Every law firm, accountancy firm or consulting firm has some parts that work well and some that don’t. If you have realised that your team is struggling and not doing as well as you’d like, you are probably wondering how you can work with them to get them performing better. Improving team performance is a great idea and one that will get you noticed by the partners.
I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.
How to turn your team around
1) Reflect
Have you had a few team members tell you things that they are unhappy about recently? It is important to take some time to reflect on the list of woes. Is there anything you could or should have fixed, or (even worse) have already promised to fix but not got round it it yet. Work through the list and make sure you have completed the promises you’ve already made first.
2) “One To Ones”:
Get into a habit of informal “one to one” meetings with team members. Don’t sit at a desk, ideally get out and walk, maybe go next door to the coffee shop, or anywhere that’s different. If you have to do this virtually, make sure you both have a coffee (or other drink) to make things more pleasant and informal. Ask, “How do you think we’re doing as a team?”, “What can we do better?” and one of my favourites “How can I help you to do your job better”. Explain that you’re trying to set a standard for what’s working well, so you can see how you progress. Remember, it’s your job to encourage them to trust you and to share their ideas. One client used to go out on visits with members of the team and used the car journey as an informal place to talk. Another would get breakfast for people some days. What would work with your team members?
3) Share
Once you’ve talked to the team as individuals, make sure to share your findings with the team). Ask them how they’d fix the problems. Some suggestions can be agreed straight away and other things may need more consideration. Reserve the right to consider others, but with a promise to come back to them.
4) Develop a road-map
It’s important to take the team with you. Get the team together again and map out the things that you will start to do, the processes you’re going to fix and how you’re going to improve things.
5) Make it visual
Put the road-map somewhere in view of the whole team, update it, and refer to it in conversations and in meetings. Even better, get the team to update it and ask them how things are going now. Keep asking the questions!
If you want to take things further and become a great line manager, join Progress to Partner Academy and work through the “How to Excel as a Line Manger.” corse. It’s a great course that will give you the skill and mindset to become the line manager who is able to get the best out of their people. Join here
Communications and improving team performance
One of the most common problems is that staff complain they don’t know what’s going on. Yes, I know you spend ages telling them – but I guarantee it will be one of the biggest complaints. What this normally means is that they haven’t absorbed all the information, or it didn’t mean anything to them at the time. One simple tactic to help here is to have a weekly 20-minute session with the whole team. Each team member “takes the stage” for a couple of minutes and talk about what they’re working on, new things they’re trying to do (clients, process improvements, staff etc). The reason this works is because:
- You’re not doing the talking, they are
- It’s repeated regularly, so they get to hear things more than once.
- It is time-limited. It’s not about discussion and fixing things; that can take place out of the meeting. Keep it simple, quick, and to the point.
- It becomes about the whole team, not the team leader.
If you would like more information on this, The key to improving team performance is for the leader to facilitate their improvement, not whip them into shape.
Need more help with changing your weak team into a strong team?
We have a great course in Progress to Partner called “How to Excel as a Line Manger.” It’s one of over 14 courses that are all aimed at people like you, lawyers, accountants and consultants, who want to get noticed as “one to watch” by the partners in their firm.
OR Take a look at my self-study courses:
- How to Delegate Like a Pro
- How to Excel as a Line Manager Course
- How to Create a Strong-Hybrid Team
- How to Set Performance Objectives for your Direct Reports
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I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner . Here are 5 ways to work with me.
