Improving on leadership skills is a process of committing to constant, daily improvement of those skills. In today’s fast and complex business world, being a strong business leader couldn’t be any more necessary. With the constant changes in demands and business trends, it can be easy to overlook the needs of your team.
As you take the time to assess where the team(s) you currently lead are at on the leadership scale, here are six methods to help you build a strong team of leaders.
No More Micromanaging
Micromanaging can be a destructive habit, especially when left unchecked. Many leaders who micromanage often play down their habit by labeling it as a control freak issue. The common denominator for most leaders who carry the burden of this habit is that the company is their baby that they’ve built something from nothing.
While building up a company from scratch to a high-growth business is respectable, micromanaging your team is more damaging than you realize. To help you see the bigger picture here, managers are the professionals you hire to manage tasks and processes, whereas, leaders such as yourself lead the way, inspire their team, and steer the ship.
Without the crew and having all hands on deck, your ship will sail into troubled waters, as will your company. Let your managers keep the tasks on track so you can be the effective leader your team needs to reach your company’s desired outcome.
Learn From Leaders in the Field
When it comes to being an effective business leader, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Many companies have been known for building incredibly strong company cultures and leadership teams. Zappos is considered a leader in HR management around the world. It’s worth taking the time to learn how they’ve become such a powerhouse in the HR world and see what you can glean from their management set up, and implement what you think will help build the right company culture for your business.
Keeping Employees Happy
It’s no secret that happy employees are known to be more productive. Having a happy team really begins with the culture you as a leader create for them. Being a better leader in this area can include practices such as setting clear and proper expectations, making each member feel like they are valued, coaching or mentoring them on personal and professional development, as well as trusting them and keeping them involved.
Employees want to feel like they are part of the bigger picture. If you want to become a better leader, give them a picture and inspire them to reach your desired outcome as a team by genuinely making them feel like you cannot do it without them. The truth is, you really cannot reach your company’s goals without any of your team members.
Focus on Changing the One Person You Can Change
Leaders aren’t necessarily born, they are more usually made. If you feel as though there’s a disconnect between yourself and your team on the leadership front, then focus on changing the one person you can change – yourself. Here are some things to consider when it comes to improving yourself as a business leader:
- Self-awareness. Internal self-awareness can help you understand your values, your belief systems, and emotions. This is what makes up your internal narrative. External awareness is evaluating how your actions, words, or the lack thereof could be affecting others.
- Personal Accountability. Taking responsibility for your actions and building a culture that includes this practice requires an example from you, the leader.
- Be action-oriented. When something doesn’t go right, take action instead of complaining or blaming. When your team sees you working under fire to fix a problem, it will inspire them to get to work alongside you.
Build a Team of Individual Leaders
One thing many leaders fail to recognize is the fact that their team is a team of individual leaders in the making. They already have unique strengths and talents with the potential to create and improve on them. Earlier, it was mentioned that it was important that you make your team members feel valued, which is an essential aspect of creating leaders.
You can do this by valuing what your individual team members bring to the table, and trusting their expertise and opinions. You can mentor them and build relationships to help team members realize their own value while promoting a culture of achieving milestones together through collaboration and inclusion.
Remember, as a true leader it isn’t about you, it’s about the people around you that will inspire you and help you to continue moving forward to reach your desired outcomes and overall success. Your team is your greatest asset in your organization.
Celebrate Team Success
When you reach major milestones together as a team, it feels good to celebrate. This is not a common practice in business, but it definitely should be. Having a team lunch or dinner, or another simple gathering to celebrate your recent success will continue to feed on your team’s happiness and excitement to be part of your company’s overall mission and goals.
If you want to improve your team’s leadership, remember it begins with you and your example. It also includes creating an ideal environment for growth, productivity, and creativity. The best thing you can do as a business leader is to focus on the individuals that make up your team and give them the best possible version of yourself each and every day. It is not about perfection, it is about committing to a process of constant and never-ending improvement, together.
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