A team is made up of smaller parts, individuals who, when they all engage and contribute, can achieve more than the individual could on his or her own.
When it comes to goal attainment, the key to maximizing team engagement and progress involves thinking big and working small. Find out how mastering small commitments can help you revamp team productivity below.
Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare
In the age-old story of the tortoise and the hare, the hare zips to the first marker and stops to rest. The tortoise takes his time and, while the hare sleeps, keeps on going till he reaches the finish line.
The mistake that a lot of teams make in the scope of their goal is going from point A to point B without looking any farther ahead; they stop to rest.
Before You Think Small, You Have to Think Big
One thing that the tortoise surely has is vision. A team who takes after the tortoise always keeps their end goal in mind. They’re always looking ahead to the greater goal that they want to achieve by a set date.
High-performance teams set out a series of strategic milestones for reaching their goal by its end date. They then decide which actions need to take place when and who’s responsible for them in order to satisfy the requirements for each milestone.
A small commitment often comes in the form of a promise either to yourself or to another team member. This could be as simple as promising to finish your chunk of a report by a certain date so a team member can add their part.
Small Commitments Maximize Engagement
Which would you rather be faced with: an onslaught of material to read due by X date or a chapter a day?
Working through small commitments breaks an assignment down into more digestible parts, solidifies understanding of the project and the process, and allows employees to do a better job on the task at hand. Most employees feel a sense of accomplishment as their small commitment is fulfilled and are more likely to sustain their interest as they switch gears to focus the next small commitment.
Thinking Small in the Scope of Your Vision Helps to Chart Success
Mastering small commitments enables teams to lay out a road map to their end goal. As small tasks are completed and the project gains momentum, the team can always check in on where their progress lies against the projections of what’s been accomplished so far and what comes next.
To set up a successful structure for mastering small commitments, everybody needs to be on board. An offsite facilitation can be the perfect venue for determining or redefining your goal and setting up the structures that will encourage each person to assume responsibility.
Ensure that your offsite is meeting time well spent! Download Arden Coaching’s free eBook The Executive’s Guide to Successful Offsite Facilitations for everything you need to know for hosting an offsite that will help your team go further.