Article: Identify what factors people are failing at and try to remedy the situations positively. If they are looking to coast through without any kind of direction, help them formulate a plan. Things will go wrong and people will fail at times, but constructing a plan of action will at least help you and everyone else to prepare for any challenges that may arise. To create the best and most positive environment possible, high standards will need to be in place. Making clear and easy to follow standards for your team will help in avoiding issues or confusion in the future. Communicate these expectations to your staff clearly and concisely. For instance, if you expect your team to arrive every day by 9AM, make that known to them and keep that rule for yourself, too. However, allow for some flexibility. No one wants to follow a dictator. Sometimes, coming in at 9 may not always be possible. Clarify the times when flexibility is possible. Every person has a unique and important role to play in the team dynamic and you should work to actively foster the strengths in each of your team members. You should give team expectations but you should also give individual expectations, as well. Make sure that any and all assignments and deadlines are known and understood by the team. For instance, if you have a team member who is particularly skilled at communication, perhaps you would have them lead a communication exercise with the team at a staff meeting. Work with them on their weaknesses, too. If you have a team member who struggles with speaking before crowds, consider sending them to a conference or a workshop to help them overcome that. One other aspect of a productive work environment that you should make a property is assuring that your staff is continually learning and becoming better professionals. Provide workshop or conference opportunities for your staff to further hone their craft. As a part of this process, you will want to check in with your staff regularly to ensure that all of you are on the same page. Set up weekly or biweekly meetings with your staff for a time that is convenient for all to discuss any updates or changes and to provide clarification on any questions. Keep in mind that you may require a different amount or type of meeting depending on your work environment. More or less meetings may be required depending on the purpose and work setting, or you may even need to use a different format for meetings, such as Skype. As a part of this new process, it will be important to set some goals for yourself and for the team to indicate when you have been successful. As you are developing your plan for improving your team dynamic, think also on the goals you want to achieve in the process. Ask your team also to identify what they would like to see at the end of the process. For instance, perhaps your team has had issues in the past with team morale. After you have set your plan in place, clarified your expectations, and led by example for a set amount of time, take an assessment of your team to see if their feelings and attitudes have changed. Take some time as a a group and a team to assess the working dynamic. You may want to do this individually as some might be embarrassed if they are corrected in front of a group. You can still, however, offer praise and compliments to individuals in front of the group. Provide a time and mechanism for them to also give you feedback on your methods. For example, perhaps you feel that your team members have been doing a really great job on implementing the new plan, but there are some small areas for improvement. Discuss with the group the general things that could be done better, but spend time individually talking about specifics. You might say something to your staff like "Really great job everyone on working so well together and on making it in on time every day. That makes my job easier. The only bit of improvement that I see currently is just making sure that the front desk is always covered, but we can discuss plans for that now." Set up one on one meetings with your staff to give this feedback and to also receive feedback. People will work hard for you when they feel that their work is valued and rewarded properly. People also tend to work a bit harder if they feel that their are special incentives that could come with going above and beyond the call of duty. These incentives do not necessarily need to be monetary, but find ways to reward your team for their hard work. They deserve it! For example, perhaps you could begin giving out an employee of the month award or giving one day paid time off to the person who creates the best team builder exercise. Even small incentives like offering to buy lunch for your employees after they complete a big project or offering gift cards to the highest performing employee(s). The amount on the gift card does not have to be large. Even a $15 to $25 gift card can be motivating.

What is a summary?
Determine and define your plan. Set high standards and follow them. Clarify roles and develop your team. Provide new learning initiatives. Conduct regular meetings. Set goals. Give and receive feedback. Provide incentives.