Today, 33 percent of employees don’t want to be bosses, while more than half are happy not climbing the leadership ladder. Many of these employees desire a work-life balance and flexibility over pay or the power of a job title. 2024 Randstad Workmonitor study
Why does this matter? This can hurt the company’s retention, growth, and profitability goals!
Take a moment:
- Think about the worst boss you’ve ever had.
- Now, think about the best boss.
- What was the difference?
Many of you would say the difference was how the best boss applauded their efforts and ideas, while the bad boss was dismissive and negative.
Now, consider bosses are leaders in the company. Leaders influence employees by how they interact with them. Good leadership practices include listening to new ideas, guiding them through challenges, and encouraging them to meet (and exceed) customer demands.
If you are a good leader, employees want to take the initiative required to become leaders. If you are a bad boss or leader, they will only focus on doing their jobs and avoid becoming future bosses or leaders! This will hurt the company’s retention, growth, and profitability!
Create a Positive Influence with Your Employees
- Build Confidence. Point out progress. Focus on only one challenge at a time. Guide progress to overcome inevitable challenges.
- Brag on Them! Share with others about the team’s results and individual accomplishments.
- Be Courteous. Say “Please” and “Thank you.” Ask, “Do you have 5 minutes to talk?”
- Learn from Mistakes. When you help your employees learn from mistakes rather than berating them, their confidence will grow.
- Handle the Politics. Every company has internal politics (aka factionalism, unresolved team conflict, elephants). Protect your employees by stopping gossip, addressing complaints, and dealing with microaggressions. Remember to keep confidential issues confidential!
- Ask Questions. Instead of assuming you already know everything, be open to learning something new!
- Get Both Sides of the Story. When a problem arises, get both sides by asking questions without sounding like an interrogator. Only then will you learn the truth.
- Provide Real Goals. Provide stretch goals instead of just providing tasks camouflaged as goals.
- Be Fair. Don’t have favorites when handing out assignments. Build on team members’ strengths; this builds a stronger, more cohesive, and more agile team.
- Support Personal and Professional Goals. Be a resource and guide to help them achieve both.
- Be Ethical. Show a good work ethic and be the type of leader that is honest. Remember, your employees and current bosses and leaders will mimic you!
- Think Bigger! Be open to thinking beyond the norm and welcome each team member’s ideas. Encourage all team members to take part when brainstorming.
- Trust and Value Them. Allow your team to do their work without being micro-managed. If problems arise (and they will), keep your door open. Trust and encourage them to work with and through others to create viable solutions.
- Use Objective Data to Develop Their Strengths. Using qualified job fit assessments can provide leadership insights that clarify areas where they have natural abilities and how to improve their effectiveness.
©Jeannette Seibly 2021-2024 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.
A note from Jeannette: With over 51 percent of employees not wanting to climb the leadership ladder today, a good boss or leader takes responsibility for changing this mindset. Future leadership that is ready to lead is critical for company retention, revenues, and results. Contact me for a confidential conversation if you want to talk about where to start.
It’s time to unleash your inner leader! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.