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Leading your team can be extremely rewarding, but it also comes with challenges that can cause high levels of stress and burnout if not managed properly.
As a leader, you are responsible for your team’s performance, productivity, and well-being – which is no small feat. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or like you’re slowly losing your grip, you’re not alone.
Many managers struggle with balancing responsibilities, workload, and maintaining good mental health. However, it is possible to effectively lead your team without losing your mind in the process.
Here’s the ultimate guide to leading your team without losing your sanity!
6 Keys to Lead Your Team with Ease and Intention
Effective leadership requires constantly adapting your approach based on each team’s unique dynamics.
Apply these tips to establish routines and processes that prevent stress, improve clarity, and make the most of everyone’s strengths!
Know Your Team’s Personality and Love/Work Language
Understanding your team members’ personalities and how they communicate is vital for effective collaboration.
Implement personality tests like human design, 16 personalities, and gene keys to gain deep insights into their needs and preferences.
This knowledge allows you to tailor your communication and create an environment that fosters collaboration and productivity.
Set Clear Expectations and Agree on Priorities
One of the quickest ways to add stress is to have unclear roles and expectations. Take time upfront to clearly define each team member’s responsibilities and how their work aligns with overall team and company goals.
Get specific – define what “success” looks like for each priority project or task. This establishes accountability and allows people to self-manage better. It also prevents scopes from creeping and frustrations from building due to uncertainty.
Regular check-ins are also important to ensure priorities don’t shift without notice. Agree together what the non-negotiables are for the current sprint or month and allow flexibility elsewhere if needed.
Clear alignment on expectations and priorities prevents disagreements and surprises down the road.
Delegate Strategically
As a leader, you can’t and shouldn’t do everything yourself. Part of your job is to develop your team so they can share responsibilities and gaps can be covered when you’re unavailable.
Identify tasks you handle out of habit that others are capable of doing. Break large projects into smaller action items and parcel them out to the right people.
That said, not all tasks can be delegated. Be selective – only delegate work you trust can be competently handled in your absence. Don’t overload people out of their depth.
You still need time for strategic thinking, high-level coordination, and representative responsibilities only a leader can manage. Find the right balance of delegation that works for your team’s capabilities.
Communicate and Foster Transparency
When working remotely or leading a dispersed team, communicate, communicate, communicate – then communicate some more!
Share updates frequently so no one is left in the dark about priorities, progress, or roadblocks.
Transparency is key to building trust.
- Be accessible via messages, video calls, or in person when possible.
- Quick check-ins go a long way in answering questions and addressing concerns before they escalate.
- Foster psychological safety so people aren’t afraid to bring issues to you.
Clear communication streamlines processes and prevents misunderstandings, freeing up your time and mental space in the long run.
Set Boundaries and Take Breaks
It’s impossible to effectively be leading your team if you’re already burned out. Yet sometimes balancing personal well-being with work responsibilities feels impossible. Make self-care non-negotiable.
– Respect normal working hours as much as possible (e.g. no weekend emails).
– Learn to say no to unnecessary tasks outside your role.
– Take regular vacations to fully detach from work.
– Step away from devices during breaks and after hours.
Modeling good work-life practices sets the expectation that it’s okay for your team to do the same. Their well-being and mental health are important too. Prioritize replenishing so you can bring your best energy every day.
Embrace Flexibility
Recognize that each person has a unique working style and adapt your leadership approach accordingly. Embrace diversity and encourage different perspectives, as this fosters innovation and creativity within your team.
Being flexible and open-minded creates an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work.
The Mic Drop:
Becoming an effective leader takes time and effort, but with the right strategies and mindset, you can create a high-performing team that works harmoniously towards achieving your business goals. Embrace your role as a leader, understand your team, set clear expectations, communicate openly, and be flexible.
With practice, it is absolutely possible to be an engaged leader without losing your mind!
Yvi Wisdom Bombs:
- “A successful leader knows their team as individuals, not just employees.”
- “Clear communication is the foundation of a productive and harmonious team.”
- “Flexibility is the key to unlocking your team’s full potential.”
ULTIMATE Guide to LEADING Your Team Without Losing Your Mind (Transcript)
[00:00:00] Yvonne Heimann: Do you ever feel like herding cats rather than actually working with your team? In this video, I’ll show you how you can evolve and how I have evolved from a frustrated leader who felt like I was herding cats into a leader that actually works with their team. That my team listens to, that I listen to my team and I’ll share the simple framework that allows you to work with your team, help them be more motivated, as well as the processes that will give you more control while empowering your team to take control themselves.
[00:00:43] Let’s just say as entrepreneurs, as solopreneurs, changing from a doer to a leader is not always easy. We started a business because of a passion, because we saw a need, because we wanted to help. Which [00:01:00] means we were doing all the things. We were really reactive and clients coming to us with the problems and we are the solution.
