December 12, 2023 • 15 mins
Imagine unlocking the full potential of your finance team with the right leadership and engagement tools. We kick things off by venturing into the realm of leadership, exploring its intricate responsibilities, and stressing the significance of setting the vision, maintaining high standards, and becoming a role model for your team.
As we move forward, we dive deeper into the nuances of team engagement, demonstrating how your actions can mold your team's success trajectory. We'll replay episode 107, offering handy team member engagement tools that you can readily apply within your team. The goal is to create an environment where team members are positively engaged, productive, efficient, and motivated, leading to high-quality output. Don’t forget to check out the Finance Leader Academy for free additional resources.
Episode outline:
- Why team engagement is important,
- Team engagement tools you can easily use, and
- How to go to the next level.
Please connect with me on:
1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii
For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy: financeleaderacademy.com.
- On the website, you can download the Become a Finance Leader Guide. You can use this guide to build your Finance Leadership skills so you can help senior leaders develop and execute the strategy.
- I also offer a course, Advance Your Finance and Accounting Career: Developing a Promotion Strategy that Sets You Apart.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephen McLain (00:00):
Hi, this is Stephen McLain of the Finance
Leader Podcast.
This is bonus episode number 71.
How are you and your team doingthis week?
Leadership is literally aneveryday exercise.
It's an everyday role andresponsibility.
Leadership does not stop and itdoes not take a break.
That's the heavy burden ofleadership.
(00:20):
As a leader, you have tocontinually set the vision, set
the work agenda, set highstandards and set the example.
Every day you are being watchedand copied for your behavior
and your approach.
Your team will emulate what youdo in work, product quality and
even in your attitude.
So you have to be aware thatwhat you do and say is important
(00:45):
to team success or failure.
So this week I want to share anon-core replay of episode 107,
team Member Engagement Tools youcan easily apply.
Team Engagement is such animportant daily exercise that it
can affect how well your teammembers succeed or not.
Team members who are positivelyengaged are more productive,
(01:07):
more efficient and moremotivated to do a great job.
And Team Member Engagementbegins with us as leaders.
We must be leaders of greatcharacter and integrity.
Positive Team Member Engagementleads to growth and high
quality output.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader so you can further
invest in your team to helpthem achieve greater potential.
(01:29):
Now here's the episode outlineNumber one why team engagement
is important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Also, for additional resources,please visit Finance Leader
Academy.
The link is in the show notesOn the site.
You can download.
(01:49):
Become a Finance Leader GuideNow.
Please enjoy this Encoreepisode, episode 107, team
Member Engagement Tools you caneasily apply.
Thank you for choosing theFinance Leader Podcast.
Until next time.
Thank you for listening.
Take care.
Team Engagement is such animportant daily exercise that it
(02:15):
can affect how well your teammembers succeed or not.
Team members who are positivelyengaged are more productive,
more efficient and moremotivated to do a great job.
And Team Member Engagementbegins with us as leaders.
We must be leaders of greatcharacter and integrity.
(02:36):
Positive Team Member Engagementleads to growth and high
quality output.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader so you can further
invest in your team to helpthem achieve greater potential,
and you will see amazing results.
Please enjoy the episode.
Welcome to the Finance LeaderPodcast, where leadership is
(02:58):
bigger than the numbers.
I am your host, stephen McClain.
This is the podcast fordeveloping leaders in finance
and accounting.
Please consider following me onTwitter, facebook, instagram
and LinkedIn.
My usernames and the links arein this episode's show notes,
thank you.
This is episode number 107, andI'll be talking about team
(03:20):
engagement tools we can use tobring out the best on our team,
and I will highlight thefollowing topics Number one why
team engagement is important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Author and inspirationalspeaker Simon Sinek said when
(03:41):
people are financially invested,they want to return.
When people are emotionallyinvested, they want to
contribute.
I hope you all are having agreat day and a great week, or
maybe a great weekend if you arelistening on the weekend.
I am very grateful you are herechoosing the Finance Leader
Podcast to help with yourjourney to become a better
(04:02):
finance leader.
