Here is a cheeky checklist for you. If you tick 3 or more boxes on this list, this article will definitely help you—so stick around. If you’re under 2, I’ll be honest: it might be better to save your time and skip this one. And if you’re into live sports betting Ghana trends, then you’re definitely in the right place.
- Do you sometimes notice how the important work is always being set aside? Do you find yourself busy putting out fires instead of focusing on planning and managing?
- Do you feel unsure about how your employees are progressing because you aren’t getting enough updates? Are you unsure if they will finish their tasks?
- Does your team hop between projects without completing one before starting the next? Do you finish one before moving to the next?
- Do you worry about going on vacation? Do you fear your employees can handle things without you?
- Do you frequently find yourself reworking your team’s tasks or guiding them to redo things another way?
Quick Win 1: Keep Them Accountable
Let me tell you a story…
Once upon a time, in the mythical city of Merlin, there lived a startup founder. He had a talented team, but the team tended to spring surprises. Issues would only show up long after things had gone wrong. Each time, the team had a solid reason: “I hit a problem…” The founder listened, helped solve it, and went on—unaware this was becoming a trend.
Clarify that once a responsibility is assigned, there are only two ways to proceed. Option A: The person completes the task fully, exactly as agreed. Option B: If they hit a roadblock, they let you know right away—no silent detours. And if they believe another task should take priority, they check in with you first.
With that shift, those unexpected “surprises” started disappearing. How do you imagine this small change could influence your day-to-day?
Quick Win 2: Focused Deliberate Work
This helps ensure that you and your team stop burning time and energy on half-finished work.
If this sounds a bit too familiar, here’s the quick win you need. It takes roughly four hours to set up—much quicker than trying to fix culture overnight.
Step 1: List out every active project across the team and walk through the following exercise:
Each team member should write down the following for every project they’re responsible for:
- Purpose (linked to strategy/mission)
- Expected Outcome (“What does success look like?”)
- Key milestones (A useful starting point is to break the work into 2-week sprint milestones). A breakdown of tasks, along with the estimated time required for each one
- Total time needed
Step 2: Meet as a team and determine what priorities should be for this quarter. Priorities and accountability need to be clearly defined for teams and individuals. A good rule of thumb is that each person’s total project work should not exceed 50% of their available capacity.
Use the other 50% for:
- Alignment meetings
- Urgent issues
- Regular 1-on-1s
- Other times need
Step 3: Have everyone block out calendar time for the tasks they’ve identified and schedule milestone check-ins for the upcoming quarter. Pro tip: choose a code word (e.g., ALONE TIME) in the event title to signal that the slot shouldn’t be interrupted. Share this practice across the company and enjoy more intentional, distraction-free work.
Quick Win 3: Communicate Clear Expectations
Steve and Bill learned that people didn’t eat unhealthily because they didn’t care or were “lazy.” They didn’t know how to begin. Which foods should they start/stop eating? Should they eat more chia seeds? How much is too much fast food? Overwhelmed by not knowing where to begin, they ended up going in circles.
To solve this, Steve and Bill chose one specific behavior change that would be most effective. Switching from whole milk to skim or 1% milk can help Americans meet USDA saturated fat goals faster.
What’s the secret? Crystal-clear instructions.
If your team often switches projects or finds it hard to start changes, try this quick win:
When you delegate a project or install a change, use this framework. It helps you give clear instructions.
To spark change or action for a bigger goal, select one to three easy behaviors for your team. These should be impactful and easy to adopt. You’ll be amazed at how quickly things shift from stalled to moving forward.
For example:
Mission: We need to be more cost-efficient.
Behavior:
- All leaders must get three quotes for a product or service and pick the cheapest option.
- Employees should pay closer attention to travel-related spending on work trips.
- Team leads should check their needs. They need to cancel any unused tool subscriptions, supplies, or resources.
Conclusion
Quick Wins 2 and 3 might take a few hours to set up, but picture how much more confident and aligned your team will feel once everything is clear. They could focus and deliver great results.
With Quick Win 1, you’ll feel confident. Your team will deliver as expected or let you know right away if something goes wrong.