[00:01:08] Now, scaling your business and actually turning into a leader, not just a doer comes with quite the struggles. And today I want to talk about how you really become the ultimate leader so that you can work with your team without losing your mind and keep your sanity.
[00:01:30] Let’s talk about number one, you need to know your team’s personality and their love slash work language right here at AskYvi
[00:01:38] we have just recently really cracked down on using personality tests. Not only for new hires and making hiring decisions, but also for the existing team to help me and them better communicate with each other. Now, personality tests go [00:02:00] into your personal profile, into your personal needs and all the things where we use human design, where we use 16 personalities, gene keys, and all the things.
[00:02:10] I came across recently the work style personality assessment, which specifically focuses on your work style and shout out to Trent Stonehouse, who was a guest on my podcast of Posture Business, he put this amazing personality test together that is now part of our personality tests for every team member.
[00:02:36] Now to really become a leader and be able to speak your team’s love and work language, you also need to pay attention to what excites your team? And I’m telling you, this has been not only a godsend, but also really, really fun. I just moved my community [00:03:00] unicorn into a manager position. She is now handling my content marketing and overseeing our team.
[00:03:09] And seeing how excited she has been in this position and taking charge and doing the thing. Believe me, after we’ve done all of the personality tests, now seeing how this implemented and how this really manifested in her every day and getting those excited messages of we are doing this and we are doing that.
[00:03:32] She is in the right position. There is no question about that. Now, this brings me to really knowing your team’s values and drivers. Now, what do I mean by that? I value open communication. Yeah, that is a subconscious thing, but this is also a conscious decision on values. When I say values, I really mean the subconscious values that [00:04:00] drives our decision and why we do things in a certain way.
[00:04:04] Through my NLP Master Practitioner training, I have learned how to elicit values from people that they don’t decide. I can really tap into their subconscious mind and pull out their core values as they are right now in this moment for specific areas of their business, in their business, their life, in our case, their job. And with those values, I can better frame work or communication for them to understand me better. Best example, if I say, think of the color red, chances are the shade of red you were thinking about is different than mine, knowing my team’s values allows me to really speak their language and be able to keep them excited about what they are doing.
[00:04:56] And as you might’ve heard in a past video, knowing if [00:05:00] your team is towards or away, it’s that whole stick and carrot thing. What really motivates them? Is it something that they are moving away from or towards to, and then how do they feel valued? We do have different love languages. Do they like to hear that I am proud of them, that they have accomplished something. Is it numbers? How are they feeling valued? And for them to know how they are valued, you need to set clear expectations. Don’t just do the, Hey, we need five posts a week. No. What is the impact? What is the growth that your work is causing? And what are those numbers that we are going for.
[00:05:43] And then rather than telling them, I want you to be better at this. No, ask them, what do you want to be better at? How can I help you to be better at? Is there a course, a training, and then have them come back after they took that [00:06:00] training and tell you how this training impacted them and how they can take that knowledge.
[00:06:09] To get better results for themself and your business and don’t let your team just problem dump onto you. And somebody comes in is like, Hey, we have an issue here. Ask them, okay, what’s your plan to fix it? What’s the solution you are proposing? Make them solution oriented rather than just seeing the problem.
[00:06:30] And to wrap all of this up, you always want to run regular reviews with your team to really be able to step in your leader role and give them feedback. And when giving them feedback, do not ever blame the person, blame the process. Where did things go wrong? It’s not like you did this wrong. No. Where did this process get stuck?
[00:06:56] Where are things not working as we thought they [00:07:00] would. And I don’t believe in firing fast. I believe in looking back at me. What did I potentially not provide to my team members so they could be their best. Self collaborate with them in a way that has this open communication of reviewing the process they have been going through the workflows they have been managing and get feedback from them where things are getting stuck to be better last but not least, simply ask them, what do you need from me?
[00:07:34] You as a leader are here to support your team and not just tell them what to do. So ask them, what do you need to be better in your position? We’ve already talked in a past video about dashboards and custom views to really support your team, to be the most productive they can be. And therefore make you an [00:08:00] amazing leader.
[00:08:00] So if you want to dive deeper into all of that. I have a playlist for you right here with a lot of different videos that allow you to give your team the resources they need and be the leader you want to be. And to stay updated, go subscribe because we have more videos coming up for you to make your business the most efficient it can be.
Tech Stack
Timestamps
00:00 | Introduction
01:30 | Knowing your Team
03:36 | Importance of Team Values
04:56 | Knowing what Motivates My Team
05:43 | How to Help your Team be Better
06:30 | How to Give Good Feedback
07:34 | How to be a Better Leader
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