Have you had a long hard week at work? Is your team tired and unmotivated by the time Friday creeps up? Rallying your troops is one of the hardest things to tackle as a manager and last week, that’s exactly the challenge I had to meet.
After a busy week slinging transmissions, a group of our sales team flew to two simultaneous trade shows in different cities…leaving just part of our team and a busy day of customer support ahead of us. How’d we handle it? Preparation – We’d spent the first half of the week dividing up larger accounts to reps that could cover them for the day, and preordering lunch for those of us staying behind in anticipation of the busyness to come. Our Director of Customer Experience even set up a music playlist on an extra computer for the day! Set the tone and environment – The most crucial element as a manager is you. How hard you’re willing to work rubs off on your team. Being willing to come in early and stay late on a day when your business needs you. Keeping a cool head in times when you are extra busy, and maintaining your positive attitude all directly affect the tone of the office. Say thank you – Yep, those two little words go a long way. Expressing your appreciation to the team that just knocked it out of the park will leave them more motivated to do it again the next day.
Having the right manager (you) in place for the day-to-day is crucial to rallying your team. I’m not saying that you need to replace yourself as manager with a new manager (yet) but it’s important to look in the mirror before looking out your office window wondering why team members are not excited about their jobs. I know that as a manager, the things I mentioned above are what I’m tested on everyday. But becoming a better me is important to my team. Are you striving to be a better you?
When the chips are down and the days are long, Kentucky Fried Sales Chick Megan Pierce steps up. How do you rally your own team? Share with Megan or in the comments below!
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When the chips are down and the days are long, Kentucky Fried Sales Chick Megan Pierce steps up. How do you rally your own team? Share with Megan or in the comments below!
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