One of the biggest challenges of being a manager is learning how to be in a leadership position. Since effective management allows you to capitalize on the strengths and abilities of employees, developing leadership skills is essential to becoming a great boss The best modern managers understand this and care about the development of their employees and are willing to spend the time teaching, enlightening, and guiding them. As a manger, it’s easy to get caught up in focusing on what is urgent, rather than on what’s important. What’s important is improving your leadership skills in order to empower your staff.
5 Tips to Become a Better Leader
& Role Model for Your Employees
Be a role model.
The most important key to being a successful leader is to lead by example. Your team is watching and emulating you. Make sure your attitude, behavior, and habits are the ones you want them to exhibit. Look at the behavioral habits of your employees. Do you like what you see? If not, look in the mirror a little more carefully. The source of frustration in your employee’s behavior likely starts with you.
Be transparent.
While it is your business and financial stake at risk, your team members are also invested in the business. They spend their time and energy to produce quality work, as long as they stay engaged. In order to drive employee engagement you should involve employees in goal planning and decision-making. By doing so, everyone truly understands the goals your working towards and knows what success looks like.
Show respect.
Respect is a simple but powerful motivator. Showing employees you respect and care about them as people, and not just the job they do is important. Employees are much more likely to give 110% effort to help the organization succeed when they feel valued.
Recognize hard work.
As a leader, you gain nothing from withholding praise and recognition when it’s due. Recent studies have found that recognition is often a more powerful driver of motivation than money. Whether in an email or a staff meeting, publicly acknowledging hard work shows employees that you value the effort they’re putting in. Recognition communicates respect, and respect is a powerful motivator.
Provide regular feedback.
Being able to provide regular, helpful feedback is a foundational leadership skill. Great leaders are able to provide feedback in a manner that encourages employees to want to work harder. Too many managers make the mistake of focusing feedback on what happened in the past. If you want to be a more effective leader and help your team make improvements in their skills and results, give them feedback about what they can do to solve problems moving forward.
If you put in a little extra effort to become a great leader, you’ll be much better boss. Effective management begins with hiring manageable employees. Having the right people – at just the right time spells the difference between the success and failure of your project initiative. Ensure your hiring success by teaming up with the experienced staffing providers at BOS Staffing. Give us a call today to get started.
