We will all be familiar with the well-known cliché companies often share about how, “people are our greatest asset”. Yet all too often we see or hear of examples where these words do not get backed up by the actions of decision makers in a business. Busy owners and managers, working under ever changing external pressures like cash-flow and KPIs, can easily put aside good intentions.

However, from a logical point of view, creating and keeping highly engaged teams of people in your business is a no-brainer. Engaged staff create success for a business – service will be better, customer satisfaction higher and your good staff will want to stay! If this culture is promoted by you every day, even in the small details, such consistent steps will get results.

So, here’s how you could do it in 7 days:

Day 1. Share the mission and vision of the organisation to others in your questions, conversation and expectations. Overtly explain how the people in your team contribute to the purpose of the organisation.

Day 2. Ensure you model the company’s values in your words and deeds. After all, if you do not ensure your behaviour matches the stated values, why would anyone else on your team do it?

Day 3. Ask a team member what everyday processes cause the most problems in your company. When you have an answer, ask them for suggestions to fix the issue - you may be surprised how easily you can create quick, positive changes to productivity.

Day 4. Find a decision-making power you have been holding on to and give it to another person/s on your team. If you do not effectively delegate, you become the bottleneck to your team’s performance.

Day 5. Set a clear target for your team using indicators that they will be familiar with. If you and they know what a successful week or a project looks like, you can both objectively judge value and performance.

Day 6. Explain what rewards system is on offer for your team, whether that be intrinsic or extrinsic, people need to be motivated and then re-energised to keep focussed.

Day 7. Say thank you! It sounds simple but find a reason to thank your team/s for their work in a sincere and open manner. We like to be valued.

When you have done 7 things over 7 days, just repeat for the next 7 days, and so on!

The crucial part in this is ACTION.

No matter how small the step you take each day is, if you consistently did these 7 things every 7 days you would create a positive habit of continually improving your people.

Don't forget - You are not alone! Often the leader of a team needs input themselves to see what to do, why and how. That is where we at Know+Do are most effective – contact us for some ideas on how to engage your team and we’ll keep you on track to use your knowledge effectively every day!