Confidence

5 ways to be a leader your team wants, not the one you think they want

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Leadership is a way of managing your team without exerting authority in a forced way. Your employees will follow you willingly, given that you develop a trustworthy working relationship with them. As motivation can sometimes be challenging to maintain, it is of the utmost importance to be a leader able to inspire your team to remain productive and achieve a common goal.

Leaders are often natural-born. However, you can learn the necessary skills that make a good leader whom people can follow naturally. An important aspect to mention is that leaders and managers are not equivalent. It is a common mistake to use the terms in a similar way. But the difference relays in the fact that leaders have the ability to inspire and influence, while managers are more focused on achieving goals following a strict structure.

5 ways to be a leader your team wants

So, how can you be a leader, lead your team effectively and achieve great results ?

Allow space for change

In any workplace, change is at some point inevitable. Trying to postpone it can interfere with how your business performs, risking getting stuck behind your competitors. For this reason, change should be celebrated rather than avoided.

A good leader will encourage their employees to come up with new ideas and inspire them to aim for innovation. Change can be scary, especially when you are not prepared for it, as the uncertainty that comes with it can make anyone anxious. But with the proper guidance as a leader, you can help with the transition. Change management entails specific methods you need to implement in a company that supports performance. A leader can help their team by communicating the upcoming changes to avoid any misunderstandings and uncertainty. Moreover, they will need to make clear why the change is happening and how it benefits the company and its employees.

Constant communication and a clear strategy will help everyone deal better with change and even give them the confidence to bring new innovative ideas into the team. The business will grow if your employees feel encouraged to use their potential and apply their talents thanks to your forward-thinking approach as a leader.

Communication is vital

Leaders are aware that communication should under no circumstances be underestimated. Creating space for open communication is vital in achieving productivity and earning trust. Only this way can you truly build strong work relationships between you and your employees that enhances motivation. Besides, if you can build rapport with your employees, the team is better equipped to handle any issues or conflicts effectively, without affecting work performance. A way of doing this is by giving them the opportunity to come to you with any matters, personal or professional, and not letting the problem escalate.

On top of this, it is also essential to encourage open communication between them as co-workers. This will allow for efficient teamwork and the confidence to ask questions. Regardless of whether they have to work together or individually, communication supports healthy working relationships that improve the overall environment and positively affect motivation. A leader could set the tone for this by creating communication means either digitally through tools such as Skype or by giving them space to organize team meetings.

Facilitate work with digital tools

Besides digital tools that facilitate communication, there are specific ones that are meant to support productivity and maintain work performance at a high level. For instance, Google Drive tools can create a seamless experience at work by providing file sharing features with no limitation to the file type. What’s more, as you can share documents with your team, anyone can access them and make necessary changes. Regardless of whether your team is working remotely or not, it is essential you use digital tools to facilitate the work and be able to track progress.

What’s more, no matter the work your business focuses on, a PDF is always the preferred file type to share thanks to its layout reliability and the fact that it is compatible with many devices. If, for instance, you need to split a PDF file to extract particular information from a lengthy document, you could use an online PDF tool. You can learn more on this site about how the tool works and discover other features.

An online file sharing tool also gives you the chance to create a timeline of events and upcoming deadlines, as well as an Excel table with the tasks your employees are working on. Leaders can use this to oversee and measure individual and collective performance.

Celebrate achievements

For a leader to lead their team effectively and increase motivation, it is essential to celebrate whenever an employee achieves a milestone and recognize and reward it accordingly. As long as your employees know that their work is appreciated, they will be incentivized to keep performing well. What’s more, they will follow and trust your leadership, given that you are able to communicate what are the requirements of a task accurately. Besides, it is essential you provide information for them to comprehend the big picture and their individual role in it.

Honesty is vital in supporting your team and guiding them towards achievements. This implies that you should be open about both potential risks and rewards that can come with choosing a particular approach at work. This will paint a realistic picture, and your employees will be equipped with the necessary tools to overcome obstacles and achieve goals.

Focus on creating a proper environment

It is highly important not to overlook the need for leisure and fun activities with your team, as it creates a well-balanced work environment. Investing in quality time with your team outside work hours but at a proper time, so you don’t compromise productivity, is necessary. This way, you allow your followers to relax and recharge their energy and come back to work with the firm determination needed to fulfill challenging deadlines.

A leader has the ability to be highly empathetic and understanding yet decisive when the situation needs it. A proper environment is created when leaders encapsulate a combination of being able to make tough decisions while also being empathetic and compassionate to their followers’ needs.

About Business Woman Media

Our women don’t want to settle for anything but the best. They understand that success is a journey involving personal growth, savvy optimism and the tenacity to be the best. We believe in pragmatism, having fun, hard-work and sharing inspiration. LinkedIn

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