You have come to that point in your management career: work is not getting done fast enough and your team’s emotional well-being is falling. Your own stress levels are climbing as pressure from higher-ups increases. You are trying to help your team, but no matter how hard they work, nothing is getting done and they are floppy more every day.

So how do you get your team to get more done? How do you get them to go beyond their limits? Do you drive them? Do you push them hard? And then push them harder even once they are resenting the efforts?

Your team is facing a productivity crisis. That means it’s time to step back and take a look at the processes, tools, and management techniques that could be bottlenecking their progress.

Here are a few advices to help your team break the cycle:

1. Be clear about the roles and tasks: Motivate your team by letting them determine how to get the work done. Tell them the objectives and goals, and let them impress you with their creativity and initiative. Miscommunication can lead to a lot of disarray, but if you take care of that, the team can proceed smoothly with the work. For this purpose, tasks must be given with clear-cut instructions and what is expected from the team members. When there is clarity about who does what, people are much more likely to take ownership of their individual tasks.

2. Appreciate your team’s effort – Surveys show that most employees are lucky if they receive any praise during the course of their job. Recognise employees who have worked hard and gone the extra mile. Make sure that you call it out. Publicly praise your team members. It does not have to be fancy, it just has to be sincere.

3. Allow your team to make decisions- Some managers may not allow their team to make any decisions without their approval. This does not lead to a productive environment. You should trust your team to make day-to-day decisions on their own. A good leaders would not lead by giving permission on each simple task. They lead by knowing when to gently correct their team along the way.

4. Keep things transparent – Let your team know the big picture. Do not withhold information unnecessarily. Your team cannot perform at their best if they are wearing blinders and if you are not being transparent, that would make them feel much distrusted.

5. Always have a positive attitude – As a leader, you set the tone for your entire team’s operation. The team takes their sign from the top. If the boss is having a bad day, so is the entire team. Always try to keep your problems aside and bring in a positive attitude. This can be very crucial to your team’s success

6. Listen to what your employees have to say- Communication is ESSENTIAL. You have to understand the needs of your employees, and also, any ideas that they might have. If employees feel ignored, it will affect their motivation levels, which will affect their efficiency and productivity. So, be sure to be there for your employees. Give importance to their ideas, some might be useful. Happy employee is directly proportional to healthy profitable business.

7. Try to encourage breaks- You need to take breaks too. You cannot run continually for 8 hours, and neither can your brain. Stopping for a 15-minute break from all work gives your mind time to relax, so you can shake off the laziness and jump back into your day with full force

Always try to pull your team instead of pushing

Pushing your team only goes so far. In the end, it causes un-satisfaction. You might get the work done, but it will take double the effort and produces half the results. If you want your team to get more work done and be more productive…. pull them.

Pull them to greater limits. Pull them to greater achievements.
And of course, pull them to success.