, not any longer. I highly recommend you follow these success guideless for your Weekly Team Meetings:

1. The Director of Operations or Office Manager should LEAD the Weekly Team Meetings: If you want your Team to run your business, then they should run your Weekly Team Meetings. That is how you create Leaders on your Team. Now your team has to prepare, communicate, think and run the business.

2. The Weekly Team Meeting should START on time and END on time. That means everyone, including the Financial Advisor/Rep, needs to come on time. WHY: Team Members get very frustrated when the Financial Advisor/Rep comes late to the meetings. They feel like they are not important. One Team Member told me she always feels like a ‘second –class” citizen because her Financial Advisor/Rep was always late to their meetings.

3. The meetings are not held in the Financial Advisor/Rep’s office. Ideally they are held in a conference room. If no room is available then the Director of Operations will sit at the Financial Advisor/Rep’s desk and run the meeting. WHY…again this is a control issue. When the Director of Operations is at the front of the group it creates an “authority” figure. They now assume that role and the Financial Advisor/Rep sits with the rest of the team.

4. All cell phones are not allowed in the Weekly Team Meeting. In addition, the Financial Advisor/Rep is not allowed to answer his/her phone if they are meeting in his/her office. Again, if you want your Team to believe they are important and valuable, then you need to demonstrate this behavior at all times. Their time is valuable…do not make them wait for you to finish a phone call or read a text while they are speaking.

5. The Year-to-Date Production in all key areas of your business should be presented at the beginning of every Weekly Team Meeting. Your Team should present these numbers. This is one of the most critical elements to this meeting. The entire Team must know if they are on track to hit the goals. If the Team does NOT discuss this item, then it is NOT important and you have created “paycheck” players who do their tasks and go home at the end of the year. If you want your Team to take “ownership” of the business then they MUST know and track the production goals.

6. The Team Leader should run each meeting with a written Weekly Team Agenda. It is critical to keep these meetings on point and on track. An agenda will accomplish that goal so these meetings do not wander and end up lasting 2 or 3 hours.

7. Only an Emergency will cancel a Weekly Team Meeting. When you adopt this rule then the entire Team knows you value them, their feedback and input, and the Team Meeting.

QUARTERLY TEAM MEETINGS

Every quarter you and your Team will have a Quarterly Meeting that is NOT in your office. These meetings should have a working agenda followed by a fun event and/or lunch or dinner. Here is the magic to these meetings:

1. Quarterly meetings will allow you to bond and grow as a team. When you work at you desks in the office there is very little time to interact with each other, talk and laugh. These meetings will allow you and the Team will interact with each other on a personal level.

2. Your Team Members will present ideas/projects/plans at the Quarterly Team Meetings. One of the fastest ways to get your Team to take ownership of the business is to allow them to build the business. When they have to research, think and/or create new ideas and plans they are most vested in the business. For example, if one of your Team Members take a lot of time to create a new Client Customer Service Program and then presents their idea that the Quarterly Team Meeting, then they are emotionally invested in the program. In other words, they would want the Team to like and implement the program because they created it. If the Team decides to implement the program then the Team Member who created it has a vested personal interest in watching it grow.

This is a powerful tool that I have given to many teams. It works and is a “game-changer.” Please note there are strategies on how to manage the Quarterly Team Meetings that I will discuss in a future training.

3. Teams who play together…stay together. The Quarterly Team Meetings need to be followed by a fun activity. It could be lunch, dinner, a baseball game, a play, hiking or biking. The fun activity will depend on your team. The Team who laughs and gets to know each other will have more fun at work. A positive Team will lead to a more productive team and improve retention. All positives for you!

YEAR END BIG PARTY CELEBRATION

1. At the end of each year you should have a Big Celebration. This is where everyone gets together to celebrate the wins, growth and victories throughout the year. This should be away from the office and preferably at a beautiful location where you and your team can relax and enjoy your growth and wins.

2. Winning should be defined by the GOALS. If you hit the goals, then the entire Team wins! This is a great way to get your Team to take ownership of the business. Financial Advisor/Reps must communicate and understand how each Team Member contributes to the goals. I could talk hours on this subject alone because it is key to building a Team.

3. Every Team should also create an AMAZING GOAL with an AMAZING year-end celebration. The Team should determine this goal and the celebration at the beginning of the year so they get pumped up and motivated. Please note the Financial Advisor/Rep does not have to try to figure the Year End Celebration. Delegate to one Team member to work with the entire team, discuss ideas and come back with a plan. This is another way for your Team to take ownership.

I always like to ask people the following question: Would NFL Football be as exciting without the Super Bowl? I think not. So what is your Super Bowl? How are you getting your team charged up during the year? What is motivating them to win? What is winning?

I AM ASKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK…

As I am finishing writing The Turn-Key Collection and creating programs for you, I would like to better understand your needs and concerns. Would you please answer a few questions and give me your thoughts. I promise you it will be real short