Julian’s Business Tips: Business as Usual
‘Business as usual’ – what actually is that? At work I’m currently trying to ‘reset’ my team; transition from how we’ve been working over the pandemic, and create what will be the new ‘normal’.
As people return from the unusual working practices of the last two years, they’re finding that priorities, responsibilities and roles may have changed. This, in turn can make people feel unsettled or anxious – and I certainly don’t want that!
As managers, our job is to create the conditions to allow our expert staff to perform at their best. But how?
Here’s a sentence for you and your management to aspire to achieve (I’ve no idea where I got it from, but I find it really useful): “High performing teams have a clear purpose, defined roles and responsibilities, and feature regular, high-quality communication between all team members.”
With that in mind, here are some questions to ask yourself about YOUR team:
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What development needs do they have?
• What is the team’s core purpose?
• How is the team working together currently?
• How do people feel about their jobs?
• How happy are your people?
By having a relaxed discussion with each team member, that covers these questions, you might be surprised what you learn!
Following these discussions, you can begin to create a culture that the team wants.
Define expectations about what and how the team will deliver, and what they can expect of you as the manager.
Also, use what you learn to help set expectations for behaviour and working practices in the team, which helps create that bright, new future.
And finally, commit to action. Pick something which can be acted on quickly, and commit to embedding that process as ‘business as usual’
Start small and build from there – building good routines and breaking bad ones.
