10 Tips - How to start leading your small team or agency
You started your own business, your passion project and you have achieved incredible success.
Now your business is growing at an extraordinary rate and you are running out of hours in the day, and headspace seems a distant memory.
So you have started outsourcing - employing people. Letting them do what they excel at, so you can get on with your zone of genius.
You didn’t go into business to run a business, so you aren’t expected to be able to do ALL the things - accounts, admin, social media, strategy, design, photography….
Do you treat all your ‘support staff’ as a team, or are they ad-hoc helpers? Are you missing a trick and actually increasing your workload by not bringing them together as a team?
Treating them as a team will make sure that your business is running effectively will allow you to focus on the big picture, not stress about the never ending to do list in front of you.
A happy and motivated team will work harder, stick around longer and help you more in the longer term if you treat them as if they were full time employees.
Here are my top 10 tips for motivating your team!
1. Brief them properly.
Walk them through your processes. Explain everything in detail – your processes are the most important part of onboarding your team. If they are unsure on how to work or don’t have clear expectations set for them, they will be reticent to put 100% into their work and you may feel like they are not delivering. They may not know what to deliver. Keep asking and answering questions. Also - expect the onboarding process to take a month or two, especially when working remotely as things can take a lot longer than in person.
2. Pay them fairly and on time.
If you hire somebody who is inexperienced then you can expect to pay them less than somebody with more experience. If you expect experience from somebody that you are paying very little, then that is not fair. Pay them according to their experience and what your business needs. Agree payment terms in advance and pay them on time. It really is that simple!
3. Communication is King (or Queen).
How you communicate, the method and the frequency is really key, especially with an otherwise unconnected group of people. If you are WhatsApping, emailing, voice-noting whenever the idea strikes you, you are expecting your team to have a crystal ball of your thought processes. The clearer you can make it for them, the easier it is to see what they need to do, and why. And to make it clear to them, it needs to be clear to you too… Look at the process and pick one place to use as a communication tool. Project management tools such as Asana, Click Up or Trello can help you keep on track of roles, responsibilities and due dates. Keep all communication in one place. This will reduce your hours of people management if the team know each other
4. Create A pleasant working environment, wherever you work.
Make sure your team has everything that they need. Do they have the equipment they need to do the job they are tasked with? Ensure they have access to the documents and tech they need – help them to help you. Remembering their birthday and organising a Christmas party shows you care and makes your team feel respected and valued. Add a sense of collaboration to your team and make them feel part of your business.
5. Develop your team.
Allow your team to have opportunities for self-development. Encourage them to develop and learn. Are there relevant courses that would benefit you both? Consider paying for them or pay a percentage of the cost. Allow them to take time off to study, allow them to grow and give them the headspace that they need to develop and learn. Happy teams will want to stick around.
6. Foster collaboration.
Schedule in monthly team meetings you encourage collaboration but also have the chance to set out your monthly goals for your business in addition to having them all working in harmony with one another. These meetings will also help to set out your expectations for your business and for each of them and their roles as part of your business. The team will get to know one another and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This will help foster collaborative and supportive working among them and it will result in them helping you and each other more.
7. Spread happiness.
Be a human being. Look after your freelancers. Remember their birthdays, ask after their families when you speak. If you notice that they are unhappy or their work has dropped off then make sure you ask them if they are okay. They may be going through some work or personal problems and you may be able to offer advice or even some understanding can go a long way. Don’t judge or criticise them. Be kind.
8. Setting clear goals and expectations.
Paint the vision for them, and set out how you want them to support you in your business growth. Give them clear boundaries in each of their roles. What to do if they’re unhappy, what if they’re not clear, delivery dates, remit, and level of service you expect from each of them. Understanding their role in your business and in your business growth will remove confusion and empower them to do a better job. If they do not respond to the issues raised or meet your expectations after your discussions, only then can you consider if they are the right people for your business, or whether it may be time to move on.
9. Don’t micromanage.
This is a time- and trust- killer, and probably the hardest part for a business owner to nail. You have grown the business from the ground up. It’s your baby. So it’s natural to find it so hard to relinquish control of your business to others. However, keeping all you fingers in all of the pies will not help you or your business to grow. Your team know the vision, their role in delivering it and what to do if they are unclear/unhappy. You have put the time in to brief and train them. It’s time to get your hands off the wheel, and them get on with what you are paying them for. If you show them trust, they will work harder for you too.
10. Treat your freelancers like you would your full time team.
Be mindful that they may work for 4, 5 or even 6 other people in a week. Treat them with the respect that they deserve and make sure you support them in order to support you. By treating them as if they are one big happy team you will foster a much happier environment for you all to work in.
I hope you have found these tips useful and that they have inspired you to motivate your team!
Please do let me know how you get on with implementing even just a few of these ideas.
Remember small changes can make a big difference.