The New Year is a time for many people to assess where they are, where they want and what they need to change in their daily lives. For leaders, whether they are supervisors, managers, mid-level executives, or senior executives in any field, being more effective is the key to success—both for themselves and for their organization. The New Year is a great time to assess which leadership skills and traits are working and which are inhibiting success. Here are ten of them for your consideration.
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Learning at least ten facts about each of your “direct reports” employees. Take the time to find out more about them, and their lives in and out of the workplace makes them more human and builds respect and rapport between the two of you.
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Micromanage the daily activities of your employees at any level of the organization. Micromanaging decreases productivity, creativity, and motivation. If you give them clear goals and then regularly monitor their achievement of those goals, most employees perform at higher levels.
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Have a direct, face-to-face conversation with your people at all levels of the organization about what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t. The key here is to listen rather than talk. But asking lots of questions is good. While you may not act on every point, problem, or idea, it is important to get a more frontal perspective of what is happening in the organization.
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Putting off writing and giving performance reviews to employees of your direct report at the last minute. Most managers at any level make this mistake. As a people leader, ongoing feedback culminating in a comprehensive and thorough performance appraisal is essential.
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Be sincere with all comments. Don’t say something is good if it’s mediocre. Don’t say that something is adequate if it is poor. Whether it’s a product, presentation, report, announcement, or strategy, being more honest and candid is the right thing to do for you and your organization. Too many people are generous with praise and accept poor work.
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Interact with people via email. Face to face is ideal. If not face to face then by phone. The last resort should be by email. Too many managers at all levels hide behind email instead of dealing directly with their peers, bosses, employees, or even customers. There is nothing like the personal touch for a leader.
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Encourage your people to get more training and education. The natural instinct is to say “no.” You can’t afford to have them out of the office. But more training and education will make them more effective, more creative, and more valuable when on the job. Invest in your people.
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That bogus “rah-rah” kind of initiative of the month show. They waste everyone’s organization time, energy and budget. Understand your vision, your mission and your values. Ensure your goals clearly and quantified. Then focus on energizing your time on what needs to be done to reach those goals.
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Being a true “coach” by making sure to communicate goals and objectives clearly. You should be able to ask any member of your team about their goals and you should get a clear and concise answer, including where they stand on achieving them to date. If they can’t, then you haven’t been clear enough about your goals.
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Accept recognition for yourself. Direct all recognition to your people. The soldiers at the front deserve the medals. Not the pencil pushers behind the desks at Headquarters. When something good happens, make sure the right person is recognized, and immediately.
Being a “boss” is not easy. It really is about being a leader, not a manager, regardless of the title. To be a more effective leader in the New Year, starting and stopping the behaviors and actions outlined above will provide a good fresh start.
