A business needs to produce results to be successful. The owner of a company feels constant pressure to get things completed, creating relentless stress. If things don't get done, the company will not generate the revenue and gross profit it needs to survive and prosper.
All companies must produce the results they promised to their clients. If it is a product or a service that a company is selling, it must deliver on the promise, or the clients will go elsewhere.
However, if all the business is focused on is results, oddly enough, problems start popping up. Communication errors create the need to redo completed tasks. The people working in the company can feel so much pressure to get things done that they feel they don't have the time or permission to ask clarifying questions. Materials and labor are wasted; projects don't get completed on time or well; and clients are unhappy.
What a paradox!
Owners who are only focused on results must broaden their focus. But how's that done? Here are some dos and don'ts.
Do: Inspire
Employees want to be inspired. They want to experience a sense of being part of something larger than themselves.
An owner must craft and share a clear picture of their vision for the company and how each employee fits into that vision. The result of doing that often are employees who are part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Don't: Bemoan
An atmosphere of doom and gloom lowers the energy level of the employees. The outcomes that then occur are short of what anyone, both the owner and the employees, truly want.
An owner who is complaining all the time, whether in their mind, to other employees, to close friends, or to their family, is an anchor on the company's efforts to move towards a positive future.
Do: Appreciate
Employees do work to earn money and benefits. Included in their wants, but often never expressly asked for, is to be appreciated.
What does that look like? the owner lets an employee know that they did something consistent with the goals of the company, while being very specific about what the employee did and how the owner feels about what the employee did.
Praise and appreciation delivered face-to-face can improve the performance of any human being a lot.
Don't: Harangue
In our company's meetings early on in the life of the business, I thought the best way to get something across to our employees was to say it several times.
What I came to realize is that my intense delivery coupled with my reputation was simply driving the employees away from me. All they were thinking about was when the meeting was going to end.
Do: Coach
Sports involve a team of players whose performance can be enhanced in unanticipated ways to be an effective coach.
Such a coach recognizes the unique strengths of each of those on the team. The coach wants to maximize those strengths.
The coach also has to be frank, in a caring way, about the weaknesses of each player. Doing this is recognizing the elephant in the room, that everyone has their respective strengths AND weaknesses. And that no one will ever be perfect.
Now the coach can work with players individually and the entire team to move towards a future that includes greater and greater success.
Don't: Belittle
Even the strongest looking employee in a company is fragile, in some way or another.
it is hard for a results-oriented owner to realize that.
And yes, every employee is not perfect. Everyone. No owner is either.
Belittling people is the best way to demotivate them. Who would want to do that to their employees.?
Focus on Your People
The best way to achieve results is to focus on the people who are part of your company. Without doing so, your company will never realize its full potential.
Be clear about what you want your company to achieve and what kind of employees you are looking for. While doing that, be realistic. You will never have perfect employees.
Improve your people skills while always looking to improve the quality of your employees and you will get the results you are looking for.