No one likes to feel like their every step and move is being watched. It can be demoralizing and lead to a lot of self-doubt. It can create hesitation and uncertainty in every decision, even the simplest ones. This leads to an ineffective way to live your life and be a positive influencer at your job. However, having a completely hands-off manager is also not ideal. There’s no way of ensuring that everyone is on the same page and work is getting done. So, how do companies find the happy medium? One that allows workers to thrive and feel that they’re in control that still provides management positive ways to check in on their progress. It’s a difficult balance to achieve, but here are some ways we think you can do it.
We fully support check-in meetings. This is a good way to monitor how the company is doing and that everyone is on track to achieve their same desired end result. Some companies like quarterly meetings, others prefer monthly. We think a mixture is the best answer. You don’t need to bring your shareholders together every other week for check-ins, but checking in with the employees you manage every other week is probably a good idea. This can be done as formally or informally as you like, but it provides a good way to monitor the path of a project and helps prevent any major surprises. You’ll be able to get a good idea of any hiccups your team is encountering and if they’ll be able to meet their deadlines.
One of our favorite words in business is transparency. If you set the expectation that you’ll be following up on the success of x,y, and z components early on, it won’t seem like you’re badgering your employees for answers or micromanaging them. Let them know that you’ll need to see quantifiable and actual results or information during these meet-ups and explain that it’s to ensure that the project is on course. It’s not that you doubt their performance, just that you need to let other people know down the pipeline if there are any delays or problems. Being open and upfront about your intentions — being transparent — creates a more positive, efficient, and effective workplace.
For more tips about monitoring your team’s progress without losing trust, visit embedded-knowledge.com.