We all want to become better atleadership in our jobs.
I am an advocate for you toapply leadership to every
accounting and finance function,role, task, project and
requirement you may have.
As finance and accountingleaders, we get to make a
difference, to drive strategyand to maximize the resources
(04:23):
the company has for the bestreturn.
We get to do this, but we mustgo beyond our spreadsheets and
our analysis to formrelationships with leaders and
stakeholders around the company.
To help you in your financeleadership development journey,
I have a new written guide foryou called Become a Finance
Leader.
You can download it for free atthe link in the show notes or
(04:47):
go to financeleaderacademycomand download it there.
Again, it's free and it willhelp you with your mindset and
the finance leader insight cycleso you can help leaders
throughout the organization.
Today I'm going to talk aboutteam member engagement as a
critical leadership function.
We must be involved with ourteams so they can also be
(05:09):
successful.
This is not micro management Idespise micro management but be
present, be involved, setpriorities, see where your team
is stuck and what opportunitiesdo they each need to move
forward in their careers.
Don't overlook your everydayteam engagement.
If you step away too much,standards can slip, priorities
(05:30):
get forgotten and our workbecomes secondary.
The company is relying on us tohelp drive results and maximize
our resources and to determineour financial capabilities so
better decisions can be made.
We as leaders need to beconsistent.
Leadership always starts withus and how we approach our
(05:52):
duties.
Are you showing up every daywith a great attitude, ready to
lead.
It's that simple.
Sometimes Are we displayinggreat character and are we not
allowing gossip and othertreacherous activities in our
presence?
Are we setting the rightexample for others to follow?
It always begins with us.
Our finance and accountingfunctions require us to
(06:15):
collaborate and engage becauseoften our technical requirements
can be complicated.
It can be challenging to gobeyond the expected task, to
find strategic insights, whichcan be the difference between
success and failure against ourcompetitors.
One of the most importantfactors to team engagement is to
bring the right people on theteam and to avoid the wrong
(06:38):
people.
Character matters more thanskills.
If you bring the wrong personon the team, you can destroy the
morale and functionality of theteam.
Be cautious who you hire.
I know this very well.
Now let's talk about teammember engagement, so we can
bring out the best on our team.
Number one why team engagementis important.
(06:59):
It comes down to this whenemployees are engaged, they are
less likely to leave.
Team.
Engagement improvesproductivity and it improves
performance.
When employees are engagedproperly, they care more about
their work, there's lessabsenteeism.
They are more likely to sharenew ideas, they start to love
(07:20):
their jobs more and want tocontribute more.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader who can properly
engage with their team.
Number two team engagementtools you can easily use.
I talked about the followingteam engagement tools in bonus
episode number 57, but this issuch an important topic that I
wanted to share again Now.
(07:42):
The first one is resourcing.
Is your team properly resourced?
There's nothing morefrustrating as an employee when
you don't have the rightequipment and the right tools to
do a great job.
Have you assessed that yourteam is resourced properly?
This includes having the rightinformation systems that match
the data requirements for yourcompany.
(08:02):
Assess and then coordinate forthe resources your team needs.
Also recommend what long-termsystem infrastructure
investments that must be made.
The next is training.
Is your team properly trained?
Does each team member have anindividual development plan?
Ensure you assess what traininggaps you may have on the team
(08:23):
and work to address those gaps.
We are developing futurefinance leaders, so you need to
go beyond the everyday Excel andanalysis skills.
We need to develop criticalsoft skills to drive strategic
results and so we can learn howto work with senior leaders
confidently.
The next is new processdevelopment.
(08:43):
Sometimes with change or withnew requirements, it may require
a policy or process update or anew approved efficiency.
If you don't address requiredchanges, your team may get
frustrated and this can lead toshortcuts, which can lead to
uncontrolled risk.
Continually ask and addresswhere policy or the process
(09:05):
needs to be updated so we canavoid our team members creating
their own policy.
This can lead to disaster.
So ask what needs to be updated.
And the next is addressingconcerns.
How do you address issues onyour team?
One-on-one sessions can begreat forums for asking for
issues that you may not be awareof.
