You are always investing into further developing the talented individuals around you.
Covid-19 is a pandemic, which is something that most of us have never experienced. During the forced isolation required due to Covid-19, I prefer to look at the positive. Along with many others in my entrepreneurial circle, I have taken this time to self-reflect on so many personal and professional ideas and thoughts. I encourage you to also take some time to reflect on ways to improve your own personal life, but also, when we all get back to whatever the new normal is, think about your work team. I had written the following blog not long before Covid-19 made itself known. I hope it spurs some contemplation and reflection to improve your work team.
According to Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach, your mindset is, “An ingrained and particular way of thinking about and looking at the future that you hold onto consistently over a long period of time.”
Simply put, your mindset creates behavior. Let’s analyze how different mindsets towards people development may be affecting your firm.
One of the things that causes people to not invest in maximizing the potential of the individuals around them is a belief that there is simply too much to do.
As a result, you continually put off the time to develop and train them. There are not enough hours in a day to being with, so how can you possibly justify taking one hour per week to mentor or train your team members, whether it’s one on one, or in a group?
Looking for the deeper cause
But it’s a mistake to think this way.
That being said, there’s a perfectly intelligent reason that you haven’t taken the time to invest time in training. You’ve convinced yourself that the only way to get the work done is by brute force and long hours.
This thinking gets you stuck up against a ceiling that you’ll never break through. If the skill set remains as it is now, you and your team members will never be able to handle any more work. Continuing to work hard without investing in people will only get you more of the same: a feeling that there is too much work to do and not enough time to do it all in.
Turnover – that’s why I don’t do it
Another cause for not making the time to develop the individuals around you is due to the seemingly never-ending rate of turnover.
After all, you are already spending an enormous amount of time and resources into recruiting, interviewing, and bringing on new team members.
With all that effort, what happens? Most of them don’t last anyways, so you might as well wait a bit to see who’s going to stick around and be a good fit.
This mindset is limiting the growth of your firm, your overall productivity and profitability as well. You see, if you continue this belief, you’ll always delay training them, hoping to save yourself more wasted energy.
However, this creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The best team members WANT to learn and to improve and to do great work. Most people don’t show up to work where they spend two-thirds of their lives with the intent of not being good.
But, if you don’t create opportunities for them to learn, improve, and develop more confidence in how to do the work they are doing – guess what? You’re not going to be able to keep the good ones.
If you have a high rate of turnover, I am willing to make a virtual bet that you are not investing in developing and training your team members. Mindset shift – at least I hope so.
A rock-solid team you can count on
When you develop the mindset that you have a rock solid team, who want to exceed by improving their skills and whom you can consistently count on, think of the impact on your overall quality of life.
By making this a priority in your firm, you will reap very positive rewards. You ensure that every person in your firm feels confident and comfortable in using the tools they depend on daily. Word, Excel, Outlook, case management software, etc.
Do you hand them a computer and say, “Get to work?” Or do you have someone sit down with them and educate them on all the tools and how they are used within the firm?
Doing the latter will get you much happier team members that are more productive, which all impact the bottom line. This mindset creates a very solid team who will do very well.
You are always investing into further developing the talented individuals around you.
Constant evaluation of the training requirements of your team is the mindset required to have a happy and successful team.
This level takes you to the next level of productivity across the board. It is not a one-off thing where you only make sure everyone knows how to use their tools. It is an ongoing culture where people are constantly learning. It is a growth mindset.
For example, there is a significant difference between giving someone the login to their case management software and telling them to use it or taking the time to learn the basics, along with some tip and tricks and showing them how it is used in the firm.
Investing into further developing everyone around you is a whole other level. Continuing the example, continue to hold monthly training for the entire team so that your firm starts leveraging and using the advanced features. The case management software example is a big one because most firms only utilize the basic set of features. There is a lot of dormant potentials, just a training away.
Although the analogies used here were technology related, this applies to anything that is skill-based in your firm.
Going forward, by developing the team members around you, attorneys and support staff, you’ll be able to achieve a significant improvement across the firm.
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Don’t let Covid-19 take over your mind. Be sure to take some time away from the news, Facebook, Instagram, wherever you get your news. Think about the ideas and suggestions provided in this blog, sit with a paper and pencil and write down your thoughts on this blog as it pertains to your team. What can you do when we return to “normal”? But, don’t stop there. Pen and Pencil are a powerful tool. Putting your thoughts on paper helps to get them out of your head but can be referenced when appropriate. I know that especially during this time of uncertainty I have a hard time focusing with all the “unknowns” swirling in my head. Putting them on paper, releases them from my thoughts, allowing me to enjoy the moment and even sleep a bit more restful. Please stay safe and stay healthy!
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Continuing on causes some tautology in this sentence.