What your team believe is most important

Every person and team member wants to believe in what they do, who they believe in and they also want someone to believe in them.  Something to believe in is the vision of the business.  Someone to believe in is the business leader or owner. And every team member needs for someone to believe in them which is their self-worth.

Vision: Something to believe in   

When our people can see the vision and that vision in communicated to them, they know what it is that they are working towards. The role of the business leader and owner is to get clear on that vision.  If the vision is not clear, people do not know where they are going. And the second part is to iterate and re-iterate that vision at as many events as possible so people can connect to it on a regular basis.

What your team believes in which is the vision is key.  They need to be able to see themselves in that vision.  They want to feel that what they do matters not only to them but also the business.  When they believe in the vision, they tend of work harder and with more passion as they believe that they can make a difference.  They communicate better with each other in a team to meet the goals set out in the vision.

Leader: Someone to believe in  

Each person in a team wants to believe in a leader.  This is however not that common.  Most people apply for a job hoping that it will pay the bills and meet the desires they have in life and do not have many expectations that the leader is going to be extraordinary.

However, when a team believes in a leader, they are inspired to be more like them.  To not disappoint them, and instead to make them proud.  When a leader interacts positively with a team, speaks about the vision, provides them with inspiration, provides feedback on their work, the team feels connected to that leader.

An ideal leader is someone who is the right balance of ‘tough love’. They provide support and love most of the time.  When needed, they provide constructive feedback to make the team better.  Leaders who are transparent about this are easier to believe in.

Self-worth: Someone to believe in them  

Teams are a group of individual people. Teams may be department focussed or project focussed or example.  But they are there to achieve a common goal.

When it comes to self-worth, people love being seen.  They love being thanked.  Some may say that they don’t need it, but that does not mean that they don’t want it or like it!

For many reasons, people’s self-worth is challenged both at work and outside of work from an early age.  Whether it be upbringing and family or friends or other situations.

When people receive feedback, whether that be from a manager or another person in that team, it maintains or increases their self-worth. They want to be part of that team and stay there. It makes them feel good!

People that have a healthy self-worth also help other people in their team as their attitude is not about competition but instead about collaboration.

As a business leader or owner, it is important to help your people build their self-worth.  

What your team believe is most important.  When the fundamentals are set right, it is easier to build upon.  By having the people in your team have something to believe in, someone to believe in and someone to believe in them, attracting and retaining key talent becomes easier.

Written by Shivani Gupta.