Be approachable and open tosuggestions so your team feels
(09:29):
comfortable bringing concerns toyou.
The moment your team feelsuncomfortable bringing concerns
to you, you cease being a leader.
The next is team culture.
Does your team culture fostertrust and high-goal achievement?
What can you do differently tocreate a culture where the team
feels valued and believes theycan win?
(09:50):
Team culture matters.
Do you have bullies on the team?
Do you have team members whoare out of touch or have no
filters?
You want a team culture thatencourages development and
achievement in a place wherepeople can be safe sharing new
ideas.
The next is improvedcommunication.
When we communicate clearly ourintent, the purpose, our values
(10:12):
and the vision, and then wealso practice the same values,
we start to set a great example.
Share relevant information upfront and learn to be a better,
active listener.
Continually try to improvecommunication with the team.
The next is to provideopportunities for advancement.
As leaders, we should createand provide opportunities for
(10:34):
our team members to excel sothey can advance in their
careers.
Challenge your team members sothey can show off their
potential for greaterresponsibility.
Reward those who outperform thestandard.
Now I want you to assess whereyou can better engage the team
and utilize these tools, andmaybe others, to bring the best
experience possible to developyour team.
(10:55):
Number three how to go to thenext level.
Now here are a few personaltools to help you and your team
go to the next level.
And, of course, it begins withyou, your attitude and your
approach to other people.
We have to do theself-assessment.
So we ask ourselves, and maybea trusted colleague, if we
naturally inspire people who arearound us or do we need some
(11:19):
work with our approach?
Do you think your personality,how you speak and how you relate
to others as an asset or is ita hindrance to creating great
team engagement?
Do you set the right example?
Do you conduct yourself withgreat character, with honor and
with integrity.
If not, people will pick up onit and will react, even silently
(11:42):
react.
You will lose your team.
The opposite is true, and thisis where I want you to be a
leader who leads with positivityand high integrity, a leader
who matches their actions totheir words.
This is the goal, and it takescommitment and practice.
Again, I despisemicromanagement, but sometimes
we are forced intomicromanagement because of whom
(12:05):
we report to.
If they micromanage, then webecome one out of survival.
It's a horrible, horrible cycle.
But also, not being involvedwith their team is not the
answer either.
There is a middle ground wheretrust rules the day, but you
also are guiding your team tothe vision, not controlling
every movement, but motivatingin a positive way, holding
(12:28):
people accountable, but alsoproviding each person the
decision to accomplish the taskshow they see it, as long as
they are meeting the standardand meeting their deadlines.
We have lots of middle groundto inspire our team to be their
best, while not controllingeverything they do.
We lead by providing purpose,vision, by setting priorities,
(12:49):
by eliminating obstacles and byfinding ways for our exceptional
team members to excel and toadvance.
Now for action today.
What are you doing to improveteam member engagement.
Can you use any of the tools Imentioned earlier to improve how
your team interacts?
Also, what can you do to becomea better example of leadership
(13:11):
for your team?
So review the tools and applythem where you can to make the
best team member engagementstrategy.
Today I talked about teammember engagement tools we can
use to bring out the best on ourteam, and I highlighted the
following points Number one, whyteam member engagement is
important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
(13:31):
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Our teams mean a lot.
How they process informationand tasks matter, and how we
lead them matters even more.
We have to show up and leadwith great attitude and even
greater integrity.
We have to bring positive,growth oriented engagement to
them.
A team that is engaged with agreat leader would be more
(13:53):
productive and more motivated tobe their best.
I encourage you to learn how toengage your team so they are
set up for success every day.
We can all improve in this area.
Review the tools again that Imentioned earlier, listening
into bonus episode number 57, ifyou need to learn how to bring
out the best in your team sothey perform their best to help
(14:14):
the organization achieve itsgoals.
Next episode I will be talkingabout overcoming obsessive
compulsive disorder.
I am not a mental healthprofessional, but I do
understand OCD very well.
I think I can give you a fewtips if you suffer from OCD as a
finance and accountingprofessional.
I can't wait to share.
