Most people want to be known as great at what they do. Greatness inspires athletes, artists, actors, innovators, and businesspeople. A desire to be great motivates us to work harder, to keep learning, and to keep practicing. We want to hone our skills and be recognized for the work we produce. Rather than emphasizing your own greatness, a great leader cultivates a work environment so the entire team can be great. When everyone is striving towards greatness in their lane, the organization as a whole will flourish. Your employees will be more satisfied and more efficient, you’ll produce higher quality products and processes, and stand out as a company known for excellence. By implementing the following practices, you’ll develop a culture where greatness is not only pursued—it’s achieved.
Regularly Debrief
Debrief after a setback to determine what went wrong and how you can prevent the same issues from happening again. Debrief after you hit a milestone to learn what processes worked and which people contributed to the success. Celebrate a win together and recognize the hard work from your team. Give everyone space to freely share their thoughts and determine what you will practice to achieve your goals and avoid setbacks.
Don’t Punish Your People
Mistakes happen. The road to success is marked by failure. And in most cases, failure is the best teacher. You may need to set aside a private conversation to go over the mistake with specific employees, but they should not feel berated for their mistake. Sometimes mistakes are the catalyst to innovation. When your employees are not afraid if something goes wrong, they will be free to grow.
Take Responsibility for Your Team
As a leader, you need to be held accountable for your team. Their mistake is your mistake. Make sure team leaders and supervisors understand that they will be accountable for the tasks they oversee. This will encourage leaders throughout the organization to be more present, more available, and more engaged with the people on their team. This will also encourage leaders to give their team members license to evaluate a task or process and take initiative to fix a problem.
At Front Line Leadership, our programs are designed to make your organization great by training leaders, managers, and supervisors to lead their teams toward greatness. Give your leadership the tools they need to increase communication, enhance team engagement and job satisfaction, reduce conflict, and provide effective feedback. Take your organization to the next level by scheduling an in-person or online leadership training course today.