The Productivity Myth aka How Not to Manage a Team

When you started your business, it was just you, on your own doing everything. From making the tea to making the decisions: Responsibility for every part of your business was all yours. Then your business grew. You worked longer and longer hours. You couldn't keep up with the work that was coming in. You hired your very first employee, followed by another and then another. Before you knew it, it was no longer just you, you were now a boss, and a whole different set of issues confronted you.

Some people are born leaders – they have that something about them that people like, other people don't have that something about them, but the very worst kind of leaders are those that think they have ‘it'. Everyone has had one of these bosses. They are the ones that talk to you in jargon, ‘it's their way or the highway,' and they believe being professional means being a complete personality vacuum – you know the type. The point of this is, don't be that boss, because you know what? No one works hard for a boss like this, because no one respects them, and no one buys into the vision they have for their business. Being that boss means your employees will come into work do the minimum that you expect of them and leave. When your back is turned, they won't continue working hard to help you make your business a greater success – they will moan about you instead. 

Here's how not to be that boss, and how to build a great team:

Don't Micromanage

Unless you are employing robots, your team will be a mixture of different personalities, different skills and different ways of working. Micromanaging your team, and monitoring their every move is not the secret to sending productivity through the roof, it is the secret for sending employees running for the door instead. Employees should be able to voice their opinions and have their own ideas. Getting feedback from the people doing the job is often the best way to improve your work processes, so don't assume that you know everything.

Value Them

Yes, they are your employees, and yes, you pay them to do a job, but it would be impossible for anyone to be 100 per cent productive 100 per cent of the time. 

Creating a work environment that shows your employees that you value the work that they do for you is crucial. Provide your team with a workspace that is an inviting space and make sure that they take DSE online training to help make their screen time more comfortable. 

Encourage your employees to take breaks away from their desk, and try to get rid of any culture that results in them believing that putting in loads of extra (unnecessary) hours means that they are a better employee than the rest of the team. Taking breaks provides thinking space, and often it is the space to reflect and think which is missing and not time.