The simple truth is that we spend enormous amounts of time looking for the “one” big idea that will push us “over the top,” when in fact the easiest and least costly approach to achieving success is to do many small things better.
In my experience how managers and supervisors treat their people is often the most overlooked but most critical way to achieve success. What follows is far from a complete list of things you can do today; however, all of them will work and there is remarkably little cost to any of them.
Send a small text or email to tell someone you think they are doing a good job. Recognition and acknowledgment cost nothing but being genuinely appreciated shows someone you noticed, you care, and you believe in your people.
Send a small test or email to encourage someone who did not have a good day. Good leaders pay attention, they notice subtle changes in their people, they ask questions and they listen. Letting someone know that you are there for them when they are struggling can make a huge difference when someone feels alone, stuck, or discouraged.
Don’t point out every single mistake especially when the big goals have been completed. A common complaint among workers is that they can do 99 of 100 things well but are never complimented on the 99, only singled out for the 1. Build people by praising publicly and picking the appropriate time privately to correct shortfalls.
Be consistent. A hallmark of great leaders is to be “the calm in a sea of chaos” and leadership is much more difficult if the leader’s style swings widely from one extreme to another. Additionally, define success early and try to avoid having the “goalposts” changing frequently.
Actively and regularly encourage fresh ideas and different perspectives. Good leaders appreciate they do not have a monopoly on good ideas and know that a properly motivated team will succeed more often than an individual who must micro-manage every aspect for their people.
Appreciate you do not have to be the smartest person on your team. A manager often feels they have to be the best, the smartest, and the most capable person … a leader willingly develops and encourages their people to be better, smarter, and more capable than them.
Take the time to say “hello” to everyone on your team every day, and to be interested in their lives professionally and privately. “Hello” and “Thank you” are two very small phrases that good leaders use throughout their days to stay connected and to be seen as approachable.
Allowing people time to attend to family issues with understanding. Good leaders trust their people and appreciate how the pressures and strains of their personal lives can crossover and affect their professional contributions.
Do not monopolize meetings. Meetings should start and end on time, they should always provide value to every participant, and they should be interactive and be more than just you talking.
Actively seek your individual and organizational blind spots. It is an easy trap to assume you and your organization do not have blind spots; however, everyone does. Understanding, encouraging people to challenge the status quo, and appreciating processes should change as environments change is important for every good leader.
Follow the same rules and processes your people do. Having different rules for different people kills morale and only builds resentment. This is especially important in family businesses.
Seniority does not guarantee infallibility. Encourage participation and development of value regardless of the time served, whether from the most junior person or the most senior. Beware of the phrase “we have always done things this way.”
Use first names to build connectivity. I once knew a manager who insisted all of his people refer to him as “Mr. Wilson,” and instead of the respect he wanted, all he gained was resentment from everyone who worked for him.
Demonstrate patience and understand the long game. Hire the best people you can, understand they will make mistakes, know they will require training and seasoning, and by demonstrating patience you will develop your people better and be in a better position to achieve success.
Have integrity in all things you do. The ends never justify the means and honor, principle, and courageousness still have a place in the 21st century. Know that trust is your most valuable asset.
Business success and community responsibility are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps the best disruptive leader I have ever met follows this philosophy and the charity she runs is one of the most successful in Canada because she can bridge both the private and non-profit perspectives.
Stay connected with your front-line people. In an age of CEOs, CFOs, and a widening gap between the salaries earned by top executives and the people executing an organization’s vision; top management can easily become out of touch with what the real priorities of an organization should be.
When you hire good people, listen to their advice. It is not always a bad thing when your key people disagree or voice contrary opinions when they believe the organization is taking the wrong path. Quite often these people have placed the future of the organization ahead of their career, and defensive managers and owners who ignore these contributions risk losing these perspectives and potentially endangering their entire organization.
Communicate your vision and share your frustrations. Protecting your people from bad news or difficult situations only ever makes things worse; if you have good people, trust them to help and contribute ideas and solutions.
At organizational functions, allow yourself to be served last. Waiting until everyone else has been taken care of before taking care of yourself demonstrates how you value your people and your humility.
Be aware of when your people work late. When you have to ask for extra work, do so as early as possible and understand when someone cannot because of family or life commitments. Make sure you set a good example, work with them, and thank them for the extra effort.
Acknowledge and stop what you are doing when asked for help by your people. When one of your people or a group needs your help, they are your priority! Building their faith in you by helping them to grow and develop may be your most important function as a leader.
An organization’s culture begins when you post the job ad. Onboarding is a craft, part science and part art form because how successful your organization is depends on your people. A good way to demonstrate is to be there to greet a new person on their first day and equally important is to be present for an exiting person’s last shift.
Solve problems for customers or your people the way you want to be treated. Empathy and compassion should be the foundation of how you solve problems for anyone. People are not commodities; each person is unique and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect every time.
Do the difficult things. Leaders earn their pay by how they handle normal situations and how they handle unexpected ones and making difficult choices is an important component of earning the respect and trust of your people.
Give your people the tools and training they need. Good leaders anticipate, prepare, and mitigate issues. Good leaders ensure everyone is trained, continuously trained, and provided with the tools required for success.
Own setbacks and share successes. We have all met people who do the opposite, a good leader takes responsibility when things fail themselves, but willingly gives all the credit to their people when the organization succeeds.
This is far from a complete list, but it is a good beginning.
You or anyone in a leadership position can start with any of these suggestions and begin making a difference today. Each of these are simple things that your people will notice and respond to. The costs are minimal and the rewards will make a real difference for your people and for you.
If the secret to success was one thing, everyone would do it. Success doesn’t have to be expensive, but success is hard work, and rather than one thing, success is a thousand little things that combine together in intricate, connected patterns.
Listen, watch, learn, experiment, fail, try again, and build success through and with your people.
Good luck,
Paul.