Leadership
Published: January 15, 2024 | Updated: 31st January 2024
At the beginning of a fresh calendar year, we put pressure on ourselves with all that we plan to achieve and the To Do list can feel overwhelming.
Here are our recommendations to managers around what they could STOP doing in 2024:
Your team need a clear steer and vision but if people don’t deliver what is needed, despite you explaining it repeatedly, stop pushing your energy out and start pulling theirs towards you by asking some simple open questions.
“What do you think I’m expecting by the end of the project?”
“What’s your first step to make it happen?”
“What’s getting in the way of you doing that?”
If we’re falling short in some areas, we need to remedy that, but we need to be just as skilled at spotting things that are working well as we are at noticing the problems or gaps.
The things that are going well are the foundation for our future success. We need to spot them and acknowledge them, ideally through giving individuals specific positive behavioural feedback, so our teams know what we want to see more of. Remember the ideal ratio to encourage high performance is 5:1 (positive feedback versus constructive).
Equity and inclusivity are incredibly important. Often people think this means treating everyone exactly the same way. The opposite can be true. There are numerous occasions where we need to adapt our style or approach to enable an individual to participate or perform at their best. Rather than being a ‘one trick pony’, learn about other leadership styles and how to use them effectively.
This takes up too much of your time and energy and is demoralising for your team. Analyse why you think you need to – is it because of the person’s attitude or because of their level of skill or knowledge?
Work with them on whatever is missing, using buddies, training and coaching as required. Learn how to delegate well and start letting go. If you regularly micromanage, you may need some help from a coach or mentor to break the habit.
In either direction!
If you know your team are unhappy, and perhaps sharing their discontent behind your back, find a constructive (non-defensive) way to address it. Chat to individuals in their regular 1 to 1s about how it’s going, what are they enjoying and what are they finding more challenging or frustrating?
In team meetings, if the group is big enough, break them down into smaller groups to discuss what’s going well and what the current obstacles are to achieving the vision.
Collective reporting back can feel less vulnerable for your team than an individual needing to speak out. To avoid being dismissive, use your coaching skills to ask open questions around how the situation could be improved, what ideas do they have, and how can you all work together to make any necessary changes happen.
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If you want to address any of these points, read through our past Leadership Matters articles on Hampshire Biz News which offer hints and tips on many of these topics. Alternatively, please do get in touch with Alison Craig Coaching.
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