A couple of things not to say to your team

I’m just going to say at the outset, this one is quite sweary, just in case that’s not your bag.

There are two sayings that I believe are useful when thinking about growing a team. I would also strongly advise that you don’t use either of these sayings with that team.

Number one. You can’t polish a turd. Or the less crude version, you can’t make a silk purse our of a sow’s ear. Training is important but it will only get you so far. You can’t train someone not to be a dickhead. No one is perfect but some people are too not perfect. It’s not necessarily that they are terrible people, they might be, but they might not be, it’s just they’re not right for this role. There are three basic elements to consider. Their ability, i.e. how good a barista/baker/chef are they? Their output rate. Are they quick, efficient and hard-working, slow and inefficient or painfully lazy? And finally, their attitude or team impact, do they get along with their co-workers, are they reliable? Three out of three is the dream. Two out of three is acceptable and probably where a lot of your team will be. A talented baker who’s reliable but a bit slow getting through tasks is doable. A barista who is a ray of sunshine and hard working but who’s latte art could use some finesse can be trained. One out of three is probably going to make your life unnecessarily hard and zero out of three shouldn’t have got through the door.

Saying number two? Don’t keep a dog and bark yourself. This was apparently a favourite of my grandmothers and you can probably see why it’s not one I use with staff. But the sentiment is correct. Don’t pay people to do something and then do it yourself. We do this because we find it difficult to ask, we don’t like to tell people what to do (even when that’s out literal job), we think they won’t do it right or we know it would just be quicker if we did it ourselves. Your people won’t learn if you don’t teach them and they won’t grow if you don’t let them.

So, two sayings to remember, but to also keep to yourself.