SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
Which aspect of your team’s work presents the most difficulty?
- Quantity — they don’t turn out enough results: 18%
- Quality — their work product isn’t up to standard: 22%
- Timeliness — their work isn’t completed on time: 35%
- Intangibles — they don’t interact well with others: 25%
When and How Matter. Timeliness and intangibles appear to be the biggest challenges leaders face with the results their teams generate. If things aren’t on time, you have to ask yourself if you’ve overloaded the team or not given them the resources they need. If the issues are with how team members treat others as they get their work done, come coaching and feedback is in order. Either way, having a clear assessment of their results helps you focus your leadership efforts not just on generating end products but also on how capable your team is of doing so.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of “Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results” and “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”