(14:35):
I hope you enjoyed the FinanceLeader podcast.
I am dedicated to helping yougrow your leadership skills, to
change your mindset and toclarify your goals so you
advance your career.
You can find this episodewherever you listen to podcasts.
If this episode helped youtoday, please share and leave a
quick review so that others mayfind the podcast.
(14:55):
Until next time, you can checkout more resources at
financeleaderacademycom and signup for my weekly updates so you
don't miss an episode of thepodcast.
And now go lead your team andI'll see you next time.
Thank you.
Hi, this is Stephen McLain of the Finance
Leader Podcast.
This is bonus episode number 71.
How are you and your team doingthis week?
Leadership is literally aneveryday exercise.
It's an everyday role andresponsibility.
Leadership does not stop and itdoes not take a break.
That's the heavy burden ofleadership.
(00:20):
As a leader, you have tocontinually set the vision, set
the work agenda, set highstandards and set the example.
Every day you are being watchedand copied for your behavior
and your approach.
Your team will emulate what youdo in work, product quality and
even in your attitude.
So you have to be aware thatwhat you do and say is important
(00:45):
to team success or failure.
So this week I want to share anon-core replay of episode 107,
team Member Engagement Tools youcan easily apply.
Team Engagement is such animportant daily exercise that it
can affect how well your teammembers succeed or not.
Team members who are positivelyengaged are more productive,
(01:07):
more efficient and moremotivated to do a great job.
And Team Member Engagementbegins with us as leaders.
We must be leaders of greatcharacter and integrity.
Positive Team Member Engagementleads to growth and high
quality output.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader so you can further
invest in your team to helpthem achieve greater potential.
(01:29):
Now here's the episode outlineNumber one why team engagement
is important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Also, for additional resources,please visit Finance Leader
Academy.
The link is in the show notesOn the site.
You can download.
(01:49):
Become a Finance Leader GuideNow.
Please enjoy this Encoreepisode, episode 107, team
Member Engagement Tools you caneasily apply.
Thank you for choosing theFinance Leader Podcast.
Until next time.
Thank you for listening.
Take care.
Team Engagement is such animportant daily exercise that it
(02:15):
can affect how well your teammembers succeed or not.
Team members who are positivelyengaged are more productive,
more efficient and moremotivated to do a great job.
And Team Member Engagementbegins with us as leaders.
We must be leaders of greatcharacter and integrity.
(02:36):
Positive Team Member Engagementleads to growth and high
quality output.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader so you can further
invest in your team to helpthem achieve greater potential,
and you will see amazing results.
Please enjoy the episode.
Welcome to the Finance LeaderPodcast, where leadership is
(02:58):
bigger than the numbers.
I am your host, stephen McClain.
This is the podcast fordeveloping leaders in finance
and accounting.
Please consider following me onTwitter, facebook, instagram
and LinkedIn.
My usernames and the links arein this episode's show notes,
thank you.
This is episode number 107, andI'll be talking about team
(03:20):
engagement tools we can use tobring out the best on our team,
and I will highlight thefollowing topics Number one why
team engagement is important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Author and inspirationalspeaker Simon Sinek said when
(03:41):
people are financially invested,they want to return.
When people are emotionallyinvested, they want to
contribute.
I hope you all are having agreat day and a great week, or
maybe a great weekend if you arelistening on the weekend.
I am very grateful you are herechoosing the Finance Leader
Podcast to help with yourjourney to become a better
(04:02):
finance leader.
We all want to become better atleadership in our jobs.
I am an advocate for you toapply leadership to every
accounting and finance function,role, task, project and
requirement you may have.
As finance and accountingleaders, we get to make a
difference, to drive strategyand to maximize the resources
(04:23):
the company has for the bestreturn.
We get to do this, but we mustgo beyond our spreadsheets and
our analysis to formrelationships with leaders and
stakeholders around the company.
To help you in your financeleadership development journey,
I have a new written guide foryou called Become a Finance
Leader.
You can download it for free atthe link in the show notes or
(04:47):
go to financeleaderacademycomand download it there.
