CONTRIBUTIONS

How to make others feel confident to contribute and make a difference?

1. Rotate meeting management.

One of the most powerful ways to empower others to contribute is to enable them to lead team meetings. Traditionally, a leader leads a meeting, but if you rotate that task, your team members will gain more confidence to make contributions. Simply giving a task confirms their ability to do the job. Of course, you will need to help them prepare the agenda and teach them through the process.

2. Explain the roles.

More complexity requires more teamwork, and yet more ambiguity of roles causes people to make assumptions about how to contribute. Clarify roles at the beginning to reduce anxiety and ambiguity. You will need to do this periodically to ensure clarity of roles.

3. Recognize achievement.

Sure, the achievement is his own reward, but receiving sincere recognition from colleagues makes him sweeter. As a leader, recognize the successes of your team quickly. Never procrastinate and never blame others for their success and show sincere excitement about their achievements.

4. Do not correct with anger, guilt, or shame.

Things will not always go well. People make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes are the result of complacency and carelessness. Even in that situation, do not correct with anger, guilt, or shame. Any kind of public ridicule is forbidden. Instead, train the person to see their mistakes and help them take responsibility for them. Even honest, corrective feedback can be given with respect.

5. Identify breakpoints.

There are times when your team members don’t know what to do or how to proceed, and they may be uncomfortable asking what to do. Try to predict and identify when that happens. Instead of making them feel bad about it, get involved with them, and ask them what they think the next steps should be. Make sure they are safe even in a standstill situation.

6. Celebrate small victories.

Small victories increase self-confidence and build momentum. When your team members see a series of small victories, it creates a sense of progress. The ultimate success may be far away, but small victories represent success at intervals and progress towards your goal. Small wins encourage team members’ efforts to continue to contribute at a high level.

7. Switch from words to questions.

The leader trains continuously ranging from talking at one end to asking questions at the other. A good leader uses the whole continuum. Too much talking breeds addiction and teaches helplessness. Switch as many questions as you can. Guide through questions more than speech.

8. Share your values.

Values ​​also define what is important to you. They always define the way you want to work. Share your values ​​with your team and let them share theirs with you. This is the first important step in defining the basic rules and conditions of engagement for the team.

9. Share your work style and desires for communication.

Above your values, share your work style and desire to communicate with your team. Have your team members share theirs as well. Each of us has a different way of working and communication preferences in relation to our individual personalities. Most of these styles and preferences are not wrong; they are justly different. The better you understand the styles and preferences of your team members, the more efficiently you will be able to work together.

10. Set basic rules.

After sharing your values, set practical terms of engagement with your team related to your values. Once team members know the basic rules, they will be more likely to get involved because they know what is expected of them. It’s one more way to up the contributions.

11. Create conditions for top-notch engagement.

We have all had top experiences in engaging in professional life, at a time when we are on the move and doing the best we can. When did that happen to you? Share it with your team. Let them share their top engagement experiences with each other. As you try to create superior engagement conditions for each other, this will encourage greater input from team members.

12. Align business with passion.

Passion is an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. Where do you find passion in what you do? Let your team members share the sources of their passion. To increase and maintain your contributions, try to perform work tasks that match the individual passions of your team members.

13. Shape the experience.

There are of course limits and limitations, but help shape the team experience for each member as much as you can. Customize, personalize, and tailor experiences based on individual preferences. There are real limitations, but opportunities to shape work and working life to increase contributions are often overlooked.

14. Give stretching tasks.

Move your people out of their comfort zones. We build more ability to generate contributions when we are stretched out and out of our comfort zones. Of course, you can stretch too much, and then it becomes destructive. But stretching is the way we grow and develop. Give your team members stretched tasks, but so that the excitement overcomes the discomfort.

15. Avoid boredom and burnout.

Boredom and burnout are two ends of the spectrum of engagement. Both are destructive and unsustainable. As a leader, your job is to monitor the contribution of each member of your team and help them avoid boredom and burnout. High and sustainable contributions can be found in the middle of the spectrum where team members can work hard, reap the rewards and find renewal in the process.

16. Distinguish between abilities and problems of motivation.

Boredom and burnout are two ends of the spectrum of engagement. Both are destructive and unsustainable. As a leader, it is your job to monitor the contributions of each member of your team and help them avoid boredom and burnout. We find high and sustainable contributions in the middle of the spectrum where team members can work hard, reap the rewards and find renewal in the process.

17. Own your contributions.

Teach your team members to have primary responsibility for their own contributions. Emphasize that you will do everything in your power to provide guidance, resources, and support, but your role is secondary. Help them understand that each team member has three choices when it comes to contributing:

(1) accept what you have been given,

(2) change and improve what you have received, and

(3) leave what you have received. These three choices are always available.

18. Help others see their strengths.

Many team members give mediocre performance because they do not understand their strengths. They don’t know themselves. When someone shows their contributions and strengths, they are shocked and accelerate to a higher level of performance. Do it. Identify the hidden or underestimated strengths of your team members and draw their attention. Make them want to contribute more.

19. Give people “why”.

Research shows that the strongest driver of engagement and performance is when we find meaning and purpose in the business we do. Team members often have and find it difficult to connect the work they do with a larger and more significant purpose. Help them find a deeper reason for what they are doing. Help them understand that they are contributing something significant that goes beyond themselves.

20. Color the vision.

When you create a vision for your team, you create deep and sustainable “why”. The vision is a portrait of the future, a seedling of reality, a destination that has not yet been achieved. A convincing vision can create enormous forces to attract that future. It provides excitement, enthusiasm, and an understanding of the horizons that connect our personal contributions with the desired end state.

