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Finding the answers to these weighty
questions must begin with self-
examination but then be tested by seeking outside
perspective - discovering who we are in the eyes of
others. Let your employees hold up
the mirror and you may be surprised by what you
see. Blind spots are our stumbling blocks, our
bad habits that hold us back from being the kind of
leader we aspire to be. Resolve to take a risk this
year
and learn
how to lead from the ones who matter most – those
following you.
There are many ways to help your
employees
open up and share their insight, some more
formal like employee surveys, and some
informal like an end-of-year leadership performance
review. Yes, you read right, it's time to
give your employee's a turn to review your
performance and provide written and verbal feedback
on your key leadership competencies.
Consider
the following behaviors that crush leadership
credibility
and employee
motivation (trends uncovered through employee
focus groups and
surveys across industries and levels):
Lack of
direct
feedback Telling others around the person
or saying nothing
at
all. Common employee complaint: “You can tell
they are unhappy with me but won’t talk to me
directly about it”
Solitary decision
making Making decisions that impact
others
without soliciting their feedback. Common employee
complaint: “This directly affected my job but yet
they didn’t think it was important to ask me what I
think”
Talking
out of
both sides of your mouth Being
hypocritical, contradictory or overly political.
Common employee complaint: “Mixed
messages”
Forgetfulness
Forgetting conversations and instructions given.
Poor listening skills. Common employee complaint:
“I have to take notes just to be sure I can prove
later we had this conversation”
Unpredictable/ Reactive
Crisis mentality, often adopting the reactions of
others. Common employee complaint: “We’re
headed one direction today, we’ll be headed the
opposite direction tomorrow”
Fairweather boss
A fan one minute, a critic the next. Common
employee complaint: “You have their support
until it becomes unpopular”
Unrealistic or assumed
expectations
Expecting others to possess the same work ethic or
assuming unspoken expectations will be met.
Common employee complaint: “I failed at
something I didn’t even know I was being evaluated
on and never got the chance to discuss it”
Not
understanding their
employee’s jobs Assuming credibility can
be earned without understanding the innerworkings
of the team. Common employee complaint: “If
they had any idea what we do they would make
better decisions instead of making our jobs
harder”
Breaking
promises/ poor
follow through Unreliability in all its ugly
incarnations. Common
employee complaint: “They hold us accountable
but when it comes to them there always are
exceptions and excuses. ”
Leadership behaviors that build credibility and
employee motivation:
Getting
your hands dirty; working WITH them
Assuming the best and delaying
judgment
Reliability in word and deed
Soliciting their input in
brainstorming and
problem solving
Challenging them to think outside
their job
description
Taking a genuine interest in
employees as
individuals
Delegating learning opportunities
not just
problems
Laughing at yourself and fessing
up when you blow it
Encouraging creativity
Giving others the freedom to “fail
forward”
Operating from a hope of success
rather
than a fear of failure
Asking “how am I
doing?”
You can make great strides
in the coming year toward becoming the kind of
leader you most admire. The first step is moving
out of your comfort zone and asking for feedback on
how others see you modeling these behaviors.
Learning about how others perceive you will reveal
ways you can be more effective and is surprisingly
liberating.
To learn more about how
Penumbra
Group can assist you in achieving your leadership and
employee development goals, please visit our website
at www.penumbra.com.
Wishing you a
happy, healthy, and successful new year!
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