8 Tips for How to Be a Good Leader to Employees
A company can only be as good as its leadership. If those calling the shots aren’t engaged and connected with the bottom line, employees (and the organization as a whole) won’t be able to thrive. If you’re in charge of others in your workplace, you must know how to be a good team leader and effective manager.
Here are some to-dos you should prioritize as you strive to be the best leader to your team.
1. Focus on Your Team Members’ Strengths
Gallup found companies that focused on developing employees’ strengths experienced better customer engagement, sales, and profits.
When employees know leaders will reward their strengths, they feel more empowered to do their best work and focus on what they can contribute most. And when leaders recognize employee strengths, employees are more likely to be engaged and have a more positive view of their workplace.
So, pay attention to where your team members are doing well, and help them consistently improve those strengths.
2. Always Find the Silver Lining
Projects won’t always go as planned; things won’t always get done as smoothly as you’d like. That’s just reality sometimes in a team environment. However, you can help keep morale high and avoid making negative situations worse by focusing on the good.
The research supports this. For example, Harvard Business Review had employees write for 5-10 minutes a day about events that had gone “really well” at work and why they went well. After three weeks, employees’ stress levels and mental and physical complaints were down.
Be a good leader by focusing on the positives over the negatives. You’ll be able to think more clearly about the issue and what will move your team forward.
3. Keep Communication Open and Honest
Effective leadership is about honesty and transparency between managers and team members. In other words, employees should feel comfortable bringing problems or concerns to you. Make sure your employees feel like you’re all on the same team — because you are.
4. Be Direct with Employee Feedback
Open communication includes feedback. Reward the positive, but also be direct and honest when providing feedback or criticism. That way, team members will understand where they need to improve and, most importantly, how they can improve.
5. Invest Time and Attention into Your Team
Good leaders see their team as more than just employees. They take the time to connect with each person, learn more about their interests, needs, and habits, and establish a working relationship. Compassion, empathy, and accountability are essential traits for a good leader to have towards employees.
6. Practice What You Preach
Don’t forget to turn the finger back on yourself as you guide your employees. Make sure you match what you’re demanding from your organization or team.
7. Make Sure Your Expectations Are Clear
Keep your employees up-to-date on what’s expected of them. Projects, goals, and priorities can change quickly in a workplace, especially in a fast-paced environment. But as the leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure employees know the most current vision. It’s also a good idea to communicate how work goals impact the overall company.
8. Know Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses
Knowing how to be a good leader to your employees is about you and them. You can’t be as effective as possible without knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.
Recognize what zaps your energy as much as what motivates you. And as you add people to your time, pay attention to employee strengths that will complement and improve your weaknesses — and vice versa.
Besides knowing how to be a good leader, you must know how to seek out the best employees for your organization. For recruitment services designed to attract the most qualified candidates, contact AMG Recruitment today.
