While becoming a leader may seem easy to many people, doing a good job in the role often is not.
It’s relatively easy to moan and whine as an employee, but if your job is to manage the said employee—or a whole bunch of them—you will make sure that they all stay motivated and satisfied at their respective roles, even if you don’t feel so happy about it.
Speaking for myself, I’ve always had the opportunity to work and lead people who are as engaged and supportive as I am. Even here in ProofHub, my team is a group of like-minded professionals with an extraordinary zeal for success.
Sure, not all days are the same. There are days when we have a lot of tension, stress, and despair within the team and I am not so happy with the whole situation. But at the end of the day, I make sure that I restore the right balance for my team.
Wondering how I do that? Well, I have a few leadership hacks that allow me to be a good leader even when I am unhappy with the team at the moment. Here are a few that might interest you.
- Listen carefully
Before I react to an upsetting situation, I get a clear understanding of the deeper cause. For that, I hear out every single team member and demonstrate respect for their point of view.
- Park the cliches
Nothing makes a team more depressing and demotivated than corporate cliches. When talking to my team, I make sure that I don’t use common phrases like “I want this done” or “give me your 110%”. Instead, I focus on having a genuine conversation by sharing real issues and insights.
- Think for the team
Try spinning around the notion that a team works for the manager. My job, as a manager and leader, is to create an environment where my team can deliver the best work. I keep my team well-equipped for the job and make sure that they have all the training they need to accomplish the aspired goal. While you’re at it, invest time in learning how to use the highest-quality data analytics tools on the market. (You can find out more at ThinkBigAnalytics) This will help you make the most of your team’s hard work and identify areas that may need attention.
So, this is my way to lead. What about you? What tips and hacks do you practice to be a good leader? Tell me about it in the comments!
Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organisations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. For more inspirational articles follow him on Linkedin.
Originally published on LinkedIn.com