If you expect nothing of your teams…you’ll get nothing!

Many of the clients I’ve worked with say that they wish that their staff more proactively solved problems on their own rather than continually coming to them for the answer.  In my work with them, we discuss the following key ingredients to creating a solution-focused culture: 

• Expectations: Managers need to be explicit about expecting staff to bring recommendations and solve problems. Clearly state that you want them to bring you recommendations (over and over again!).
  • If you have zero expectations, you will have zero teamwork. 
• Invitation: Create opportunities for them to bring you recommendations: Determine what decisions need their input and ask for it. Encourage them to bring recommendations to help you solve the problem. 
• Participation: This is on the team. Once you’ve set clear expectations and invited them to participate, the team needs to respond. But with clear expectations and the invitation, they’re more likely to participate.
  • Same here: If you don’t invite them to solve problems and they don’t participate in problem-solving, you’ll have 0 teamwork. 
• Collaboration: This is the magic, where teamwork can expand exponentially. Create spaces where the team can collaborate, with clear goals and parameters for success, clear roles and solid processes. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to create a strong team, please contact us below!