Average leaders don’t care about their team members. They want to see what they can produce, how they perform, and their effect on the bottom line. These leaders see team members as a number on a spreadsheet.
Great leaders go farther. They know they should connect, grow, and add value to the people they lead. After all, if you’re not pouring into them, they may leave the organization. All the time, energy, and effort you put into growing them is gone.
One of the best ways to prevent employee attrition is to add value to them.
How do you add value to your team members? I’ve discovered five great ways you can give back to your team and help them thrive.
5 Ways To Add Value To Your Team Members
1. Make introductions:
Do you really want to add value to your team members? Then you’ve got to begin introducing them to people who can change their lives.
These people may include fellow business leaders, college professors, or industry leaders.
Why is it important to make introductions? When you make introductions, you:
- Increase your team member’s circle of influence
- Add to the people they can call on
- Introduce them to people they may never have had the chance to
All of this leads to them having a great circle of contacts that can help you and your organization grow. More importantly, it gives them the ability to mingle and interact with others who are making a difference. They can aspire to do more when they see what can be done.
2. Give praise:
You may be thinking: I already give them praise. I praise their work through their paycheck. That’s not enough.
Chris Zervas says giving praise to your employees does multiple things. When you praise your employees
- They feel more appreciated and perform better
- You lower voluntary turnover rates
- You help your team to feel invested in the future of the organization
Your people are looking for more than a paycheck. They’re looking for a purpose. They’re looking for recognition.
If you can get this right, you can add extreme value to your people.
3. Help educate:
I’ve been in many organizations that offered higher education reimbursements. These organizations recognized the power of an educated workforce.
If your team members aren’t growing their skills, they’re becoming stagnant. They’re falling behind.
We don’t want that. We want team members who are up-to-date, knowledgeable, and growing their skills.
You can help educate your team members and add value in multiple ways. You might hold a lunch and learn about AI technologies. Another possibility is purchasing an online course to improve their leadership or management skills.
When you educate, you add value.
4. Reward quickly:
What do you do when you see a team member doing what you want them to? Do you stay silent? Do you share with other leaders? Do you do anything for them?
You can add value, and create a workhorse, by recognizing the great work and rewarding them. The rewards don’t have to be extravagant. You can reward them by taking them out to lunch with you, slipping them a $5 or $10 gift card to their favorite coffee shop, or handing them a note of recognition.
The key is to do this soon after seeing the behavior you want to reward. The sooner you do this, the more effective the reward will be.
They will see they’re valued, recognized, and encouraged to keep up the great work.
5. Offer autonomy:
Most leaders are afforded autonomy. Autonomy is the ability to make independent decisions and govern oneself.
Who doesn’t like making their own decisions? Your team members will love being able to see an issue, decide what action to take, and get the job done the way they want to.
Giving them the autonomy to see what needs to be done and do it adds value by giving them the confidence you believe in them.
Let’s add value by taking a more hands-off approach and empowering our people.
