Here are a few of my thoughts about leaders and the positive influence they can have on their employees.
Lead, don’t lord
A real leader leads. People generally react better when they are led and not driven. The changing work environment has produced a more equal educational and experience level of employees who really want to take ownership in their work and following a challenging vision. When you lord over your employees, expect them to leave.
Collaborate, don’t elaborate
A real leader understands the importance of true collaboration. True collaboration involves the experience and expertise of the entire team. When the leader just elaborates on what he or she knows or wants to happen, collaboration dies and so does any expectation of future involvement from the team in a so-called collaborative environment. When you elaborate and fail to collaborate, expect your employees to have less investment in the final product and less “buy in” to any decisions.
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Trust, don’t doubt
A real leader builds trust with employees. If you cannot trust your leader, then you should find new ones you can trust. However, the opposite is just as true. If employees cannot trust their leader, you can expect them to never be as transparent as they could or should. Trust is built on the foundation of integrity, and a leader who fails to display integrity will also fail to build trust. Employees leave employers who lack integrity.
Teach, don’t expect
A real leader understands the importance of teaching employees rather than expecting performance without any instruction or guidance. The number one reason employees fail to do what is required is because they actually do not know what is required. A leader who does not teach is a leader who will eventually have to replace great talent with mediocre talent. Great talent enjoys being challenged with new ideas and thoughts, while mediocre talent is satisfied to continue being mediocre.
Encourage, don’t dishearten
A real leader is an encourager. There are days when each employee needs encouraging. Encouraging leadership is necessary to help motivate your employees and also show them you actually personally care about them. Too often, employees lead by discouragement. They punish, discipline, and threaten their employees to try and motivate them toward success. Punishment never produces the kind of success that encouragement produces. When a leader personally encourages an employee, that employee will almost do anything for that leader. There’s nothing like an encouraging leader. A leader who always discourages will have employees who mimic that behavior with each other and it will become a disease that spreads throughout the organization. Leaders who are successful are encouraging leaders.
Help, don’t hurt
A real leader strives to help employees advance in their careers. A career path is very important to employees, but sometimes not so important to the leader. Leaders are often, to a fault, more concerned about their own advancement than the advancement of their team. Leaders often fail to realize that they become more successful when their teams become more successful. When employees feel their leaders aren’t interested in helping them in their careers, they will eventually leave.
Connect, don’t divide
A real leader works hard to make sure the team connects with one another and the leader. There is something about teams who work together for long periods of time. The longer a team works together, and the more constructive time they spend with each other, the better the team functions. Teams do not connect just by spending time together. Teams connect by spending purposeful and thought-challenging time together.
Be Visible, not invisible
A real leader is visible and accessible. Many leaders fail because of their absence and inaccessibility. A leader who becomes invisible fails to lead. There is no such thing as an effective absentee leader. An absentee leader leads no one. A leader must be present to effectively institute change and continue to reinforce the vision of the company.
Show Fallibility, not perfection
A real leader is not concerned about protecting his or her image before employees. It is important for employees to see their leaders as real people with real strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of how a leader acts, they still have weaknesses. If employees see their leaders as sheltered and not transparent, the free flow of ideas is discouraged and conversations are surface level only. There are no perfect people. There are no perfect leaders.
Be Reliable, not unpredictable
A real leader is reliable. There is nothing worse than working for an employer who is unpredictable. If your leader is unpredictable, it is like working in the middle of the ocean waiting for the sharks to bite. You don’t know when it will happen, but there’s a good chance it will!