In our last article “Are great leaders born or is leadership a role you can learn?” we discussed the relevance of leadership training in creating unique team mangers. In this article, we look at the milestone areas you need to concentrate on to hone your leadership skills.
The Ability to Motivate, Instill Passion and Act as A Role Model
Without respect from your team, you have nothing but a constant rumble of a coming storm. Therefore, you not only need to make the difficult decisions but you need to be seen to make the difficult decisions too. You do not have to explain yourself, but the individuals in your team need to understand their place in the corporate machinery.
If you are just handing out random orders because you have the power to – you will soon lose respect. As well as explaining the course you are making and making the employee part of the decision making make sure that you understand the tasks and willing and ready to take part in the tasks too.
Don’t be the manager who keeps all managerial information under his hat and barks orders to those on the coalface who will need to put activities into action. As far as possible involve your team in the reasons why activities need to take place. Go one step further-employ the team to take an active part in how those activities will take place.
The Ability to Build Teams and Create Team Cohesion
With leadership comes power. Insecure leaders, trying to validate their own position and instill control and growth and effective processes by fear and repression, tends to lead to highlight and exacerbate the line between employer and employee – it leads to team fragmentation and causes resentment to management. To foster a passion for the common aim, the skilled leader will understand that the development of the individual needs to go hand in hand with the corporate mission. To maximise output and create an acceptable work environment there needs to be great teamwork.
To do this, the skilled leader needs to see each employee as an individual rather than a job role. Facilitate away days and team building days where the team are concentrating on themselves and can have fun, rather than the goal of the company. Create systems which are clearly about the development of each employee. An open-door system can help a manager catch team squabbles at an early stage (see confrontation below). A presence within the work environment will aid employee relations and allow for support.
To Be Able to Deal with Conflict Constructively Both for The Company and The Individual
Dealing with conflict is not easy in any walk of life, but there are clear strategies to successful mediation meetings. The first thing to remember is you need to take emotion out of the equation. This can be tough when you have got to know your team members personally. But you need to begin the mediation understanding what each person’s objective solution is. From this standpoint, you have a chance of creating a win-win situation. Use the conflict situation as a springboard for learning and development rather than winners, losers and punishment.
Excellent Communication and People Skills
It is a sad fact that the people who consider themselves great communicators are often the worst. This is because good communication always begins with good listening. It is about having a real interest in the development of the people who are working for you. There needs to be an exchange of ideas rather than pounding your own ideas and orders. This can sometimes be quite a big change for some managers in how they interact with their employers – it is a learning process. Basic counselling courses can be very effective in nurturing these skills.
The Ability to Delegate
Delegation can be difficult for those who feel insecure about letting a task go, it is also fundamental to good leadership. If you find difficulty – do it in easy chunks or stages. It may be easier at first to shadow the employee who will be taking over your work. Structure a monitoring session with a real timescale where at the end you will completely take a back seat. Use an open-door policy to allow the individual to come to you in times of difficulty and be ready to create training days on the more complex tasks.
Envision and Affirm Shared Values and Goals with The Team
When employees carry out tasks by rote – simply because it is the next job on a list – it is unlikely they will be motivated by anything else but the pay check at the end of the week. To create loyalty to the company, enhance quality of work and dedication to the task in hand, employees need to understand the goals and values of the parent company. They need to feel almost part of a “family”. As well as facilitating fun days and team days keep the team informed as to how they are affecting overall company goals. Create company systems whereby individuals are rewarded by the company for hard work. As far as possible keep your team informed of changes being cascaded down from management and why they are happening.
Are you looking for employment in the Asian food industry? Please visit our vacancies page
Are you looking for employment in the Asian Food industry? Please visit our vacancies pagePeak Recruitment is the leading recruitment agency in Thailand. A human resource specialist, our pioneering methodology and commitment to deliver exemplary services has placed us first for executive recruitment in Bangkok. As a team, we offer a distinctive approach that you just won’t find anywhere else in Thailand. For contact information click here