The advent of summer brings us the promise of warm and sunny days spent outdoors with friends and family, as well as the potential for an extended period of the “blahs” in the workplace.
It’s the natural rhythm of the calendar, reinforced by our ingrained memories of the school year, where summer meant “gear down, because it’s time to play!”.
In the business world, that feeling can creep into the office very easily. It’s that “in-between” time, where the current year’s business plans are fully in place, and the budget season for the next fiscal year is yet to begin.
Many teammates take their vacations, and there are weeks where simply getting a quorum at on a conference call or a meeting is a major accomplishment.
It’s all too easy for a leader to fall into that same state of mind, and gear everything down for a couple of months. But these days, it just can’t happen. In an ultra competitive world, a business can never sleep.
So what’s a leader to do to keep the “blahs” away? Here are 5 easy ways that I have used throughout the years to keep that momentum going.
1) Focus on individual, rather than team, incentives - Take advantage of the fact that others are vacationing, and spend some extra time with specific teammates. Set some specific short term goals for them, and better still, throw in an incentive or two (a really good one this time of year is a “free” Friday or Monday off).
2) Teach & Train Leadership - Leadership training is usually cast by the wayside during the busier months, so this is your time to do something. Either send your team to third party seminars, or better still, conduct one yourself. Make sure the entry-level managers are getting attention as well – these efforts will pay off when things get cranked up again in the fall.
3) Do an “off-site” with your team - Summer is my favorite time to schedule a team building “field trip”. In past years I’ve done golf outings, bowling expeditions, and even a National Park hike. It’s also good to throw in some trinkets to memorialize the event – when we did the National Park hike (in Yellowstone Park), I gave everyone personalized lunch boxes that featured one of their favorite cultural references (for example, mine was Elvis).
4) Increase the wandering around – Get out from behind your desk and do a lot more walking around. Do a lot more face to face talking than phoning, e-mailing or texting. Travel out to your remote sites and hold team meetings. Increasing your presence sends a strong signal that even though it’s summer, it’s still time to get things done.
5) Kick up YOUR energy - This time of year I’m always thinking of ways to keep my energy level high. I have a little chant I say to myself on those summer mornings- “NRG, NRG, NRG“. This is the time to do unexpected things, like sing at a staff meeting, or dress up in a costume, or ask for “More Cowbell”. YOU have to set the tempo – otherwise the “blahs” will surely arrive.
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