The 10 Tips For Great Leadership
1. Understand What Everyone Does: You don't need to be an expert at everyone's job, but you do need to know what they do on a daily basis. As a result of gaining this understanding, you'll have a greater respect for what challenges they face. Conversely, if they see you taking an interest in what they do, they will increase their respect for you.
2. Don't Do Your Staff's Work: All too many times we see people who have been promoted to a leadership position doing the work of others to get things done. Although your expertise and skills may be better than your staff's, you need to help them grow by making their own mistakes. A good leader knows the difference between teaching and doing.
3. Get To Know Your Business: Great leaders must understand how their people support the overall business goals. We suggest sitting down with other departments to develop and open lines of communication and examine overall processes to see how they can be improved for the greater good of the organization.
4. Your Communication Needs To Be Open And Honest: One of the biggest barriers between management and workers is lack of communication. Information should flow freely and easily between management and staff. We often advise our clients to communicate consistently because what seems irrelevant to you may be highly relevant to someone else (we also suggest rewarding people who are proactive in sharing information). Additionally, teamwork will stimulate your staff's communication.
5. Create A Team Environment: Everyone knows that strong teamwork creates a more proactive and efficient operation. As a leader, encourage cross-department meetings with a set agenda and time frame to help remove any "I am an island" type mentality. You can also reward staff members who are proactive and create a collaborative atmosphere.
6. Let Your Employees Know What You Want: Often times people work on projects that isolate them from the overall vision of an organization. Because of this, many people don't know what they are doing well and what needs improvement. To help augment a positive relationship, be proactive in casual conversations and formal performance reviews. Also, praise your staff when they do things correctly and effectively. Conversely, if someone isn't living up to defined standards, let them know sooner vs. later.
7. Hire Good People: Over the years I have learned many lessons about hiring people. All I can say is that poor performing people can cost your business a small fortune. First and foremost, you should ask yourself if this person will fit well with the team. We often suggest getting your staff involved in the hiring process (when it's appropriate) so they can add their thoughts about possible candidates; however, you need to tell them what their role is in the process and let them know their opinion is valued.
8. Spend Time (And Money) Developing Your People: Business is constantly changing. That being said, many people need to learn new things and improve their skill set(s) to meet the changing business requirements. Learning can be a fun and challenging part of their job; therefore, it is recommended to budget some dollars for training and development and encourage your staff to attend training whenever possible.
9. Apply Good Leadership Skills: Most every leader we've met wants to be a positive role model and solid leader for their people. To ensure that your goal becomes a reality, we often suggest looking at your skills daily by asking yourself how you could have done a better job or looked at projects differently.
10. Become Better At Project Management: Surprisingly, most projects don't fail because the project itself was bad. Most fail due to weak project management skills or senior management's lack of support. If you haven't had any formal project management training, find and invest in a good program.
5 Competencies For Being A Great Leader
1. Vision: Great leaders always have an eye on the future. They also have the ability to project to their team an exciting picture of what could and what should be, regardless of how things are in their present state.
2. Results-Oriented: Great leaders are passionate about winning but are truly dedicated to achieving all-win solutions for everyone involved.
3. Decision Making: Great leaders ensure they have all the facts and completely understand their options by weighing all the risks. They also objectively prioritize alternatives that result in decisive action.
4. Management Controls: Great leaders exercise the necessary "management controls" to ensure the integrity of the organization's processes are being followed.
5. Motivations: Great leaders drive business results by aligning the vision, mission, and values to enhance the organization's value. They are also able to enlist the willing cooperation of others while tapping into their highest skills and abilities to achieve desired results.
Summary: Great leaders are challenged with balancing many priorities. You need to have not only a vision for the future but a plan that outlines how you'll get there. Once this is done, it needs to be clearly communicated to everyone so they can prioritize their steps to achieve the group's goals.
If you want to find out more about how Dale Carnegie's® Competency Based Development Solutions can make your business more effective, or need more information on this subject, please send us an e-mail at the address below.
Anita Zinsmeister, President
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central and Southern NJ
(609) 324-9200
success@dalecarnegie.comwww.southjersey.dalecarnegie.com
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