“The art of leadership is in working with others to bring out the best in them.”~ Peter Drucker, author of The Art Of Management
Great leadership does not happen by accident. To be successful at what you do, you have to put yourself in the shoes of those who need your guidance. You also need to be honest and transparent with your team (and their expectations) so that they can trust that you will help them achieve their career goals. We are all human and can make mistakes; for this reason, it is also important to take care of our teammates to earn their trust. Below are a few tips on how to create and maintain great teams.
1. Be Proactive And Conscientious When Building Your Team
Proactivity means being proactive when developing new ideas, implementing plans, and meeting deadlines. In addition, proactivity helps teammates understand that you are willing to improve and learn from previous experience. On the other hand, conscientiousness means taking care of oneself before thinking about other people. Being more mindful about your own needs allows us to look after ourselves before helping others. As a result, each person feels connected and empowered and has a sense of self-worth.
2. Find Ways For Members To Feel Appreciated
One way to increase motivation and morale within teams is to share rewards and recognition with the members. For example, give an award or reward to somebody who did well last week or the whole month. This will inspire the other employees to work harder next time. Another way to foster a positive environment in the workplace is by making regular small contributions throughout the week. Doing so not only promotes teamwork but gives everyone the chance to feel appreciated.
3. Establish Regular Communication
Communication is essential if you want your company to grow and flourish. One of my favorite strategies is to use email or text messages instead of calling every day because they allow me to stay connected with friends and family. Also, keep weekly meetings open and always check your voicemails or emails for news. It shows management that you are thinking about your coworkers’ needs. Lastly, having frequent contact with your coworkers allows you to know how they are doing, which makes you feel more valued and respected as a leader.
4. Consider Providing Remote Working Hours At Work
I once heard from one employee that her manager would tell her she should get up early and leave after lunch to go sit with clients. I’ve worked remotely for a couple years now and I always prefer working from home rather than leaving my couch. However, sometimes it may be difficult for you as a manager to balance work and personal life. That is why implementing remote working hours on the job is crucial since it removes some stress from the worker. Employees won’t feel pressured to come to the office daily since there will be no set hours that need to be met. Most importantly, it enables them to work flexibly and get quality sleep. Therefore, the manager will be able to focus on his or her duties. Besides, it will be easier for him or her to maintain relationships with colleagues and customers since managers and workers will be spending less time together. Finally, having a flexible schedule at the office allows individuals to take breaks for themselves or seek advice from co-workers.
5. Know What Motivates Them And Develop An Appropriate Leadership Style
As a manager, you need to set clear priorities regarding work. If you don’t know what motivates the workers, then who do you think will listen? Moreover, it’s important to choose a leadership style that matches the preferences of workers. Leaders should have different strengths, capabilities, personality traits, and skills. Knowing these traits allows leaders to see the world differently and create better teams. Additionally, different types of leadership styles vary in terms of their effectiveness. Here are six leadership styles you can try depending on how you would like to lead:
The Transformational Leader: Transformational leaders guide and assist followers in achieving organizational objectives through inspiring motivation and inspiration. They encourage change and encourage hard work by offering praise and acknowledging individual accomplishments. These are the type of leaders that most companies want to hire. Since transformational leaders communicate regularly and actively listen to employees’ suggestions, they are often referred to as participative leaders. Such leaders are good to work with because they offer constructive feedback and are very supportive.
The Transactional Leader: This leader acts as a role model since he or she provides instructions and sets high standards for performance. Workers tend to follow orders just because they expect them to work harder in exchange for receiving rewards such as promotion or pay rise. Transactional leaders are usually task-oriented and don’t have much patience with subordinates. Followers feel controlled, which reduces productivity. Instead, transactional leaders set high targets, monitor progress, and offer incentives. This kind of leader can be seen as demanding people who are afraid to fail and are impatient to complete tasks before the deadline. Thus, they rarely allow workers to make mistakes themselves.
The Charismatic Leader: Charismatic leaders are ambitious and strive to motivate and influence others to reach success. However, charismatic leadership also creates problems for those around the leader since it forces leaders to make decisions frequently, under pressure, and micromanagement. Hence, charisma will never lead to growth and development. Although many successful CEOs and executives may appear promising due to their charisma, it’s important to understand that charisma is nothing more than charm, charisma, or charisma. Charisma is a combination of abilities, values, characteristics, or qualities that influence others to pursue specific desired ends. Charismatic leaders are usually people with extraordinary talents and competencies. People who possess charisma are highly motivating and can inspire employees to accomplish extraordinary things. But charismatic leaders are self-centered, too focused on results, and they can lose track of their true personalities when focusing on short term results.
The Autocratic Leader: This is another form of authoritarian leadership where the leader focuses solely on completing tasks set by subordinates and subordinates in turn do what the boss says without questioning or challenging. Subordinates and fellow workers are told exactly what to do and when to do it, which often leads to conflict within the organization. Authoritarian leaders are goal-oriented and have low tolerance levels for ambiguity and lack of creativity. Because of this, autocratic leadership rarely encourages innovation or creative thinking. Furthermore, such leaders might favor strict authority over mutual respect.
The Democratic Leader: Democratic leadership involves delegating responsibilities and encouraging workers to take initiative and solve problems. Democratic leaders empower followers and delegate authority and decision making, allowing subordinates to decide how resources are allocated to them and their departments. This type of leadership is particularly beneficial for businesses with fast turnover rates. Businesses that value democratic leadership may find their staff engaged and motivated while remaining agile. The main difference between democratic and autocratic leaders is that democratic leaders encourage creativity and problem solving since everyone in the group works toward reaching a common goal. Delegation and delegation are key steps towards empowering your workforce.
6. Use Effective Feedback Systems
It is important to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of employees every day. Recognizing hard work also increases loyalty and motivates workers to continue working. According to Harvard Business Review, effective managers must show appreciation by recognizing each employee’s contribution to the organization. In addition, managers must recognize performance gaps and offer solutions. It is also important that managers provide open channels of communication between staff members and supervisors while giving consistent feedback. Every employee should be given opportunities to discuss their feelings and experiences without feeling like they’re not important enough to address. Overall, managers should not hide behind closed doors nor suppress their employees. Managers must accept their mistakes and move forward based on feedback from workers. With continuous improvements, workers will grow and become even better performers. Good managers will recognize and acknowledge achievements and continually seek improvement. Ultimately, employees will grow as a team in both physical and professional ways which reinforces the culture of teamwork. Lastly, good employees and supervisors develop stronger bonds because they share common interests and responsibilities, which creates a shared identity.
Good leaders nurture and support their employees and treat them fairly because these actions promote satisfaction as well as commitment to service and loyalty. By putting in place these tips, you can cultivate a strong workplace and ensure that your firm succeeds in the long term.
