Only 18% of managers demonstrate a high level of talent when managing others. This poor leadership can lead to a negative impact on profits and high employee turnover. If your workforce seems uninspired, it’s time to take a step back and question whether or not you’re leading your company effectively. Here are 6 ways you can focus on becoming a stronger and more effective company leader.
#1: Find A Mentor
For many people, they envision mentorship as a part of the early stages of their career. Perhaps you are actually a mentor yourself at this point, leading another person along the same path that you have already been down.
However, never underestimate how powerful having a mentor can be, even much later in your career. If you don’t currently have a mentor, seek one out. No matter how experienced you are or what high-level position you hold in a company, there is always room for growth. A mentor can help you see situations more clearly and can offer you an objective viewpoint. Too often, when we take on a leadership role we wind up surrounded by people in positions where they do not feel safe offering constructive criticism. A mentor, however, will feel free to provide you with key guidance.
#2: Recognize Your Weaknesses
Every single person on the planet has a weakness — or two. Make sure you know what yours are. When you don’t take the time to see your own flaws and faults, you will wind up crippling your company.
For example, you might be wonderful interacting with people but horrible with organization. This can lead to frustration for employees who are left scrambling to decipher the mess you leave behind. However, if you were to understand this weakness and recognize it for what it is, you could place key people in place to help you stay more organized. This, in turn, will lead to happier employees and prevent resentment.
#3: Let Your Staff Shine
Hire talent and then step back. Too often, a founder of a company struggles to let go of key positions. Perhaps when you began your business you did it all. You ran marketing. You developed products. You handled customer service. Then, when growth occurs and you hire for those positions, you can’t give up the reins.
The problem is that if you hire talented staff and you constantly step over them or linger over their shoulder, you will run the talent right out of your company. Hire good people and then let them do their job. It won’t be easy, but as your business grows you have to learn how to let go of tasks and duties.
#4: Don’t Do All The Talking
When you have a meeting with your team, who does the majority of the talking? While it is important to provide information and inspiration as a leader, make sure you don’t dominate the dialogue at your company. Listening is equally as important as speaking.
Spend time each week hearing what your employees have to say. Your staff is the best litmus test for the health of your company. When you shut down the lines of communication and your staff feels too intimidated to speak up, you will lose out on valuable insights. With the passing of time, too much silence from your staff simply means you aren’t part of the conversation anymore. Your employees are talking, so make sure you are there to listen.
#5: Lead With Strong Ethics
Do your employees view you as a person of integrity? Do you lead your business in an ethical direction? Make sure that you lead the way with a high level of ethics. Your employees are going to follow the example you set. If you cut corners or try to cheat the system, they will do the same.
Not only that, but Deloitte’s recent 2018 study of Millennials in the workforce demonstrates that this bulk percentage of the working populace is seeking out companies to work for that place a high level of importance on social impact. Be sure you set the tone by your leadership role. Make it a point to value ethics and integrity in your business.
#6: Understand Your Employees’ Pain Points
Finally, a good leader knows what struggles their employees are facing. By understanding what is stressing out your team members, you can better lead them. A huge stressor for most is finances. If your employees are struggling to make ends meet, their work is going to suffer. A good leader can see these problems and find creative solutions.
Here at IonTuition, we help leaders like you provide meaningful benefits to your employees. We have created a student loan assistance program that is simple for employers to implement into their benefits package. This program helps alleviate the stress of student loan payments for your employers while offering financial counseling and advice. As an effective leader, providing solutions, such as this, help improve your relationship with your staff. When your employees see that you care about their pain points and offer viable solutions, they will be more willing to follow your lead.
Reach Out For More Information
Are you interested in providing student loan assistance through your company? We make it simple for your employees to opt-in for this benefit. Not only will they be able to receive assistance with their monthly payments, but they will also have access to professional financial advice as well as tools for making their payments on time. Continue to lead your team into the future by offering a forward-thinking benefits program. Reach out today for more information from our team on how to get started with IonTuition.