One of the most common management mistakes is failing to recognise that everyone has unique strengths, values and working preferences. A one-size-fits-all approach to management just doesn’t work.
In this article, we outline three key conversations that managers should have with their employees to get the best out of every person in their team.
The conversations that result in happy, high-performing teams aren’t always easy but with our tips and templates any manager can lead with confidence.
When was the last time you talked about strengths? As a manager, have you had a meaningful discussion about your employee’s strengths in the last three months? If not, book some time in.
According to Gallup, whether you’ve had a meaningful discussion about your employee’s strengths in the last three months is a strong predictor of employee engagement and performance.
That’s because when managers are committed to building their employees’ strengths, employees feel cared for and feel that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day. In fact, employees who use their strengths every day have a 50% higher retention rate, according to Marcus Buckingham.
Preparation: You should give your direct report time to prepare for this conversation. Let them know that you’d like to have a one-to-one meeting to understand their strengths and how they can get the most out of them.
Template: Add the following talking points to the agenda for your next one-to-one and share it in advance.
If you’re using Saberr, simply apply the Discovering Our Strengths template to your next one-to-one. Your direct report will be asked to prepare by completing a 5-minute personality and strengths survey in preparation. You’ll both have access to the results in your meeting. Here is mine...
Values are core motivations that represent what we believe to be right. We all have values and there’s no right or wrong value but these deeply held principles guide our choices and influence our emotions.
Becoming more aware of your values can help you become more comfortable with their decisions and more aware of how you come across to others.
Once you’re familiar with your own values, recognising how they differ to others’ in your team helps you get to know each other and builds trust resulting in improved collaboration.
Preparation: As before, you should give your direct report time to prepare. Let them know that you’d like to have a one-to-one meeting to get to know each other better and to understand each others’ drivers and motivations.
Template: Add the following talking points to the agenda for your next one-to-one and share it in advance.
If you’re using Saberr, simply apply the Discovering Our Values template to your next one-to-one. Your direct report will be asked to prepare by completing a 5 minute values survey. You’ll both have access to the results in your meeting.
Imagine that you were writing a user manual about yourself, or a guide on how to keep you happy and get the best out of you at work. That’s what this third key conversation is about.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, my working style might be quite different to yours. Making this explicit and learning about each other’s preferences can avoid lots of misunderstandings and increase our empathy, even if we can’t meet each other’s needs one hundred percent of the time.
Preparation: Once again, give your direct report time to prepare. Let them know that you’d like to have a one-to-one meeting to get to know each other better and share the agenda beforehand so that they can reflect ahead of time.
Template: Add the following talking points to the agenda:
If you’re using Saberr, simply apply the Working Preferences template to your next one-to-one. Your direct report will be asked to prepare by completing their personal profile ahead of time . You’ll have access to each other’s profiles in the meeting.