The Finance Leader Podcast
The Finance Leader Podcast
Empowering Leadership: Overcoming Team Frustrations and Building Confidence
Episode 127: Unlock the secrets to overcoming team frustrations and boost productivity like never before. Have you ever wondered why some teams thrive while others struggle with barriers like poor communication and micromanagement? This episode promises to transform your leadership approach by providing actionable strategies to create a supportive environment. We'll explore how open communication, fair treatment, and adequate resources can eliminate the frustrations that hold your team back. As we approach the end of the year, discover the importance of goal reviews and continuing professional education to prepare your team for upcoming challenges.
Episode outline:
- Poor communication,
- A lack of resources and training
- Holding everyone accountable and treating all fairly, and
- Developmental opportunities for career advancement.
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For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy: financeleaderacademy.com.
The productivity of our team members is directly affected by a variety of frustrations that they may be experiencing. It is our job as leaders to eliminate frustration wherever we can. Some may be organizational or some related to your leadership style. These frustrations could include poor communication, a lack of proper resources or training, no promotions or development opportunities, unfair treatment or favoritism and not holding everyone accountable, and the biggest is micromanagement. What are you doing to set up your team for success? Please enjoy the episode.
Stephen McLain:Welcome to the Finance Leader Podcast, where leadership is bigger than the numbers. I am your host, stephen McLean. This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting. Please consider following me on Twitter, facebook, instagram and LinkedIn. My usernames and the links are in this episode's show notes. Thank you.
Stephen McLain:This is episode number 127, and I'll be talking about helping our team members overcome frustration, and I will highlight the following topics Number one poor communication. Number two, a lack of resources and training. Number three holding everyone accountable and treating all fairly. And four, developmental opportunities for career advancement. The former president of Poland, lech Wałęsa, said it is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail. This week, I want to talk about frustrated employees in the context that there may be a huge obstacle that is preventing them from accomplishing their jobs even to a satisfactory level. Have you ever been frustrated at your boss or your organization because of a lack of, or poor communication, or that you lack a critical resource or training? I have been frustrated, trying to remedy the issue myself many times and even sought out leadership to make a difference. Now. Previously, I have been frustrated, trying to remedy the issue myself many times and even sought out leadership to make a difference Now. Previously, I shared an interview with Mike Manilak, who is an accounting manager with Google. If you missed that episode, please go back and listen. You won't regret it. We talked about leadership, career opportunities at the big four and transition to industry, plus artificial intelligence, and how to set yourself apart. Now, don't miss out on what Mike had to say. It will definitely help you out.
Stephen McLain:Our leadership goal every day is to ensure our team is properly resourced and trained. They know their work priorities, deadlines and task completion expectations, and also that you have clearly communicated to them, which includes sharing relevant information that they need. You want them working efficiently and effectively on their own so the work gets done on time and to a high standard. A frustrated employee gets little done, and I'm not talking about frustrations that they cause themselves, which does happen. That situation might require some great coaching to help them overcome whatever it is that is keeping them from getting their work done. I will talk about the usual topics that frustrate our team, which is a lack of communication or poor communication. Do the systems work? Are their workstations working properly? Do they have office supplies? Are they properly trained on the system or application they are using? And listen closely. Is there upward mobility or are there no promotions available? Do you provide opportunities to develop across your team or is it always the same person who gets the high visibility projects? Are there rumors about layoffs happening and no one has addressed it?
Stephen McLain:Continued frustration leads to a falling in trust for you and the organization. Trust is the glue that holds teams and organizations together. It always has. Without trust, there can be no high level of goal accomplishment. Frustration can often lead to eroded trust. What can you do to build trust through removing employee frustrations?
Stephen McLain:When there are disconnects between leadership and team members, you will not see excellence nor team goals being achieved. It will be difficult, for sure. Leaders must be improving or clearing up any disconnect in communication or expectations. Try to find the root of the problem. Talk with your team members to determine how to move forward. It may be a number of issues, so be sure to look at root causes and not to assign blame. You may need to lead a collaboration session to strengthen communication and teamwork. I love collaborating in order to solve a problem. People around the team usually have a critical piece of information that can help solve whatever the issue is. Use collaboration wisely to help eliminate some frustrations.
Stephen McLain:Well, did you realize that we're in the fourth quarter of 2024? So it is time to review our goals and our CPE completion rate. Are you happy so far with your goal accomplishment for this year? What else can you accomplish, or are you on the right track? Also, how many more remaining CPEs do you need to earn for this year? I put this reminder out all the time during this time of year. If you need to complete all of your CPEs by the end of the year, don't wait until December 1st to start. You'll need time to submit and then get them approved. Now. Let's review the goals and your CPE plan for this year and let's get them done sooner than later, and let's start thinking about our goals for 2025.
