It’s no secret that marketing agencies are made up of talented employees with diverse sets of skills. From calculating and analytical thinkers who pour over numbers and data to free-spirited creatives who whip up inspiring content, there’s a fair cross-section of skills, talents, attitudes, and employee behaviour within each company.
As such, creating a work environment that provides each employee with the space to grow, learn and thrive can be challenging, especially if employees themselves are unaware of what they want. Interestingly enough, a series of surveys conducted by Eurich found that while 95% of people think they’re self-aware, only 10%-15% truly are.
Building on the great work folks at Wired2Perform do, helping organisations unlock the full potential of their employees, I believe that one of my duties is to help my teams become more self-aware using the right data.
Managing teams with maximum effect and maximum efficiency
As a marketer, it’s easy for me to focus on the work I’m doing and forget the people I’m working with. Teams need effective leaders who know how to manage them in a way that brings out the best in them.
What I’ve found is that psychometric-based insights on each of my employees are what help me do this best. By understanding exactly who my employees are – their motivations, skills, attitudes and communication styles – I know exactly what I need to do and say to help them reach their own goals and those of my company.
This way, I also understand what kind of environment they need to unleash their skills and creativity. There’s no competitive edge quite like a marketing team at its peak 🙂
Creating space for personal and professional growth = greater creativity
To me, there’s one golden rule when it comes to working with creatives: Never stifle their skills or their growth.
Unfortunately, this can take place even if you don’t mean to, if you fail to create the right culture or environment in your agency. When it comes to my content teams, I try and have frequent conversations with them about what their personal and professional goals are: Where they want to be in the future, what they want to learn, and what areas of work they feel they’re good at.
With these frank conversations, I know exactly what I need to do to give them the resources and support they need. Self-awareness, especially the kind that’s backed by psychometric data, is unbelievably useful.
Increasing team productivity and engagement
Good marketing relies on the motivation and enthusiasm of your employees. Safe to say, then, that if your employees lack the drive to give their best every day, your agency is in serious trouble.
One way I try and maintain the satisfaction and engagement of my teams is by providing each with customised incentives and plenty of space and time to blow off some steam. Customised incentives and working arrangements, however, can only be done objectively and accurately by really understanding who your employees are and what they find value in.
How can you create marketing agencies with self-aware teams?
One of the best things I’ve done in the recent past has been to introduce a workplace psychometric test and human capital performance platform at work.
Based on insights from DNA behaviour, my teams have had to really dig deep and examine who they are to help all of us understand what kind of people we work with. This exercise has proved fruitful; My teams are more confident about the work they do and have the space to bring their unique skills and attitudes to the table.
Among the platforms I’ve used, Wired2Perform has been instrumental in this process. With the insights it generates, I’ve learned quite a few things about myself too: My own strengths, fears, dislikes, and preferences in the workplace.
Create self-aware teams in your agency by using the right human capital performance tools
Even at a time when employers and employees are committed to understanding themselves better for improved organisational output, self-aware teams are anything but overrated.
Having seen how I’ve been able to optimise talent management and provide my teams with an environment in which they can develop their skills and grow as thinkers and creators, self-awareness really is for everyone.
Head to the Hype Insight blog for more strategies and tools that improve your marketing output!