LEADING THE WAY
You don’t manage a team as if you’re the only person on the team. Whether you manage a huge corporation, church band or if you’re the captain of a sports team, or even the head waitress at a restaurant, all the same rules and principles apply.
You cannot run a business or a company without human capital. If you have a team of five, everyone on that team should be valued.
Communication is key in any management situation.
You cannot exclude the “little guys” from big decisions. Truth be told, there are no ‘little guys’. You don’t have meetings and make decisions and apply changes with only those who hold fancy titles or with the people in your close circle when those same decisions affect so many other people.
When you start excluding people and start isolating them, you cut off the valuable insight that could grow your business or change your perspective.
That is the thing about being a good manager and a good leader; you need to be able to listen and you also need to be able to admit when you’re wrong.
Just because you are in a leadership position, does not mean you are always right.
Not providing a communicative platform for those who work for you, will be detrimental not only for your business and your team but also for your reputation.
I’ve seen many real-life examples of people who are meant to lead, take the people that they are leading, for granted.
In fact, I’ve been in that situation and it troubles me that it happens so often.
If you are not going to take care of the people who work for you, they will either leave the business, betray you (in extreme cases) or just refuse to deliver excellent work.
But can you imagine what the world would be like if we all pulled our resources and talents together and worked in an environment that was conducive to the ultimate productivity all of us possess?
Can you imagine what we could create?
HUMAN CAPITAL
If you are a leader, CEO, or supervisor of any team or business in any sort of context, even the head of your family, you need to realise that your ultimate capital are the people who work for you, the people you lead, the family you are taking care off and the people who surround you and look up to you.
Do not ignore the people who do not have fancy, high-level titles. Nurture them, speak to them, get to know them, and find out where their strength lie and how you can work together (keyword being “together) in order to use those strengths and talents to the advantage of everyone involved and to the success of your business.
Not everyone has the same personality; you have people who are more outspoken than others, and then you have people who are more sensitive than others or people who do not speak as much, which can make them more susceptible to hurt feelings when being criticised. As a leader, it is your responsibility to nurture and understand how the minds and personalities of those who work for you, work. Meaning, you need to get to know those who work for you.
LISTEN AND LEARN
People become more open to share and discuss ideas when they feel they are being listened to. Don’t immediately shut down ideas when they are being presented. It might not be exactly what you want or what you are looking for but simply dismissing someone’s idea or thoughts, is a recipe for disaster and in simple terms, it’s just rude.
Find creative ways to implement ideas from various people but try and make everyone feel involved. Find ways to help people open up more in a comfortable and safe environment.
Once you’ve established that environment, you’ll find that so many people start enjoying their work and confidence starts building within those very people and when someone has confidence, they become more eager to produce. Give people the space and freedom to believe in themselves.
Bitterness causes friction and favoritism amongst the team members which is a breeding ground for tension and eventual failure.
People want to feel valued. We want to feel and know that we matter and that we are contributing. If we don’t have that, we somehow end up doubting ourselves and question our purpose on this earth.
As a leader, you have the power to make that feeling a reality for so many people. Once you impact one person, it spreads. Before you know it, your legacy has grown and touched people you have never even met.
Use your power wisely and grow more responsible leaders.
Be firm but polite.
Do not enforce, instead encourage.
Nurture your team, grow your capital.