Your team is the most important partner in your organisation.
The success of your team enables your success as a leader.
This should never be ignored as your clients’ perception of your business will be directly impacted by the way your team interacts with them.
It is Richard Branson (The Virgin Group) who said :
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first.
If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
Your behaviour towards your team is key to empowering them to such a point that they will become leaders themselves. There is no shortcut to this and it deserves all your attention as a leader.
Photo by Van Tay Media / Unsplash
Some key tips
Don’t direct them, involve them.
Don’t instruct them, educate them.
Never tell them off (especially publicly) but explain to them your expectations.
Always protect them from outside hostility.
You are their defender and as such, you should always take the blows.
Listen to the unspoken messages so you understand how you can best support them by asking the right questions.
Be there for them, listen to their concern, and solve problems together and with time they will elevate as individuals and perform miracles.
Maybe the key thing to always keep in mind is that your team does not work for you.
You work for them.
Your role is to enable them to deliver their full potential to serve your audience as best as possible.
You are there to inspire them to the extent that they will have no alternative but to be the very best they can be. And when these days come, and they will, when performance is lower than usual it will be a sign for you to listen and guide them to aspire to even bigger heights.
Create a culture of trust, joy and happiness within your team. One in which work is only a way to achieve that state of plenitude as an individual but also as a group.
We are all linked to each other, consciously or not. Being aware of that link creates a unique bond from which we do not want to free ourselves.
There is no greater satisfaction as a leader than seeing those around us and your team in particular thrive and grow.
Enjoy the experience and bring your team with you.
We talk more about this in our Leadership Destiny group where leaders share their experiences in view to constantly improve and grow as a result.
See you there.
John Higham