Three Ways to Build Accountability in Your Team

Effective teams are accountable to each other for completion of their part of projects and for communicating how initiatives stand. Here are three ways to build team accountability. Be accountable yourself. As a leader, set the example. Commit to your teammates that certain tasks will be done by a particular date, and then follow through. Communicate regularly. Set up a recurring team meeting (live or virtual) and/or utilize group communication tools online or via email for communicating progress. For example, I work part time for a firm and we have a weekly staff meeting where we give updates on our responsibilities. Knowing I will be giving a report can keep me motivated and help me consolidate my actions into reportable elements. Allow...

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Five Ways to Help Your Team Develop their Professional Skills in a Tight Economy

In a tight economy, professional development is one of the budget cuts often made. While this is sometimes necessary, pulling back from providing development opportunities can be short sighted. Here are a few ways to keep your team learning while not breaking the bank. Keep it a priority. Instead of "professional development" being the first thing to be cut, how about looking at other line items such as meal expenses, excess office supplies, or professional services that may be a bit overdone? Consider local opportunities. There are still businesses out there that provide training classes that may not require your team to travel. Search "professional education" in your area and check out options. Watch for community programs. Sometimes, recreation...

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Holiday Hints for Team Leaders

Give out small gifts or gift cards. Hang cards or small gifts on a tree and draw numbers to see which employee gets to choose first, second, etc. Check into laws about how much can be given in gifts/gift cards before it becomes taxable income to an employee. Work on a community project together. Volunteer projects abound as well as opportunities to collect items for food banks and non profit agencies. Encourage your team to get involved. Consider shutting the office down early or allowing team members to take a half day with pay sometime in December to run errands/do shopping. If you can afford it, treat your team to a really nice restaurant and include spouses/guests. Then again, simple celebrations are nice too. Maybe the boss can have everyone...

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