Stop Asking Your Employees for 110%

A business owner can be quite quick to blame their employees for negative moments, whether it be a dip in sales or quality of the work being produced. When this happens, the most useful thing you can do is seek the true source of this event. If it is due to a member of your team suddenly producing a lower quality of work, dig further and find why this is suddenly happening. Often, it turns out that the staff member is suffering from burnout.

Team members are so keen to show their potential and get ahead in their career that they’ll work all the hours possible and do as much as they can to impress you. It’s great for them to go the extra mile to give 110%, but you’re still going to be paying them only 100% of their salary. Team leaders, managers and business owners often ask for 110% from their staff in order to get the most out of them in order to grow their business, but the resulting work won’t be affected. It isn’t down to a percentage issue. You can’t be only 10% caring about your customers: You either care or you don’t care. It’s comparable to being employed – You are, or you’re not.

Team members also shouldn’t be made to finish 100% of their work every day. If they do, perhaps they don’t have enough. In a workplace, there’s always something to do, so nobody should finish everything (business owners included), even if they give 150%. The thing is, if somebody is running at 100% or 110% all the time, they’ll get tired, burn out and start to only give 20% or, even worse, 0%.

It is understandable that staff members want to be noticed, get promoted and climb the ladder, but proper leadership from a business owner means teaching these people that they should be aiming to work smarter rather than harder. There is no such thing as 110% effort or even 101%. It’s like trying to drive a car with no petrol – Once it’s empty, it’s empty and you need to fill it up with fuel. Instead, try thinking about how you can improve the mileage of that car and get further on the same amount of fuel. With your staff, try to get them to finish tasks to the same high standard, but with less wasted energy and in a more efficient manner. Just imagine being able to get more done, but with less work. That’s a great idea, isn’t it?

In order to accomplish this, I’ve listed four things you need to teach your staff in order to get them working smartly.

How to Work Smarter, Not Harder

1. Look after yourself before looking after anyone or anything else

Yes, that includes the work they do for you. The members of your team should be completely relaxed, full of energy, motivated, healthy and engaged so that they can get the job done right. If they need a minute away from their screen in order to refocus, allow it. You should be able to trust them to not take advantage of your support. You didn’t employ lazy people, so why should you treat them like so?

2. Don’t be afraid to say ‘No’

From time-to-time, you or a colleague will ask a team member for support in an area they aren’t responsible for. They may not necessarily have the time to provide the help, but can’t help but to accept, thus putting extra strain on themselves. If they have the confidence to say ‘No’, they’ll be able to fulfil their main priorities and avoid over-stretching themselves.

3. If you get stuck, ask for help

Have you ever said “only bring me solutions, not problems” before? Did you notice your team just stopped presenting anything to you afterwards? Instead of making this stress-inducing demand, present yourself as an open leader who is willing to collaborate in finding solutions to challenges. Sometimes an outside perspective is all somebody needs in order to find a solution.

4. Don’t hide mistakes

Mistakes are an everyday part of human life. It’s what makes us who we are and if we don’t make mistakes (or hide them), we’re not learning and that is a mistake in itself. The more important part is that the staff member doesn’t repeat the same mistake over and over again. Hiding mistakes will limit the possibility for that person to learn from the experience. Make sure they feel like they can be honest with you.

If you can put these into practice, you’ll be astounded at how much easier your team can get work done. The quality of work will also improve and they’ll be able to maintain a consistency that’ll assist in your business growth. It’s not about working hard, it’s all about working smart.

And remember that there’s absolutely no chance that your dying words will be:

I wish I’d given 110%