Again, it's free and it willhelp you with your mindset and
the finance leader insight cycleso you can help leaders
throughout the organization.
Today I'm going to talk aboutteam member engagement as a
critical leadership function.
We must be involved with ourteams so they can also be
(05:09):
successful.
This is not micro management Idespise micro management but be
present, be involved, setpriorities, see where your team
is stuck and what opportunitiesdo they each need to move
forward in their careers.
Don't overlook your everydayteam engagement.
If you step away too much,standards can slip, priorities
(05:30):
get forgotten and our workbecomes secondary.
The company is relying on us tohelp drive results and maximize
our resources and to determineour financial capabilities so
better decisions can be made.
We as leaders need to beconsistent.
Leadership always starts withus and how we approach our
(05:52):
duties.
Are you showing up every daywith a great attitude, ready to
lead.
It's that simple.
Sometimes Are we displayinggreat character and are we not
allowing gossip and othertreacherous activities in our
presence?
Are we setting the rightexample for others to follow?
It always begins with us.
Our finance and accountingfunctions require us to
(06:15):
collaborate and engage becauseoften our technical requirements
can be complicated.
It can be challenging to gobeyond the expected task, to
find strategic insights, whichcan be the difference between
success and failure against ourcompetitors.
One of the most importantfactors to team engagement is to
bring the right people on theteam and to avoid the wrong
(06:38):
people.
Character matters more thanskills.
If you bring the wrong personon the team, you can destroy the
morale and functionality of theteam.
Be cautious who you hire.
I know this very well.
Now let's talk about teammember engagement, so we can
bring out the best on our team.
Number one why team engagementis important.
(06:59):
It comes down to this whenemployees are engaged, they are
less likely to leave.
Team.
Engagement improvesproductivity and it improves
performance.
When employees are engagedproperly, they care more about
their work, there's lessabsenteeism.
They are more likely to sharenew ideas, they start to love
(07:20):
their jobs more and want tocontribute more.
Invest in yourself to be abetter leader who can properly
engage with their team.
Number two team engagementtools you can easily use.
I talked about the followingteam engagement tools in bonus
episode number 57, but this issuch an important topic that I
wanted to share again Now.
(07:42):
The first one is resourcing.
Is your team properly resourced?
There's nothing morefrustrating as an employee when
you don't have the rightequipment and the right tools to
do a great job.
Have you assessed that yourteam is resourced properly?
This includes having the rightinformation systems that match
the data requirements for yourcompany.
(08:02):
Assess and then coordinate forthe resources your team needs.
Also recommend what long-termsystem infrastructure
investments that must be made.
The next is training.
Is your team properly trained?
Does each team member have anindividual development plan?
Ensure you assess what traininggaps you may have on the team
(08:23):
and work to address those gaps.
We are developing futurefinance leaders, so you need to
go beyond the everyday Excel andanalysis skills.
We need to develop criticalsoft skills to drive strategic
results and so we can learn howto work with senior leaders
confidently.
The next is new processdevelopment.
(08:43):
Sometimes with change or withnew requirements, it may require
a policy or process update or anew approved efficiency.
If you don't address requiredchanges, your team may get
frustrated and this can lead toshortcuts, which can lead to
uncontrolled risk.
Continually ask and addresswhere policy or the process
(09:05):
needs to be updated so we canavoid our team members creating
their own policy.
This can lead to disaster.
So ask what needs to be updated.
And the next is addressingconcerns.
How do you address issues onyour team?
One-on-one sessions can begreat forums for asking for
issues that you may not be awareof.
Be approachable and open tosuggestions so your team feels
(09:29):
comfortable bringing concerns toyou.
The moment your team feelsuncomfortable bringing concerns
to you, you cease being a leader.
The next is team culture.
Does your team culture fostertrust and high-goal achievement?
What can you do differently tocreate a culture where the team
feels valued and believes theycan win?
(09:50):
Team culture matters.
Do you have bullies on the team?
Do you have team members whoare out of touch or have no
filters?
You want a team culture thatencourages development and
achievement in a place wherepeople can be safe sharing new
ideas.
