Rita Bancroft’s Post

How do I motivate my team to crush their goals, month after month? Well, it’s not about ruling with an iron fist or dangling a carrot. It’s about building a culture where folks feel valued, supported, and excited to come to work every day. I take a three step approach to this. First of all, I give my team ownership. I don't micromanage my agents. I trust them to manage their time, build their client base, and close deals their way. That sense of ownership lights a fire under folks! Secondly, I make sure to celebrate my team’s wins, both big and small. It's not just about the big commissions earned. It’s about the open houses run, offers accepted, and milestones reached. Celebrating the wins keeps the energy high and the momentum rollin'. And finally, like I said last week: lead by example! I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. My team sees me hustling day in and day out, and it inspires them to do the same. At the end of the day, it's about creating an environment where folks feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. They know they're not just working for me, they're working for each other, and for our shared success. And that's a mighty powerful motivator! 🏆

I often refer to my team as the difference makers or the stopgap between success and failure. More often than not, the CEO has to be the ultimate stopgap. If you don’t like performance in certain areas, you should not let the problem bleed you dry. Extreme ownership of everything and everyone is mandatory. It means personally getting involved and having hard conversations, breaking up with a client, and sometimes parting with an employee. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to keep food on everyone’s table. So you have to act. Delay, procrastination, and, more often than not, pretending like the problem will resolve itself are paths of self-destruction. Take it from someone who has been there and done that a few times. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll be fine if you just “let it play out.” This is not to say tyrannical rule is the solution. None of this negates the fact that healthy communication, compromise, and collaboration are still central keys to lasting solutions. But don’t delay your action. Brad Crandall - Landon Hasson - Christian Durfee - Jeff Erickson - BriAnn Rachele

Leading Through Political Polarization 2024 is an election year in many countries, which could present challenges to team dynamics. As a manager, how can you prepare your team for a year of intense political polarization?   1 / Create ground rules of expression with your team. For example: Embrace discomfort, be respectful, show grace, give others the benefit of the doubt, speak for yourself, and treat others’ views as legitimate. Be sure to delineate these ground rules clearly—and how you’ll respond if someone violates them.   2 / Establish structured spaces to have difficult conversations. For example, you might bring in a panel of speakers with diverse perspectives on an issue, followed by voluntary group discussions where people can speak openly, adhering to the team’s ground rules.   3 / Be a source of stability. As a leader, you play a unique and important role in helping your team through turbulence, even if it originates from outside the organization. Model the behaviors you’d like to regularly see on your team, like humility, kindness, and grace—and make yourself available as a support system. This tip is adapted from “Preparing Your Team for a Year of Intense Political Polarization,” by Ron Carucci and Caroline Mehl

Leading Through Political Polarization 2024 is an election year in many countries, which could present challenges to team dynamics. As a manager, how can you prepare your team for a year of intense political polarization?   Create ground rules of expression with your team. For example: Embrace discomfort, be respectful, show grace, give others the benefit of the doubt, speak for yourself, and treat others’ views as legitimate. Be sure to delineate these ground rules clearly—and how you’ll respond if someone violates them.   Establish structured spaces to have difficult conversations. For example, you might bring in a panel of speakers with diverse perspectives on an issue, followed by voluntary group discussions where people can speak openly, adhering to the team’s ground rules.   Be a source of stability. As a leader, you play a unique and important role in helping your team through turbulence, even if it originates from outside the organization. Model the behaviors you’d like to regularly see on your team, like humility, kindness, and grace—and make yourself available as a support system. This tip is adapted from “Preparing Your Team for a Year of Intense Political Polarization,” by Ron Carucci and Caroline Mehl

For almost two years now, we’ve been building a strong Exec Team rooted in trust, passion, courage, and curiosity. If I had to choose one value that stands out the most, it would be TRUST - without a doubt. 😇 Trust is the bedrock of everything we achieve together. It’s the reason we communicate openly, share ideas freely, and collaborate so effectively. Our goal is to create an environment where everyone feels supported, trusted, and empowered. I firmly believe that when trust is present, innovation and creativity can flourish because people feel safe to explore new ideas. As role models, it is our daily challenge and responsibility to continually improve the environment in which our entire company operates. But trust isn’t just about the good times. In moments of uncertainty and challenge, it’s what holds us together. It gives us the stability to rely on each other, no matter what. Of course, not everything is perfect. We’re getting better at working together day by day - because that’s what it’s all about: Never stopping, always improving. Building a company based on values isn’t easy. It takes effort, transparency, and a lot of integrity. It means being always as honest as possible, even when it’s tough, keeping promises as best as we can, and respecting each other’s perspectives. I’m proud to lead a team at Rail Europe where trust isn’t just a word - it’s our way of working. Guys - let us continue! 😎 What value is most important in your team? I’d love to hear your thoughts! #MakingTrainTravelEasy #Future #Sustainability

