Eight Leadership Techniques for Outstanding Teams
Apply the following eight leadership techniques to create highly motivated, self-directed, and extremely productive employees and teams..
Provide Clear Expectations
Winning organizations know where they are going and what is required to get
there. Employees constantly need to know what they need to accomplish.
Communicating expectations in a clear, concise manner is important. It’s
also important to communicate your expectations on an individual,
department, and organizational level. Continue communicating your
expectations on an ongoing basis. Whether one-on-one, through memos, or in a
team meeting, keep communicating your expectations.
Give Your Employees the Tools for Success
New computers are acquired, but no training is provided for the computers;
or worse, the training doesn’t meet the need of the employees to be
successful. The policies are not implemented or followed, so employees are
hindered by barriers. Time and time again I hear from employees in my
workshops that management doesn’t give them the necessary tools for success.
Here’s the secret: Ask your employees what they need, and then give it to
them.
Recognize Good Work
Take the time to recognize good work. Recognize employees for finding
solutions, failing less, learning more, taking initiative, working with
others, creating outstanding customer service solutions, sharing ideas; and
the list goes on. You get the idea. Take time to give a sincere compliment
for work well done and you, your organization, and your employees will reap
the rewards.
Get Interested in Your Employees
Take the time to find out what interests your employees. Find out what their
passions are in life. Is it their families? Is it a sport or hobby? Is it a
vintage car or boat? Is it that they want to accomplish the next level in
their education? Is it a career goal? Whatever it is, the great leaders take
the time to find out how to help their employees accomplish their goals.
Leaders know that by helping their employees succeed in life, the employees
will have more passion about helping their leaders accomplish their goals.
Value Their Opinions
Employees want to be involved in the process at work. Giving their opinions
is one way to accomplish this. Take the time to really listen to what your
employees are saying. Take the time to ask questions. Take the time to
acknowledge their opinions. Will all employees give opinions in a positive
way? No. Our job as a leader is to set the parameters for giving opinions in
such a way that states a positive outcome for all. You might say, “Mike, you
have a lot of valuable ideas and I appreciate that you take the time to
share them. So that everyone gets the most out of your ideas, please
communicate them with a positive outcome in mind.” Now you have set the tone
for giving opinions. Also take the time to really listen for the “gold
nuggets” of information when an employee gives you an opinion. They are
sharing an idea, a concern, or an emotion that you may be able to address to
help take your organization to the next level.
Grow Your Employees
Encourage your employees to develop themselves. Encourage them to take
classes, delegate tasks and challenging assignments, and then provide
support. I say this because I run into employees who tell me the following:
“The company wants us to take additional classes and even offers tuition
reimbursement. However, when I ask my manager to approve my request or when
I actually take the courses, he/she makes comments inferring that these
classes might interfere with work. That’s not fair.”
No, it’s not fair. If your employees want to develop themselves, support
them. Be the Captain of Progress and remove the barriers to development.
Don’t worry about losing your employees. Once you do this, they will become
even more loyal to your goals and word will quickly spread that you are the
person to work for because you develop your people for success.
Communicate the Progress
Many times I will ask the participants in our team building program, “How
often does your manager, supervisor, or vice president sit down with you and
give you a progress report, informal evaluation, or job evaluation?” The
majority of the participants will say once or maybe twice a year during the
formal review progress.
This should never happen! Outstanding leaders realize that ongoing
communication is the key to outstanding performance and that employees yearn
for this feedback. Outstanding leaders make sure their followers constantly
know where they stand. They are constantly communicating with their
employees in relationship to the overall goals. They are constantly
recognizing their employees’ stellar performances and coaching them in
“areas of improvement.” Empathy, consistency, honesty, and a positive
attitude when giving employees feedback are important to the way the
employees receive the feedback.
Make Partners of Your Employees
Once we get past the money reason as to why people work for you, we realize
that one of the reasons why employees work for your organization is the
following: “I want to make a difference.” Time and time again you will find
people working for organizations when they could easily be compensated
elsewhere far more than what they are actually receiving; but they enjoy
working for that organization because they believe in the organization’s
mission, values, and goals and believe they are making a difference in that
organization.
Make your employees your partner in achieving your goals. Communicate the
mission, values, and goals and ask them how they see themselves in
relationship to these goals. Ask your employees for feedback on how to
better accomplish these goals. Involve them in the decision-making process
and let them have a vested interest in the success for the project.
Take these leadership steps today to take you, your employees, and your
teams to the next level of success.
About the Author