1. Tell your team their role, what they need to accomplish, and the rules. Is this a form of micromanaging? No, it’s called establishing direction. Provide parameters to your team so they can work within broad outlines of the organization and within vision.
2. Discipline employees who are out of line. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. Too often, as a consultant, I hear, “I wish my boss would tell her that this is just unacceptable.” Hold your accountable to the protocol in a way that is fair but makes everyone cognizant of what is and is not acceptable. Be mindful to do this at the time of the misbehavior and not weeks or months later.
3. Engage your team. Get your team and other leaders excited about the organization, about the product, about their job. Motivate them to get excited as you get excited.
4. Give praise where praise is due. One key way to motivate your team is to leverage their strengths and accomplishments, not just harping on their weaknesses or failures.
5. Give them some autonomy. Give them something interesting to work on. Trust them with opportunity to become creative and responsible to go great things.
6. Impress them. Strong leaders impress their staffs in a variety of ways. Yes, some are great examples of management, but others are bold and courageous, and still others are creative and smart. Strong leaders bring strength to an organization by providing a characteristic that others don’t have and the company sorely needs.
7. Support your team to win. Nobody wants to fail. Indecisive leaders who keep people in the wrong roles, set unrealistic goals, keep unproductive team members, or change direction unfairly just frustrate everybody and make people feel defeated.
Need Help in Your Leaderhip Role?
If you require leadership development training to survive tough time and retain great talent, consider enrolling in one of Poimena’s Leadership Development programs or contact us for a low-risk consultation to provide leadership development and growth strategies.
