Bad habits can slow you and your team down tremendously.
If you are concerned that your team is struggling, it is time to identify and scrap these bad habits.
- No Accountability - Being held accountable for a mistake or poor decision is important for morale within the team. Being honest and open about doing something wrong is the first step to moving forward. Learn from the lesson, re-strategise and move on.
- Not Listening - Communication is key in the business. From taking advice to hearing criticisms, if there is no dialogue, there will be no positive change.
- Not Following Through with Promises - If you miss a deadline or are not keeping up with your end of a deal, a loss of credibility in the business is toxic for productivity. If you do not follow through with things, there will be no strength behind future promises. I’m a true believer in under-promising and over-delivering.
- Do Not Instil Long Hours - Output is most important and a flexible working schedule gets the most work done in an office. Just because they’re at the office for 10 hours a day means that they’re productive. Try not to judge a person based on how often they are seen in the office but by what they produce and the quality of their work.
- Shouting Matches Don’t Work - When things get tense in the office, it can be quite common for some people to flip their lid a little. Take a deep breath, take a step back and see how this problem can be solved by talking and asking questions. Yelling doesn’t yield any results and often falls on deaf ears…
- Secrecy - Secrets in the office are an explosion waiting to happen. If there is any big news being kept under wraps, and it comes out, expect a full-on office revolt. In this case, no one likes surprises.
- Micromanaging - The seventh deadly sin and one that will kill employee morale instantly. If you cannot delegate effectively, there is little trust in the work being done. Moreover, a lot of time is wasted when micromanaging tasks. After all, does it really matter if this font is red or dark-ish red?
- Bottlenecking - Having to run everything past you as the business owner can slow things down to a trickle in the office. Just like no. 7 (Micromanaging), trust your staff that they will perform. Streamline this so work can be completed on time and effectively. You did hire them for a purpose!
- Bosses with All the Answers - As explained in “Bottlenecking” no communal environment will work well if there is only one person answering all of the questions. Although hierarchies are there for a reason, you as a boss and leaders should encourage useful dialogues.
- No Availability - If you are working with a team, you need to make yourself available at all times in case there is a problem and you are needed. You are vital to the team's function, so always be present and ready.
If you can sense any of these habits beginning to form in your business, you could be heading for some troubled waters.
To ensure harmonious team productivity, it is vital that you rout these bad habits as soon as you notice them.
Rob Kropp
Founder - Pravar Group
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