By Judith Hirst, Greenbank Partner
Here we take a look back at the many discussions and conversations we had with leaders last year and offer our personal "Top 10 leadership tips for 2012". Some of them may be new, some may fall under the 'common sense but not common practice' category. Either way we hope they prove a useful reminder of things to help you to be successful in the coming year.
Tip 1 - Let your people know who you are and what you stand for as a leader
People don't follow role definitions, they follow real people. We are often told that people want to know who their leader is as a person - not just their role or business goals. So your people want to know about you - what is important to you, what your values are and how you make decisions that will impact them and the business. As part of our leadership programmes we often ask our leaders to make a short 2 minute presentation where they answer these four questions:
- What is your reputation as a leader?
- Who or what has had the greatest influence on your leadership style?
- Why would people follow you?
- What do you still need to learn as a leader?
Think about your own answers to these questions and how you could let your people know who you are as a leader.
Tip 2 - Be a role model for your people and walk the talk
OK we all know this one...it's not what you say that makes the biggest impact it is what you do that convinces people that you mean it. Your people will decide what is really important to you by seeing where you put your time and energy. So if you say that 'the customer is King' what do your people see you doing about it? Are you spending time with customers or in internal meetings? Do you focus on customer service or only bottom line margins?
So at the start of this New Year think about what messages you want to send out to your people - how do you want them to behave and will you be doing to actively demonstrate this so that they know that you are serious.
Tip 3 - Be clear and specific about what excellence looks like
This may sound basic, but again and again leaders told us that they were sometimes disappointed about their people's lack of focus and not delivering the level of performance they needed. When asked about how they let their people know about this, we often hear back "well….they should know…"
From our experience, this simply isn't the case, particularly in organisations where resources are scarce and priorities changing. We often see both sides to situations where leaders are frustrated with performance and their team is unclear exactly what is expected of them but are afraid to ask….
So - if we want excellence from our people we need to be clear and specific about what excellence looks like. You are much more likely to get it!
Tip 4 - Consistently communicate the WHY as well as the WHAT…
"'If you don't tell us what is going on and why, we will just make it up"….Again and again we hear people making this or similar comments. As leaders if we do not take the time to explain both what is happening and why we have made certain decisions then our people will simply fill the information vacuum with their own thoughts and views. As human beings we like to make sense of the world about us and when faced by a lack of clear direction we will 'make up' an explanation which makes sense to us.
Now, this may occasionally be accurate of course but there is a good chance it will be totally off track - with significant consequences if people make wrong decisions or calls.
Tip 5 - Manage your boss as though they are your most important customer
We are occasionally asked to speak to graduates about our top organisation survival tips and this is probably the number one rule we suggest! And it's a rule that become even more important as you develop your career - effective leadership of your boss can be as important as leading your team. Both your own career and current operational effectiveness will often depend on their support. Do you have a plan for the coming year for how to lead your boss and ensure that you have the very best relationship with one another? If not, check out our past article how do I manage my boss
Tip 6 - finally.....remember the reliable and consistent Steady Eddy's
This final tip comes to us not from the leaders with whom we have worked but from their followers!
In your team you will hopefully have some real 'stars' that you want to nurture and develop. Sadly, you may also have some 'problem children' who also take up a lot of your time and energy. However, there is often a majority of the team who consistently and reliably deliver good results with no fuss and hassle.
These 'Steady Eddy's' can all too easily be taken for granted. Perhaps they will never reach the top or set the world alight but they do put the effort in and loyally deliver results for you and your customers. So when you are handing out praise and recognition are you making sure that this group are getting the leadership attention they deserve to make sure that they stay with you and continue to deliver the consistent performance you need? How can you demonstrate that you value there good service and consistent hard work?