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟵𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 🚀 When I met Zach, an IT manager, he was on the brink of losing his job. He reached out to me to learn how to motivate his underperforming team. The problem was: - Falling below performance standards - High turnover - Disengagement - Team not following Zach's lead - Missed deadlines  Zach wasn't a bad manager! ↳He worked long hours to find solutions ↳Despite feeling exhausted, Zach kept leading his team. ↳He put his team first, sacrificing his own well-being and personal relationships. But Zach missed a crucial point❗ He thought motivation was the issue, but the real problem was a lack of trust. Zach didn’t trust them – he micromanaged And consequently, the team didn’t trust him either. He believed performance was more important than relationships. He thought deadlines didn't allow for casual interactions. “No time for chit-chat – we have work to do”, he would say. Despite his initial doubts and moments of hesitation, Zach almost gave up. But he was committed and worked hard. After 90 days of working together : ✅The team met and exceeded performance targets ✅Projects completed on time ✅The team was following his direction ✅Significant financial rewards ✅Zach found greater satisfaction in work and life. ✅Substantial reduction in stress levels for both Zach and the team. ✅Zach worked fewer hours and took time off. ✅Team members were engaged and motivated. Zach said to me "I never thought that being real and open with my team would make such a big difference." For those struggling with performance, remember: 💡Trust is fundamental in any relationship, work included. 💡Changing how we interact with the team leads to better performance 💡While challenging, change is achievable. 🌟P.S. Ready to lead a high-performance team? 📅 Book your free call to learn how Link in comments 👇

Creating a healthy team culture precedes all the best laid plans you can muster. Step out and take a look around your environments. It may be the ONE thing you are missing in sales, non profit goals and more.

👉🏽 Your team will cycle through ups and downs… 👉🏽 Individuals on your team will cycle through ups and downs… And it’s all totally normal. ❌ Expecting it to be perfect ALL the time is NOT normal. I had a conversation with a client who was feeling exacerbated to be dealing with yet another situation with a team member, having just ‘sorted out’ the last one. And while we talked about that situation and how to deal with it, we also talked about how there will probably always be ‘something’ with say 10-20% of her team. When you shift your thinking to ‘normal’ NOT being perfect, you can then implement a structure to deal with the ‘normal’ not feeling so emotionally draining or disruptive. (The answer is usually regular 1:1’s, clear expectations, measurable outcomes and time rules so you aren’t constantly interrupted by ’things coming up’) As you grow your team, your role shifts to leadership and ‘supporting’ the team to run the business, rather than YOU running the business. And… your team will cycle. It won’t ‘get’ perfect and ‘stay’ that way forever. So: If your team is feeling hard this week… 👉🏽 know that it can and will change (if you work on it and keep going) If your team is feeling easy 👉🏽 Yay! Be grateful AND know that it will likely cycle and may need some attention or changes that will eventually be a blessing in disguise as a challenge… Because what got us here rarely gets us there. Everything changes and evolves. Business is a cycle. 

As a kid, didn't you HATE it when your parents said, "because I said so"? 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗢 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼.” Here's a better way to lead your team: Not everyone thinks like you or is in all the same meetings and discussions you are. People don't automatically understand WHY certain projects are being done and HOW their day-to-day work makes a difference. As a leader, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘁𝘀. You do this by creating a shared vision and goals using: 1️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Ensure everyone understands the Why not just the What. 2️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: As much as possible, involve team members in setting goals and figuring out solutions to problems. 3️⃣ 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Align individuals' goals with team/department/company goals. 4️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Do regular check-ins and updates so everyone adjusts and STAYS aligned. 5️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Celebrate wins and milestones together. By sharing a vision and goals, team members are more than participants (or bystanders!). They're active contributors to the success of the team, department, and company! 🎖️ That builds a supportive and collaborative culture, which is essential to accomplishing great things. 🤝 Do you agree or disagree that sharing a vision and goals works better than "because I said so"? Tell us in a comment. 👇

How you know your team is ready for high performance: Reflect on how you work together. Do this 👇👇 Take a piece of paper and draw three columns: Column 1: Alignment Column 2: Autonomy Column 3: Attitude At the end of each day, take notes of team interactions, decisions, what contributed to or detracted them, how did they show up, ... What does this reveal about your team? ➡️ Is there clarity around vision, goals, ro&re? ➡️ Are team members autonomous, supported & take up responsibility? ➡️ What is the team's attitude like? Ie: Are they focused, solution & service driven, ...? How does it affect your focus, time and energy? Taking note, is an effective way of figuring out if your team is gearing up for high performance. 💡Hold that to the light of what you imagine your team to be like. Awareness is the starting point of all change. ——— PS: Want to build a great team that you don't need to handhold? DM me "TEAM” and we'll make sure to get you started.