Stephen McLain:Team member frustration can come from numerous sources and for several reasons. It's our job to minimize frustration so that our team can better perform. We should be creating an environment of winning and achievement Balance the equation for learning, collaboration, excellence and providing the best finance and accounting products to the organization. Now let's talk about helping our team members overcome frustration in providing the best finance and accounting products to the organization. Now let's talk about helping our team members overcome frustration.
Stephen McLain:Number one poor communication. This is probably the number one grievance by all employees. My boss does not tell me what is going on, and when they do talk, I can't make any sense of it. Why do we do this? Companies often keep secrets from their employees. They have to sometimes, but when this continues to happen, trust will be lost. Employees will be guarded in what they will share and how much extra they put into their effort. Companies, teams and supervisors who go the extra mile to share real and relevant information pertaining to the future of the company will get more loyalty and more trust. Now, please share relevant information pertaining to the future of the company will get more loyalty and more trust. Now, please share relevant information quickly. I always believe in getting information out to my team quickly. This may be information or assumptions that can help with task completion, like factors and variables used in projections. Why do you want to frustrate your team by withholding key information that could help make their job easier? The key to effective communication is holding a consistent weekly team meeting that is constructed to be truly helpful in sharing critical information.
Stephen McLain:Number two a lack of resources and training. Do your team members know how to do their jobs effectively? Is there a training gap with a system or a process? Do they know the business assumptions built into the strategy, because they may need this when they perform projections? Are your systems, files or processes clunky, outdated, broken or unusable in any way? You may need to oversee an update across the board. Do your team members have everything they need to do their jobs and succeed? How is your organization's monthly close process? That may have got you thinking. I recorded an episode on this topic back in September of 2020, and it's still relevant. The title is called Improving the Monthly Close Process. Please go back to listen on this again and I may be sharing more monthly close episodes in the future.
Stephen McLain:Number three holding everyone accountable and treating all fairly. Is there favoritism on your team? When we don't equally hold everyone accountable for the same standards, there will be tension, I guarantee it. You will lose credibility. You may also be subject to gossip if you let the standards slip for some and not for others. Ensure you hold everyone accountable. Accountability begins with your own behavior, standards, character, ethics and much more. Explain to your team when there is any deviation. Ensure you take the liberties that you are allowed to do so and do not take advantage of your role. Use the perks you are allowed, but don't abuse your position.
Stephen McLain:And number four developmental opportunities for career advancement. Do your team members have a path to promotion in the company? Do they have opportunities to get better at their jobs or are they doing the same tasks every day and every week, without recognition and without opportunities? Are there opportunities to grow and develop? Career advancement requires skills development and experience so you can show your potential for greater responsibility as leaders. We need to find ways for our team to grow their skills, to improve and to help get them out of their comfort zone. Your team members can get frustrated and even complacent. With no opportunities to grow or even to be promoted, your best people will leave you for another organization who can provide those same opportunities.
Stephen McLain:Now, another key component of eliminating frustration is micromanagement. I have talked about micromanagement many times. I don't like to be micromanaged. Most people don't. Your team does not want you looking over their shoulders, managing every step in the process for those tasks they are performing. I want you to hold people accountable, but ensure they are properly trained and resourced. You have communicated your expectations. They know what is required and when the task is due. Please avoid micromanaging your team unless you find yourself in a crisis situation that requires more direct action and leadership. Now for action today. Are your team members frustrated? Have you ever done an assessment to determine the answer to that very important question? At a certain point, your team won't try anymore if you are not trying to minimize the typical frustration points. How is your team frustrated and what is your plan to fix it? If you need additional resources, please visit financeleaderacademycom.
Stephen McLain:Today I talked briefly about helping our team members overcome frustration, and I highlighted the following points Number one poor communication. Number two a lack of resources and training. Number three holding everyone accountable and treating all fairly. And four developmental opportunities for career advancement. We often don't realize how much our team members are frustrated because we are not paying attention as leaders and we overlook their needs. That frustration can lead to lower productivity. It is easier to get ahead of these issues quickly, communicate often and ensure you outpace any rumors. Additionally, ensure your team is properly resourced and trained. It could be as simple as office supplies or having access to the tools they need. Leaders, we need to be listening and addressing issues early so our teams can focus on their tasks rather than a frustration that we could probably easily fix.
Stephen McLain:I hope you enjoyed the Finance Leader Podcast. I am focused on helping this community to become more confident finance leaders capable of transforming organizations. You can find this episode wherever you listen to podcasts. If this episode helped you today, please share it with a colleague. Until next time, you can check out more resources at financeleaderacademycom and sign up for my weekly updates so you don't miss an episode of the podcast. And now go lead your team and I'll see you next time. Thank you.
