No company would thrive without a manager with good leadership skills. How you lead will help mold employees to become better, which is why it is crucial to become the best boss you can be. By improving how you lead, you are improving your employee output. Hence, before you attempt to improve the people you lead, you should first work on improving yourself.
Here’s how you can become a better leader:
1. Trust Your People
It is important for you to trust your people. Trust them enough to accomplish their jobs without you breathing down their necks. Avoid micromanaging because doing so indicates that you don’t trust your employees.
2. Help others Reach Success
Helping others reach success, especially when they deserve it shows great leadership skills. Remember, if your people can achieve their own career goals, then you will do well too.
3. Give Credit when it is Due
Never take credit for someone else’s work. This will not do you good, and it won’t help with your leadership at all. Sure, you’ll get the praise of the higher-ups, but you’ll lose the trust of those working under you. Eventually, your team will lose the desire to work hard, because they know they won’t get credit for their work anyway.
4. Let Employees Choose their own Techniques
It’s okay to set the goals, but let your employees decide how they will reach a particular goal. Doing so will give them a sense of empowerment and motivation, making them unstoppable and achieving great output. Leadership skills aren’t limited to showing others where to go, it also includes helping others find their own way.
5. Have less Meetings
Meeting the staff too often doesn’t always get things done. Consider holding fewer meetings, but make them more efficient and focused. Discuss what needs to be accomplished and how. Sticking to an agenda all throughout will help make these meetings more useful for everyone.
6. Commend those who Fail and Reward those who are Innovative
Encourage your people to try something new. Mistakes are normal. Think of mistakes as opportunities that will help employees learn and move forward. This will help you hone brave and creative employees who will look forward to going to work.
7. Be all about Your People
It is important that your people know that aside from trusting them, you also have their backs and care for them outside of the job. This means understanding their priorities, helping them finish their education, or other similar things. Having great leadership skills also include the ability to reach out to others even outside of work.
Even if you think that you are a terrible manager, there are ways to improve how you are and become the best boss you can be. The first step is realizing that you want to change and gain the leadership skills that will help you become good at what you do. Remember that changing your ways will not only be good for yourself and for your people, it will be good for the entire organization. If you want to get the best output from your employees, then you need to be the best that you can be.
© 2013 Incedo Group, LLC