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Strong Leaders Know How to Serve Their Team

Strong Leaders Know How to Serve Their Team

Traditional leadership and servant leadership are different. A traditional leader exists to sit at the top of the pyramid and hand orders down the line. A servant leader flips the pyramid upside down by sharing their power with the team. They put the needs of the team above their own so that everyone on the team can advance.

Characteristics of a Bad Leader

You’ve no doubt had a bad leader. There are certain characteristics that these types of leaders exhibit. For example, a bad leader gives the answer, “I’m the boss, that’s why” as the only reason for making a change. A servant leader would never say that.

Other things that a bad leader tends to do is play favorites. They obviously give preference to certain people on the team. Also, they will tell you that their door is always open, but it never seems like they are available to you.

Characteristics of Servant Leaders

On the flip side, servant leaders are counter-cultural to the stereotypical boss type. These men and women spend their time finding ways to take care of the team through servanthood.

Some of the characteristics of a servant leader include:

  • Readily listening to the ideas of others
  • Be a team player
  • Lead by example
  • Follow through with the things they say

These leaders are inspirational to the team and have a greater ability to partner with them. More is accomplished when teams work together with a leader that comes alongside them and gets in the trenches.

Servant Leaders Make it a Priority to Have an Open Door Policy

Probably one of the things that is most important for servant leaders is to have a “door is always open” policy. So many people will say that this is the case, but the team can’t get face time with them. When a leader actually makes it a priority to talk to those under them, they will know how to serve them better.

If you are a leader, strive to be a servant to others. That is the best way to run a company and be successful.

We would love to hear your comments. Please email or call today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

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A Simple Tip to Improve Your Performance Management

A Simple Tip to Improve Your Performance Management

A Simple Tip to Improve Your Performance ManagementAs a leader, you are in charge of many aspects of the job such as communication, strategies, management and more. But, there’s one area where leaders often fail. Unfortunately, these mistakes cost them great employees.

Employees Want to Feel Appreciated

The simple tip to improve the performance from your team is this- appreciation. They want to hear that you are happy with their performance and results. Of course, this needs to be genuine thanks about their work and what they accomplish.

How to Show Appreciation to Your Employees

If you google performance management, you’ll come up with the 4 basic steps you need to take for a successful performance management cycle.

These steps include planning, action, monitoring, and reviewing the employees.

What you likely won’t read, is how you can use these steps to show true appreciation to your team.

Planning

The planning or goal- setting phase is a perfect time to sit down with your employee and have a heartfelt conversation with them about how you believe in them. You can easily point to their strengths and qualities that you know will help them with the task. It’s powerful when someone believes in you.

Action

When you get your employees set in motion, you need to be consistent with checking in on them. Many people complain that they only hear from their managers at the start and end of a project. Everyone needs someone on the sidelines cheering them on.

Monitoring

The monitoring phase is not a time to micromanage the employees. Rather, it is a time to give them the ability to reach out to you and share what’s going on. During these conversations, you can take the time to reward their progress. Rewarding along the way helps them push through and keep moving forward.

Reviewing

Once the project is completed, the reviewing phase is a good time to go over how things were handled during the project. You can use this time to assess how well they did during certain parts of the process. Of course, it is also a time to share how they can improve on future projects.

When you realize how important it is to show your employees they are appreciated, it will make a big difference in their satisfaction and retention.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

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What Development Goal Is Right for You?

What Development Goal Is Right for You?

Throughout professional careers, time is often spent focusing on helping others whether it be clients, supervisors, or fellow colleagues and this is time-consuming throughout the years. This is the perfect time to stop and reflect on where you are professionally and what you can do to brush up on your professional skills.

How To Further Develop Your Career

The biggest question every professional asks is what can be done to ensure that they remain up to date with technology and innovations in their field. The answer to this is certifications, licensing, recertifying licensures, or even endorsements that advance and promote professionals skills within the field and areas in which you are employed or hope to pursue employment.

A professional certification can help improve your work skills, knowledge, and competencies in the workplace to have an improved overall effect that is noticeable in your output. There will also be a difference in your understanding of policies and procedures which may enable you to be more proficient and conscious of how decisions affect the business as a whole.

