The best branded merch sales teams do more than close orders. They communicate well and solve problems together. Through all the ups and downs, they keep finding ways to improve. Whether you lead 2 reps or 20, creating this kind of team starts with the small leadership choices you make every day.

A blog post from thoughtLEADERS, LLC, explains that one of a leader’s most critical responsibilities is to turn their team into a high-performing one. And to do this, he says it requires doing 7 things. We share his thoughts in this issue of PromoPro Daily.

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  1. Set the team’s direction. According to the thoughtLEADERS post, you first need to lay out a vision for what your organization’s going to be in 3-5 years. You have to help the team understand where you’re headed and why. Think about your clients, too, and how you can involve them in a shared purpose.

  2. Gather and deploy resources. Get clear on what kinds of resources you need and why you need them. The post says you need to make a clear and compelling business case to get those resources allocated to you and your team.

  3. Assemble the team. Who’s going to help you achieve your vision? Think through, as a leader, how you’re going to build rapport between those people. According to the post, it’s important to build those bonds of trust between team members as well as between them and you as their leader.

  4. Allocate work and prioritize. The thoughtLEADERS post says you should think through the work you need to do and how you’ll balance it across your team. Aim to set goals that are realistic yet achievable and stretch your organization forward. Last, prioritize your efforts to focus on the most important things.

  5. Execute the plan. Once you have those priorities set, the post says you have to execute the plan. This includes making decisions. That’s why you’re put at the head of the team — to make those tough calls. Once you’ve made a decision, measure the results and adjust accordingly.

  6. Motivate your people and resolve conflicts. Next, according to the thoughtLEADERS post, you should think about your people and how you’ll inspire them and get the best out of them every day. Give them autonomy and provide feedback on their performance.

  7. Develop your team. How are you going to build your team’s skills? How will you create stretch assignments that help them grow? The post says it’s important to take a longer-term view when helping expand your team’s capabilities.

The strongest teams aren’t just focused on hitting the next goal. They’re focused on getting better together. As a leader, every conversation, decision and bit of feedback is a chance to build a team that’s ready for whatever comes next.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: A blog post from thoughtLEADERS, LLC.