Karran Bonner (MD at Brightside – Coaching and Training Experts) examines what makes a good leader and how to get your team to vote for you.
Engage your people in a clear mission and vision
For you to succeed as a leader, I believe that you have to engage your people in your own mission and vision for the organisation, as a team and individually. You have to be clear on where you are going. You don’t always need to set the mission and vision yourself, engaging your people in the early start of this process will pay you huge rewards. So ask for your team’s opinions, this way they will feel like they own it too.
Create goals
Related to a clear mission and vision is the creation of goals. It is vital that your people have their own specific goals which fit in with the wider vision of the organisation. It is important that when setting the goals that you don’t just have three set objectives for your staff, instead try having a conversation about their aspirations and linking these into their job role and goals.
Be authentic
Don’t try to lead in a way that is uncomfortable for you. You don’t have to have an authoritarian approach to be successful. Absolutely, people need guidelines and boundaries, but long gone are the days of telling your staff what is happening. It’s vital that they are engaged and feel their voice is heard.
Bringing your personality to work will help you to get buy-in from your people. I always work best when I forge a strong relationship with someone and this can only fully happen when the individual feels like they can be themselves. It’s ok not to be on top form every day, accepting that you aren’t perfect and showing your people that will buy you more credibility than following the pages of your leadership textbooks.
Empowerment
We have all worked for a manager who wants sight of everything and micromanages to the point of distraction. A true leader trusts their team to make decisions and to drive the organisation forward. Empowering your people will create a culture of innovation and engagement. Take Google, for example, where half a day a week is set aside purely for employees to think of new ideas and to innovate. Some of their best ideas and growth has come from naming a time in each week for development. Try this on a small scale, even for an hour each week, and watch your talent innovate before your very eyes.
Develop your people
A true leader is always looking for opportunities to develop their people. Whether it be sharing knowledge, arranging a job shadow or organising coaching and training for your team. It is your job as an inspiring leader to look for opportunities to enhance your team’s expertise. Such opportunities exist on a daily basis. Set aside 15 minutes a day to look at three key ways to develop your team. This is a tiny portion of your day, but a manageable way of always ensuring you are moving your team forward.
The list goes on, and we are always keen to discuss this more with you. Do get in touch to discuss how to enhance your leadership style or share your experience: info@brightsideinspiration.com