21. Be focused on compromises.

If your team chases too many priorities, they will lose money and desire to make contributions. Teams that lack clear focus become confused and dilute their efforts. In the end, team members get frustrated, drive away and quit their jobs. Your job is to keep those focused by saying “No” to other options and priorities. Remember, your success is based on the intelligent allocation of scarce resources. You can only protect teams by focusing on making these important trade-offs.

22. Remove the sense of the title.

Ironically, they are perhaps the most titled members of the team mostly not contributing all they can. Their sense of rights interferes and leads them to believe that others should do more for them than vice versa. Implant in the minds of your team members that we owe each other psychological security, but there are no such things in the 21st century as job security or the right to other benefits.

23. Have the team focus on the customer.

Every team has a customer – an individual, a group, a stakeholder, or a market they serve. When a team loses sight of a customer, it often becomes careless, dazed, and cynical and loses pride in its work and contributions. Put customers ahead of the team. Communicate and collaborate with goals and customer satisfaction in mind.

24. Have team members do it their way.

Human beings want to make a difference. It is a basic human need, but they also want to make a difference in their own unique way. They want autonomy. Delegate with clear expectations and parameters, and then get out of the way. Don’t leave because they will still need feedback, encouragement, and even correction along the way. While prudently managing risk, allow team members breadth, creativity, and independence to approach things as they see fit. If you are too paternalistic, if you manage them micro, you will extinguish their motivation to contribute.

25. Measure performance.

Human beings are naturally motivated to improve, but when our contributions are not measured we become discouraged or lose interest in what we do. Make sure you have significant metrics for areas of contributions that really matter. At the same time, you can discourage your team if you measure too many things, which causes you to lose your sense of priority. It is never true that every measurement is equally important, so identify and prioritize key performance indicators.

26. Approach failure with curiosity, not criticism.

When the effect subsides, it means our inputs are not delivering the results we expected. It’s not something that is fine with what I thought the cause-and-effect relationship would be. When this happens, address your team members with curiosity, not criticism. Include them in the root cause analysis. This will often alleviate the stress and emotional tension that often surrounds poor performance.

27. Clarify the decision-making process.

There are three basic ways to make a team decision:

(1) Unilaterally: the team leader succeeds without anyone’s contribution.

(2) Cooperation: the team leader seeks feedback from team members, but makes the final decision.

(3) Consensus: The team leader distributes decision-making powers to each team member.

The team makes a decision when each member can agree with a certain course of action. The first option is dangerous, and the second is inefficient, so most teams act on the basis of a joint decision-making model. Make sure your team members understand their roles in the decision-making process so they know how to contribute in an appropriate and confident way.

28. Commendable participation of silent team members.

Some team members feel less comfortable participating in a formal group environment. Still, the team needs their real-time input to solve problems and create solutions. Magic often happens at a time when those who are less inclined to make public contributions do so, so give them compliments and encourage that behavior. Do not overdo it so as not to attract an unpleasant level of attention, but do not neglect the opportunity to thank and acknowledge them. It is often helpful to give them private feedback after a meeting to reinforce that behavior.

29. Avoid exclusion statements.

Some team leaders use statements like, “Bad idea,” “Try nice,” or “I told you so.” “These statements carry ego and insecurity and quickly trigger the instinct of self-censorship of team members. Avoid any statement that would rather be extinguished but use the discretionary effort of your team members.

30. Report your mistakes.

It seems like an unnatural act of voluntarily reporting one’s own mistakes, but leaders who truly deserve the deep trust of their teams discourage team members from hiding their mistakes. We all make mistakes and make mistakes while doing our jobs. Leaders who have the courage to share their mistakes are simply acknowledging what we all know – that people make mistakes. The more this monitors behavior, the faster it corrects mistakes and increases its contribution.

31. Ask people what they think.

Perhaps it is true that the three most beautiful words you can ask team members is: “What do you think?” Those three simple words call for input and increase confidence in the process. Never use these words uselessly if you don’t really mean it. At the same time, do not move on to a decision or action without asking a question, even when you think you know the right answer.

32. Test your skills and resources.

In order for your team members to contribute as you expect, you will need the skills and resources to do the job. Remember that it is your job to ensure that they can do their job. This means that you will have to check them regularly. Sometimes, team members do not have the skills or resources to get the job done when there is a ready-made solution to the problem.

33. Accept bad news.

The bad news is part of every team’s experience. Show your team that you want to hear bad news because it is a measure of performance, and performance cannot be perfected until we know and accept where we are today. You may be disappointed, but express your gratitude to those who bring bad news.

34. Reward those who accept additional responsibility.

Always taking on extra responsibility means doing more work and absorbing more stress, but that person also has the opportunity to make a greater contribution. Praise and reward your team members who are willing to step up and take on more responsibility. Recognize when they are taking too much and give them opportunities to rest and rebuild.

35. Create responsibility for the outcome.

Accountability occurs on three levels:

(1) task level,

(2) process or project level, and

(3) outcome level.

There is a natural progression from the first to the second level, and from the second to the third level. Create a cultural expectation in your team that you would like team members to take responsibility for outcomes, a place where they have maximum autonomy and ownership of what they do, how they do it, and the results they get.

36. Learn the principle of deposition.

Your team members often think that their contributions do not amount to much. Help them understand that the right efforts are directed in the right direction and create a deposition effect over time. Large contributions take time, and you often can’t recognize their effects early on. Praise their consistent efforts, especially when there are some and there are no visible signs of success. In the end, small things become big things. Delayed satisfaction pays off.

That is all for now, to read on about psychological safety go here…