The next is improvedcommunication.
When we communicate clearly ourintent, the purpose, our values
(10:12):
and the vision, and then wealso practice the same values,
we start to set a great example.
Share relevant information upfront and learn to be a better,
active listener.
Continually try to improvecommunication with the team.
The next is to provideopportunities for advancement.
As leaders, we should createand provide opportunities for
(10:34):
our team members to excel sothey can advance in their
careers.
Challenge your team members sothey can show off their
potential for greaterresponsibility.
Reward those who outperform thestandard.
Now I want you to assess whereyou can better engage the team
and utilize these tools, andmaybe others, to bring the best
experience possible to developyour team.
(10:55):
Number three how to go to thenext level.
Now here are a few personaltools to help you and your team
go to the next level.
And, of course, it begins withyou, your attitude and your
approach to other people.
We have to do theself-assessment.
So we ask ourselves, and maybea trusted colleague, if we
naturally inspire people who arearound us or do we need some
(11:19):
work with our approach?
Do you think your personality,how you speak and how you relate
to others as an asset or is ita hindrance to creating great
team engagement?
Do you set the right example?
Do you conduct yourself withgreat character, with honor and
with integrity.
If not, people will pick up onit and will react, even silently
(11:42):
react.
You will lose your team.
The opposite is true, and thisis where I want you to be a
leader who leads with positivityand high integrity, a leader
who matches their actions totheir words.
This is the goal, and it takescommitment and practice.
Again, I despisemicromanagement, but sometimes
we are forced intomicromanagement because of whom
(12:05):
we report to.
If they micromanage, then webecome one out of survival.
It's a horrible, horrible cycle.
But also, not being involvedwith their team is not the
answer either.
There is a middle ground wheretrust rules the day, but you
also are guiding your team tothe vision, not controlling
every movement, but motivatingin a positive way, holding
(12:28):
people accountable, but alsoproviding each person the
decision to accomplish the taskshow they see it, as long as
they are meeting the standardand meeting their deadlines.
We have lots of middle groundto inspire our team to be their
best, while not controllingeverything they do.
We lead by providing purpose,vision, by setting priorities,
(12:49):
by eliminating obstacles and byfinding ways for our exceptional
team members to excel and toadvance.
Now for action today.
What are you doing to improveteam member engagement.
Can you use any of the tools Imentioned earlier to improve how
your team interacts?
Also, what can you do to becomea better example of leadership
(13:11):
for your team?
So review the tools and applythem where you can to make the
best team member engagementstrategy.
Today I talked about teammember engagement tools we can
use to bring out the best on ourteam, and I highlighted the
following points Number one, whyteam member engagement is
important.
Number two, team engagementtools you can easily use.
(13:31):
And three, how to go to thenext level.
Our teams mean a lot.
How they process informationand tasks matter, and how we
lead them matters even more.
We have to show up and leadwith great attitude and even
greater integrity.
We have to bring positive,growth oriented engagement to
them.
A team that is engaged with agreat leader would be more
(13:53):
productive and more motivated tobe their best.
I encourage you to learn how toengage your team so they are
set up for success every day.
We can all improve in this area.
Review the tools again that Imentioned earlier, listening
into bonus episode number 57, ifyou need to learn how to bring
out the best in your team sothey perform their best to help
(14:14):
the organization achieve itsgoals.
Next episode I will be talkingabout overcoming obsessive
compulsive disorder.
I am not a mental healthprofessional, but I do
understand OCD very well.
I think I can give you a fewtips if you suffer from OCD as a
finance and accountingprofessional.
I can't wait to share.
(14:35):
I hope you enjoyed the FinanceLeader podcast.
I am dedicated to helping yougrow your leadership skills, to
change your mindset and toclarify your goals so you
advance your career.
You can find this episodewherever you listen to podcasts.
If this episode helped youtoday, please share and leave a
quick review so that others mayfind the podcast.
(14:55):
Until next time, you can checkout more resources at
financeleaderacademycom and signup for my weekly updates so you
don't miss an episode of thepodcast.
And now go lead your team andI'll see you next time.
Thank you.
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