These new skills will help you attain and retain more clients due to improved skills and competencies in the profession you are in.

How To Work Smarter Not Harder

When deciding if credentialing or licenses are the right decision for your career researching how they will help your specific situation and focus in your career is a wise decision. You should consider what are your company’s overall goals and do your wants and needs to match those goals. If your goals are compatible your employer may offer aid in attaining those licenses seeing as there will be an increase in skill and productivity.

The determination of whether the license or certification is right for you based on time, effort, and monetary expense needed before pursuing it fully should be considered fully. If it would help you but you are not able to dedicate the time and monetary amounts needed then it would not help professionally in the end but instead would cause harm and distress. This could cause distraction and decreased attention while in the workplace which could cause negative results and ramifications.

Developing Your Career

Once you have decided upon a certification or licensure to further your professional development goals setting up your time management process to ensure completion is the next step of the process. This will ensure that you complete the process in a timely manner and are able to begin seeing and using the benefits that come from advancing and developing your career further. Due to seeking further education and career development you may find more professional satisfaction in the workplace or other such positive benefits.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

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Developing The Next Generation Of Leaders

Developing The Next Generation Of Leaders

One of the most important roles of senior executives is to develop the company’s future leadership. The groups of leaders that can help take the company to the next level.

Even with the current economy, there is a surge of “baby boomers” retiring and it is resulting in a shortage of leaders. This shortage of leadership comes at a time of rapid change. With globalization, the volatile economy, technology changes, and the increased demands of stakeholders, leadership is vital to not only succeed but also, in some cases, just to survive.

Most often it is less expensive to reach within the company’s workforce for this future leadership than it is to hire from the outside. Developing the leadership skills necessary for leading your company into the future needs to be a part of the company culture.

In house ongoing training programs to develop these skills for your high potential employees should include; assessments, communication training, leadership skills development programs, mentoring, management training, coaching, and goal setting.

Assessments: Use assessments and profiles to identify behaviors, motivators, competencies, emotional intelligences, and acumen. Once identified via assessments, we can better understand the how, why, will, and potential of your employees. Assessments are great tools for selection, retention, development, and putting people in the correct positions within your company.

Communication training: Open communication helps create trust and allows everyone to know what needs to be done, where the company is going, what part they play in the company’s success, and to eliminate any hidden agendas. DISC assessment training is a powerful communication tool that will open the door to effective communication.

Leadership development skills: Identifying the current skills of each person, their strengths & weaknesses, and creating a multi session program to develop and enhance the needed skills and then aligning with the company’s mission, goals, and direction.

Mentoring: A mentor is more than an advisor. A mentor will get you up to speed faster and more efficiently than you can by yourself or through trial and error. A mentor will help you understand how the company works and provide you with wisdom, knowledge, support, respect, skills, and coaching. Your mentoring program should be between a high performing veteran and high-potential leader.

Coaching: Similar to mentoring as to offer guidance & advice. A coach will help to keep you on track with a specific goal or desired result. A coach will help you identify personal & professional strengths & areas for improvement. Your coach will challenge the status quo and help you find answers to facilitate growth and to discover possible new ways of doing things. The most effective coaching is performed by an outside professional who is highly trained in the art of coaching and can help the future leader meet specific goals in a specific period while aligning with the company’s vision & values.

Management training: Prepare managers on how to develop skills and style to be more effective in building and directing their subordinates to higher levels of performance within a focused work environment. This important role often goes untrained yet it is vital to inspire, motivate, and help your team thrive within the company.

Goal setting: Teaching future leaders the art of goal setting and goal achievement is paramount. Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-targeted (S.M.A.R.T.) goals. By making sure each goal meets these criteria, you provide a clear expectation of progress and performance. Having participants involved in the goal setting process will increase commitment of the expected outcome and help them understand how the goals align with the overall company’s goals.

Having a formalized leadership development program in place can help in the retention of top talent as well as attract top talent to your company. Giving you the edge over your competition.

If you have any questions about this article, or about how we can help in creating a highly engaged workforce, contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.