Since the dawn of time, historians, all rulers and philosophers have known the value of effective leadership for the outcome of a project, regardless if it was a battle or a project of any kind. In fact, not much has changed since that time, seeing as how proper leadership has the power to revolutionize a workplace and make any talent work twice as effective. One myth regarding leadership is that it’s a skill you’re born with. In truth, it has more to do with experience, knowledge of interpersonal relationships and several other things that can be acquired. That being said, here are top five secrets to effective employee management.
1. The true meaning of charisma
Word charisma often gets awarded some mythical meaning of an ability to inspire people by merely being somewhere or by getting what you want from people as soon as they meet you. This is simply not true. Charisma is something you can develop by understanding what people need from you as a boss, coworker and a fellow human being. By actively listening, showing genuine interest in their needs and treating everyone with the utmost respect, you’ll become eligible to call yourself a charismatic leader.
2. Team-building
As a leader, you want to be considered a safety net for your employees, yet, from the logistical standpoint, wouldn’t it be easier if they could solve at least some of their problems without your direct involvement? By building teams, encouraging team-building exercises and helping your coworkers achieve a greater level of internal corporate unity, you can do just that. In this way, you’ll create a system in which your employees aren’t afraid to reach out to their coworkers for help, instead of running to the management every time they encounter a minor roadblock.
3. Show how much you value them
The problem with verbally expressing your value to your employees lies in the fact that most of these phrases sound somehow empty and generic when uttered out of context. Telling your employee that you couldn’t do it without them or that they’re an invaluable member of the team is probably something that they’ve heard before, word-by-word. On the other hand, if you’re to follow up these words with a holiday and a co-branded prepaid debit card Hong Kong, that’s another story altogether. This demonstrates that you believe in them so much that you’re willing to commit corporate resources to show gratitude, which raises this entire situation to a whole new level.
4. Lead by example
This one is fairly simple – if you want your employees to stay that extra hour at work, you need to be the first one to do so. If you want people to arrive on time, you need to be the first one in the office every morning. As a leader, you need to be an inspiration to others, not a whip above their head, so try to work twice as hard, even though this isn’t transferable in a 1 to 1 ratio, due to the difference in tasks. Either way, if you don’t show motivation to give your best at work, how can you expect anyone else to do so?
5. Efficient feedback
Just like in the case of praising your employees, positive feedback can sound empty and meaningless, while negative one might sound as an unjustified critique to its recipients. Therefore, you need to learn how to properly break down feedback to your employees. For positive feedback, you should start by breaking down exactly what they’re doing right point by point. As for the negative feedback, you should start by listing all the things they’ve done right and then proceed to list this one remark you have on their performance. In this way, you can offset the negativity a bit and encourage them to accept this feedback as constructive criticism.
Conclusion
With these secrets on your side, employee management will become much easier and your team will become more productive than ever. Aside from productivity boost, your talent retention efforts will maximize, while the office internal unity is to reach its new heights. All of that, for just a bit of extra effort on your side.