How to lead a new team
A new cleaning team is like a new chapter in your cleaning journey. Often, people will have differing styles and different things to bring to the table. The key to developing a good relationship with your new team is to appreciate that diversity can be a good thing and can be used as an advantage to improve and develop. As long as you communicate, teach and work with each other. So, what are the key components of coaching a new cleaning team?
Leadership style:
Choosing the correct leadership style is one of the most vital decisions when coaching a new team. It can determine authority, support offered and attitude to work and, most importantly, is at the forefront of the rapport you build with your team. One of the most overlooked concepts in leadership is the need for flexibility. A flexible leadership style allows you to tailor your coaching to the group, environment and task at hand.
Communication:
In the words of basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski : ‘Effective communication begins and ends with communication.’ This is true for any tram you are coaching and working alongside. Whether it be sport or cleaning, the principles are the same. Ensure you communicate in a way which establishes a calm, friendly working environment whilst maintaining a professional and authoritative image. Employees need to know they can trust you to ask for help, therefore, honesty is a key component. Ensuring your communication is always truthful and ‘on time’ is key. New employees don’t have that personal relationship with you yet so ensure you get to know them beyond the work they complete. Many factors outside of work can prove to be useful and interesting for your work environment.
Support:
Just like you, the members of your team are also very new to the team and project itself. Many may be worried or unfamiliar with such situations and want nothing more than a friendly smile to show that you are there to help and support them. Providing support is different for different circumstances: sometimes, people may need specific job-based help and support in their role, sometimes it may be emotional support and sometimes, just someone to listen. You are a team after all, supporting each other is the key for that team to thrive and the work environment to be a positive one.
Understanding:
Understand that, with employees being new to the job, they may make mistakes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Mistakes allow people to learn and develop and therefore, understand that errors may occur but also learn to adapt to them and have the ability to bounce back quickly as a team to ensure that the project itself is not negatively affected.