You’ve reached your personal goal and received the leadership position you worked so hard for. Now what? Logistically you know what to do. But how can you ensure your success in this position? What can you do regularly to effectively lead your team or organization? Below are five habits for you to include in your daily routine that will raise you and your company’s level of success.
1. Publicly Praise Employees
Many leaders and employees are trained to believe that hard work and effective outputs are standard procedures. There’s no need to applaud someone for meeting the standard. However, a verbal high-five in a staff meeting that recognizes employees for doing good work increases work productivity by 30 percent. One CEO even opens his weekly meetings with a simple question: “Who got caught being awesome?” His team then has an opportunity to publicly recognize individuals who displayed outstanding work, service, or mentorship.
2. Establish a Clear Roadmap
Creating clear expectations propels your team towards achieving a specific goal. Effective communication is paramount to keeping your team on the same page and when everyone is clear on their responsibilities, everyday tasks, and the direction your company is headed, employees can go above and beyond. Ensure there is no wasted time wondering what to do next, by laying out clear daily goals and expectations.
3. Capture—And Use—Feedback
Manage the pulse of your employees regularly so that you can troubleshoot, encourage, and inspire before it’s too late. Disgruntled employees decrease productivity and innovation and it won’t be long before you find yourself replacing and training a new employee. Employee retention and employee satisfaction are two necessities for expansion. So, find out how your employees are doing, where they see issues, and how you can support them. By actively listening and making necessary adjustments, you’ll effectively lead your team towards a brighter future.
4. Stay Curious
“Leaders are readers” is more than an inspirational poster in a school classroom. It’s a daily habit of the most successful leaders. The content that you consume is less important than the resolve to make reading non-negotiable. Reading leadership books or articles that discuss your industry can challenge you to adopt different behaviors or increase your understanding that inevitably improves your organizations. Reading memoirs or novels increases your empathy and emotional intelligence, causing you to lead better and interact with others more effectively. Daily reading produces insight and innovation, promotes creativity, reduces stress, and increases your communication skills. Learning more about yourself, others, your industry, and the success of other fields deepen your intelligence in ways no other activity can.
5. Walk Around
Make it a daily habit to walk around the office. This simple form of exercise is a great way to break up your day, stimulate your mind, and sustain your energy. However, it’s more than an act of self-care, it’s an exercise in intentionality. Take time each day to engage with employees in every department. Meet new people by informally dropping in—not to check-up on your employees, but to check-in. This makes you more grounded and approachable. Employees respect authentic leaders. By walking around the office, stopping to genuinely talk with men and women in all areas of your organization is a simple way to get to know your frontline workers and let them get to know you.
For more tools on establishing healthy leadership habits, contact us at Front Line Leadership. We offer practical in-person and online training programs that will reduce conflict, improve employee performance, and enhance team effectiveness.