For many CEOs, the annual or quarterly review represents the rare opportunity to speak in depth with team members. The infrequency of these reviews are often the result of a busy schedule. At the same time, it is wise to make the time to have more ongoing conversations with your team members. Your team is the lifeblood of your business, and to truly keep the pulse of your company, it is imperative to move beyond the contact of infrequent reviews. How you might choose to do so is dependent on your unique leadership style, and here are five questions to consider asking your team members.
1. “How would you define the company’s vision and goals?”
According to industry surveys, less than half of all team members (42%) are familiar with their company’s mission. While this may seem like a relatively minor concern, your team cannot purposefully engage in activities that align with your goals and vision if they do not know your goals and vision. In this instance, “knowing” means that your team members should ideally be able to express these items in their own words, as opposed to simply reciting them.
Your business goals – especially your near-term goals – will likely change over time. This question can help you gauge how effective you are at articulating these shifting goals, as well as how well your staff understands your current aims.
2. “How would you like to improve yourself professionally? What new opportunities can we offer you?”
Retaining the best possible talent for your company almost always involves offering your team members opportunities for growth, both horizontally and vertically. These opportunities can extend beyond promotions and larger paychecks – for instance, what challenges can specific team members take on to propel your business forward and to develop themselves professionally? Perhaps someone who has been working on the operations side would like to take on more client-facing responsibilities, or vice versa. Remember that the growth of your company partially relies on your team augmenting its general experience and skill set.
3. “What aspects of your job motivate you?”
Recognition, mentorship, and opportunities for leadership are powerful workplace motivators, as this McKinsey Quarterly survey demonstrates. At times, they are equally as effective as cash-based incentives. One way to take advantage of this finding is to find out what motivates each team member to come to work each morning. What do they find challenging and exciting about their individual roles? The more you can motivate each team member, the more they will be able to contribute to the company’s growth.
4. “What would you change about our business processes?”
Your team is your frontline. They are intimately involved with the day-to-day realities of running the company, which means that they are more likely to know of deficiencies in your processes. Toyota’s kaizen system is a great example of involving and engaging all team members in the continual improvement of processes. Rather than waiting for top-down decision-making to determine and fix errors, the people who are doing the day-to-day work oftentimes can more quickly identify what changes should be made.
5. “What feedback do you have for me?”
Consider the three highest-rated CEOs on Glassdoor – Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn, Alan Mulally (formerly of Ford Motor Company), and Richard Edelman of PR firm Edelman. These rankings are based on the question, “Do you approve of the way your CEO is leading the company?” In addition to company-wide surveys, you can offer one-on-one meetings to gather more detailed feedback on your performance. Perhaps your communication style could be improved, or your decision-making process could be clarified. Perhaps your team would simply like to be able to voice their ideas more directly and openly to you.
For both CEO and team member, gathering feedback on their role and performance within the company is crucial. Just as important, however, is acting on that feedback. Your team may doubt your commitment to open communication if they do not see change, just as you may doubt a team member’s commitment if he or she is unwilling to evolve as the organization grows. You may not be in a position to act on every idea or suggestion you receive, but you can provide a simple justification for your decision. A phrase like, “We are tabling this idea because…” can let your team know that you have acknowledged their thoughts, and that you appreciate their vital input.
Chuck Cohn is the CEO and founder of Varsity Tutors.
