Elijah Medge, Entrepreneur and Mentor Shares:

9 Unique Tips for Creating a Great Work

Environment

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

Does YOUR team have THIS much fun?

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

1. Team Bonding Outside of the Office

You’ll be surprised how far guacamole, chips and a happy hour will get you. Away from the office, people tend to feel more comfortable sharing about themselves. Your team will learn about each other’s families, hobbies, and passions. They will develop genuine relationships which will translate extremely well into working together in the office. If you want your people to look forward to coming in to work each day, create opportunities for them to build genuine relationships.

The hallmark of a great work environment is a close-knit team. In order to build this dynamic within your company you have to provide opportunities for team bonding after hours. Yes, to a certain extent, your employees will naturally build relationships during work hours, but the real bonding happens outside of the office.

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

 2. Mix It Up!A certain degree of consistency is important to run a smooth business; but if you look around your office and see people staring at the 4 walls of a cubicle all day long, you are doing something wrong. If you want people to actually enjoy working for your company, as a manager, it is your job to mix it up. Think about what the standard routine looks like and plan something completely different. Maybe a fun motivational meeting, maybe an interesting new assignment, or even a game! As an example, it is not atypical for Elijah Medge to walk into the room and start an impromptu game of office-wide Pictionary. It’s important to keep your people laughing and having fun. When people enjoy what they do, you’ll find they do better work.

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

3. Ban Negativity

If you start pointing out each time someone is being negative they will become more self-aware. Soon, the people on your team will start to call each other out. Before you know it, your team will start being more selective with their rants. If you do this right, people's ears will perk up when they hear something negative because it will sound out of place. Changing the behavior will start to influence people’s mentalities. You’ll notice your team starts becoming more solution-oriented, rather than downtrodden.

Of course, like all of these tips, this one starts at the top. The moment your staff hears their manager complaining, all of your efforts will go right out the window. You must lead by example by speaking constructively, rather than negatively about everything.

Yes you read that right, tell people that they aren’t allowed to be negative within the walls of your company. To clarify, it’s not about creating an official rule, but more so an expectation, and ultimately a cultural shift. Eliminating negativity starts with raising awareness. Most people don’t realize it when they’re complaining because they think they’re just making normal conversation. But when it’s socially acceptable to complain, you are fostering a negative environment without even knowing it.

Flickr CC via Kate Ter Haar

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

4. People Helping People

There is a huge difference between being competitive individually, and being competitive as a team. As a manager, it is your job to set the tone for how the whole company will operate. If you, as an executive, personally take the time to meet with entry level employees, your people will take notice. Elijah Medge spends just as much (if not more) time with his new people as he does with his senior staff. In doing so, he has successfully implemented an environment that is team-oriented, rather than cut throat. Within his firm, it’s entirely normal for executives to meet with entry level employees to mentor and motivate them. Peers meet with peers to discuss challenges and wins. Ultimately, the firm operates as a cohesive team.

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

5. Incentivize, Incentivize, Incentivize

If your mentality about your team is “they should just be glad to have a job”, then you’re going about it all wrong. You will never build a successful company if you take your people for granted or ignore human nature. Even the most self-motivated go-getter needs a reason to perform at her peak performance. As a manager, you must find ways to regularly incentivize your people. This might mean weekly bonuses for top performers or cool gifts when a goal is achieved. The best way to find out what your team wants is to ask them! While at first it might hurt to spend the extra cash, you’ll be amazed at how much more you’ll get out of your people.

Flickr CC via nist6dh

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

6. Encourage Learning and MistakesThe worst environment you can create is one in which people are afraid to get their heads bitten off each time they make a mistake. This creates a workplace where people fear taking accountability. No one will want to take on more responsibility if they think it will place them in the line of fire.

To be a great manager, you must facilitate opportunities for professional development and openly encourage your people to take on new roles. In doing so, the most important thing is that your people know that it's okay to mess up. They need to know that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process, and that you have their backs. As a manager, you must learn how to keep your cool and give constructive feedback each time a mistake is made.

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

7. No Micromanagement

Micromanaging your people is a sure fire way to encourage a bare-minimum mentality. Would you rather work with people who think like minimum wage employees or CEOs? If you want your people to be able to think for themselves, you absolutely have to give them the freedom to succeed or fail on their own. As a manager, your job is to set the initial guidelines, and then offer coaching and support. If your goal is to develop a team of unhappy robots, then micromanage all you want. If you want a crew of excited and ambitious professionals, give them some space.

Flickr CC via Herval

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

8. Consistently Recognize Top PerformersTaking the time to publicly recognize top performers will have three fantastic results. First, the individual being recognized will feel appreciated and special, and will therefore be more motivated to continue doing a great job.

The second reason to recognize your employees is to motivate others. Watching another be recognized usually inspires us to want to be recognized too. When we see a peer succeeding before we do, we immediately become curious about what they are doing differently. This curiosity leads to great conversations and coaching opportunities.

The third reason that recognition is beneficial is because it lets people see the results of struggle and hard work. It’s important to show your people that they are not alone in the challenges they may be facing. If their peers can overcome obstacles, they can too.

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

9. 100% Alignment of GoalsLet’s start off here: Do you even know your peoples’ goals? If you do, you’re a giant step ahead of most managers. But the next step is to ensure that your staff’s goals, your goals as a manager, and the company’s goals, are all in sync. Successfully accomplishing this means having frequent and regularly scheduled conversations about goals. It means not being afraid to ask your people for their feedback. In order to manage a successful company, your people must fully buy into the company's mission. If they don't feel like they are part of that mission, you will never see them perform at their best.

Flickr CC via www.flazingo.com

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

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There you have it, 9 Unique Tips for Creating a Great Work Environment from entrepreneur and manager, Elijah Medge.

What do you think of these tips? Have you tried any of them? Have any additional tips to share? Share your comments below!

For more tips from Elijah Medge visit his website

Read more about Elijah Medge on Crunchbase

Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015

About

As the owner of several direct marketing firms throughout the United States, Elijah Medge has seen first-hand the value of an attractive corporate culture. In the highly competitive sales industry, the only way to be successful is to persist through long days and frequent rejection. In a business that can so easily foster a negative environment, Elijah Medge has become passionate about reversing this effect. He and his team have implemented a work environment that facilitates positivity, energy and excitement. This, in turn, has fostered productivity, and ultimately financial success for the business and everyone on the team. Here you will read the top 10 tips from entrepreneur, Elijah Medge, for creating a great place to work.