Top Ten Tips For Great Leaders

I saw this infogram on social media – Management Tips for Great Leaders. These are all great, common sense, pointers and we’ve been talking about them, in our books, in our blog posts, and in our videos and presentations. Here’s a quick review.

1.     Share Information.  Communicate the news that you can so minds don’t wander.

·       Communication and getting to the root of the problem is the topic discussed in Chapter 4 of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. Open communication helps reduce conflict in every organization.  We can’t say enough about this.

2.     Say thanks.  People want to feel appreciated! A simple thank-you note doesn’t cost a thing and it makes a huge difference.

·       I think this infogram got this exact line from us. Take a look at our video 9 Must Haves for Small Business Success at https://www.bigbookofhr.com/9-must-haves-for-small-business-success. Saying thanks and letting people know that they are appreciated is one of the most important things a leader can do and the returns are significant.

3.     Empower through delegation.  We know no one can do it as well as you can, BUT you need to delegate to give yourself time to complete tasks more appropriate to your level.

·       Shout out to our friend and colleague Scott Eblin. His book The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success covers this topic in detail. It’s a great read. Along with his latest book Overworked & Overwhelmed – a topic last year in our blog Overworking in America at http://makingpeoplematter.blogspot.com/2015/12/overworking-in-america.html

4.     Adjust your style. You have many different communication styles and personalities on your team. Don’t think that you can manage everyone the same way, and don’t assume that everyone likes to be managed the way you like to be managed.

·       You also have different styles for dealing with conflict and we suggest in Chapter 8 of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook that conflict styles be adjusted to match the situation and the individuals involved.

5.     Set small milestones. If you can’t match last year’s numbers, set milestones that can be reached.

·       No management or business book would be complete without a discussion of SMART goals. Chapter 25 of The Big Book of HR talks about the importance of goals being attainable. If they are not, rethink them.

6.     Have fun. You team likes to enjoy going to work. Play ten minutes.

·       Our blog post from April 9, 2013, Lighten Up http://www.bigbookofhr.com/lighten-up talked about the importance of bringing levity into the workplace. It’s such an important tool for employee retention.

7.     Remove obstacles. Bureaucracy stifles creativity and innovation. Cut down some on the paperwork.

·       Clearing roadblocks is a critical way to Keep Employees Engaged and Excited, the subject of our April 30, 2013 blog http://www.bigbookofhr.com/keeping-employees-engaged-and-excited. Stop demotivating. Review policies and practices that may be getting in the way – they may be outdated. Small changes will excite everyone to do better work.

8.     Give feedback. Your team wants feedback, and it’s crucial in making your team as productive as possible.

·       Chapter 6 of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook is all about setting expectations and giving feedback – letting employees know they are doing a good job. Our blog post from June 6, 2015 The Middle Seat which encourages leaders to get out of “first class” and get to know the people who make their organizations fly. http://makingpeoplematter.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-middle-seat.html

9.     Raise your hand (and your head). When your team sees your extra effort, they are inspired and will follow your lead.

·       Employees, who are not tethered to their devices, will look up and take notice. They may be inspired to lead from wherever they sit in the organization, or as we discuss in Chapter 9 of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook, take responsibility for their own problems. Being visible and aware is the topic of our blog post Situational Awareness, on May 20, 2014. Read more at  http://www.bigbookofhr.com/situational-awareness

10.  Focus your time. Focus the majority of your time on the 20% of your team and projects that generate 80% of the results.

·         Well, if not focusing your time – which is great advice, we do talk a lot about focus in The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. Chapter 6 emphasizes the importance of focusing on interest and not positions in conflict resolution. Just as critical is the message to focus on the problem and not the people involved in the problem.

Conflict: What’s Change Got To Do With It?

Just about everything is new at work these days – shifts in the world economy, different skills, new technologies – the list is endless. These changes have the potential for creating conflict in the workplace. The interesting thing about change – we each choose how to approach it.  Different people respond to major changes in different ways.

·       The innovators/change agents, people who embrace change as an opportunity, seeking answers to questions, looking for ways to move change forward and easily adapting. Approximately 20% of employees fall into this category. They are often the first ones to get involved and may end up leading the change effort.

·       The pragmatics who take a wait-and-see approach.  They do whatever is possible to stay out of site and out of harm's way, keeping quiet and waiting to see who wins. Pragmatic so withhold their sponsorship and energy.  Approximately half of the employees are pragmatics.

·       The skeptics/traditionalists are the ones who resist change, actively or passively, and the significantly affect the organization's ability to move forward. They have a huge impact on morale. Approximately 30% of an organization's employees are skeptics.

Helping employees understand their response towards change helps frame their actions. While change is often uncomfortable, it can also bring a whole new energy level to the organization. As soon as everyone gets on board with the change, things can happen that move the group/team/department forward. The challenge – getting through the change and conflicts to get to the other side! Managers must be on the lookout for conflicts to ensure these conflicts positively drive the changes the organization is seeking.

When people are open to the possibilities that the change may bring, and they believe they share some of the responsibility for making change successful, they will select observable data, draw conclusions, and take action to support the change.

However, if people are not sure what is happening, and do not feel responsible for the outcome, they will select data that reinforces their belief leading to actions that actively or passively resist the change.

Everyone, even the innovators, needs to understand how the change will affect them. They need to know where they fit. For example,

·         What are the business drivers?

·         What are the job expectations? Have they changed?

·         How have roles and responsibilities changed?

Navigating change is similar to experienced river guides approaching whitewater. They rely on their experiences but are prepared for the unexpected, like the appearance of previously submerged rocks. Based on their experience, they know how to approach difficult sections of the river, have the tools and techniques to guide their rafts and work with the water's movement and dynamics.

What can leaders do to support employees during periods of major change?

·         Provide them with honest feedback.

·         Help them find answers to their questions.

·         Be clear in communicating expectations.

·         Encourage them to connect, inquire, and perform. In other words, take positive action.

·         Actively listen to what’s being said

·         Understand the root causes of resistance

Change will occur in your organization. It’s so important that we devoted a chapter to it – What’s New At Work? – in The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. The steps that you take to mitigate the effects of that change will determine the number and types of conflict that occur, and whether conflict is a constructive or destructive force for your organization.