Here, you’ll find advice on how a good leader can stand out in the employees' eyes and become great. Employ the tips that resonate with you in your daily leadership strategy.
Develop empathy
In the modern world, when leaders fail to build a strong bond with their team, the consequences can be devastating. That's why empathy is a requirement for good leadership, and you must always develop and improve it.
Empathy is an essential component of responsibility. With it, leaders can become connected to how their decisions affect others. A good leader must connect with those for whom they are responsible. Otherwise, they will likely ignore the harm they cause when their interests become more important than the team's.
Provide honest leader-employee feedback
Build trust within the team. Create a common goal, motivation, and expertise among remote workers as well as those working in offices. Strategic meetings, public delegation of authority, and relationship-building are critical ways to establish trust. Identify the most effective communication tools for each purpose. Employ them according to their work format, whether it's online meetings or offline discussions in the office.
Every leader should have people who can provide objective and honest feedback. Asking questions that encourage diverse responses helps. Moreover, the leader himself should know how to give feedback to the team promptly and clearly. So, focus on each person's contribution to the project and show what you value about them.
Don't try to be someone else in the eyes of employees
Maintain transparency to build trust. You can achieve a sense of transparency in three ways: through your feelings, communication with others, and situations that demonstrate the leader's sincerity. Be who you are, with your views, ideas, and intellect. Don't try to copy someone better. It's much more valuable to improve yourself now by comparing yourself to your past.
For example, a well-known politician can be considered an authentic leader due to his dedication, honesty, and service to people. Therefore, be deliberate in your actions. Stay true to your values and prioritize what matters most. Strengthen strong connections with your followers, practice self-discipline, and show empathy.
Remember that leaders eat last
Put your followers' needs above your own, like servant leaders do. Such leaders assume social responsibility. They primarily care about the interests of their followers and make every effort to eliminate injustice. To become a servant leader, learn to listen and empathize. Servant leaders prefer persuasion to coercion and offer followers clear goals and instructions.
One such leader is a hospice priest from Chicago known as "Father John." Instead of comforting patients by talking to them, he allows each patient to speak, which sets him apart. Father John calls such an approach to listening “the art of standing by.” People want to communicate with someone who will listen to them. Our Leaders Eat Last summary can help you become the kind of person who supports, understands, and gives hope for better endeavors.
Focus on quality of work, not quantity of hours
Focus not on quantity but on the quality of work done by employees. Value meaningful work. To do this, define key results, not only material ones but also employees' experiences. Turn them into achievable goals, such as resolving a customer's request or completing a quarterly project.
Remember to set appropriate clear time frames. It's most convenient for both the manager and the employees to have a shared digital platform to track work progress. This synchronizes projects, which contributes to increased productivity and employee satisfaction. Additionally, such a digital platform can serve as a good foundation for planning future work projects and establishing approximate deadlines for completion. If you are interested in finding out more, check out our Rework summary.
Pay attention to facial expressions and gestures
A smile will not only improve your mood but also positively influence the atmosphere of the team. If you smile, you will be perceived as a more friendly colleague from the very beginning. Certainly, when you're feeling down due to a significant personal issue, it's not necessary to bottle up negative emotions. Try to be honest with colleagues, yet within reasonable bounds, and maintain a positive atmosphere.
Always maintain eye contact with the interlocutor. Numerous studies have shown that this stimulates the interlocutor to continue the conversation like nothing else. You can also use hand gestures, such as an open-palm gesture when speaking positively about your colleague or their message.
For more ways to improve your charisma as a leader, check out our summary of The Silent Language of Leaders.
Use time wisely and remember to rest
Don't overwork or spend your weekends working. To be more productive, allocate particular uninterrupted time during the working day to focus on specific goals and adhere to the strategy. Stimulate collaboration in the work process with the team. A good leader should not be solely focused on tasks and deadlines. Otherwise, it damages relationships within the team and health.
Use work time efficiently. For example, to make meetings more productive, follow simple rules. Schedule time and discuss issues with experts in the chosen field rather than abstractly. Stick to the agenda, focus on specific problems, offer practical solutions, and share responsibility.
Following all these recommendations is what makes a good leader great. Don't worry if you feel you're not ready — everything comes with practice. You can learn organizational leadership by working with a team and listening to each other. A true, dedicated team that believes in collective strength and ideas will always support you.
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