One trait all businesses share in common – whether they sell a product or service – is the drive for growth. The potential a business has to grow is not only tied to market demand, but also to how the company manages and develops the strengths of its employees, an issue I discussed in an earlier piece.
Of course, as a company grows, so does the need to assign greater responsibilities to their employees, including roles or functions associated with positions of leadership. However, what most companies overlook in this process is the need to offer guidance and support to their newly minted leaders on how to function successfully in their new roles within the organization.
With this in mind, here are some key points businesses need to encourage their new managers to adopt so that they can become the kind of leaders companies will need to ensure their continued growth and development:
1. Don’t micromanage your team
This is probably one of the most common complaints employees have about their manager – dealing with a boss who insists on overseeing every detail. While there’s the obvious problem of reduced productivity for both the new manager and those in their team, the bigger issue with this behaviour is the lack of trust a leader exhibits to those under their care. As a leader, it’s critical that your team members know that you not only trust them to do their part, but that you also understand the value of their contribution.
2. Pay attention to what you delegate
One of the responsibilities of a leader is to delegate work to the various members of their team. And yet, what’s rarely made apparent is how important the kind of work you delegate is to your ability to effectively lead others. As a new leader, it’s easy to want to use your position to pass off the less-desirable work to others in your team and keep the more interesting tasks for yourself. However, to be an effective leader for your team requires that you delegate work that offers opportunities for your them to grow and develop their talents and skills, to the mutual benefit of both the company and the employee.
3. Don’t be afraid to let your team members outshine you
Of course, in delegating tasks that help your employees grow and develop, there’s understandably the chance that they will excel and become one of the company’s most valuable contributors. On the surface, this might seem like a risk to someone who has recently been given the role of leading others.
That is, until we recognize that the responsibility of being a leader is to empower and develop your team members. From that vantage point, having someone in your team transform into a company star under your leadership is as much an indication of your success as their leader as it is of the value of that employee’s contribution to the organization.
4. Listen more than you talk
Another common mis-perception is that, as leader, your employees are there simply to put into action the plans/measures you hand out to them to implement. This notion creates the idea that communication between a leader and their team is a one-way route going from the leader to the employees.
However, if we recognize that the true role of a leader is to be in the service of their team members, it becomes clear that a leader needs to listen more to what their employees have to say. This will not only ensure that leaders are aware of any issues their employees may be concerned about, but it will also allow leaders to better understand how they can help their team members accomplish the objectives that have been assigned to them.
5. Leadership is an never-ending learning process
This point is a good reminder for all leaders, both new and more experienced ones. As seen above, no one should expect a leader to have the answer for every problem or issue. Indeed, that’s where fostering the strengths of your employees and listening to what they have to share comes into play in helping a leader make the best decisions for the organization.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that serving in the capacity as leader requires constant learning, growing and evolving as the team dynamics grow and evolve. If there’s one thing those in leadership positions can attest to it’s that this role is far from a static one.
Granted, the above points are hardly comprehensive regarding all the issues that businesses should address in their mentoring of employees they see playing a leadership role in their organization some time in the future. But these are good starting points that businesses should include in any plans regarding both the direction and scope of their company’s future growth.
So what other lessons would you share with your employees to develop their leadership abilities? What have you found helps employees make the transition to playing a leadership role in their organization?
Excellent pointers for new (and long time) leaders. One I can think of to add is periodically ask your team what they need from you individually and collectively to support their effectiveness, growth and success.
From what I have witnessed, the most import element in an organization when thinking of encouraging people to step up to challenges and run with ideas is the culture. Does the management encourage innovation and the sharing of ideas. Does management empower creative thinking, or is it squished early.
In todays ever rapidly changing world, the most successful organizations will be those that can quickly identify opportunities, evaluate them and act quickly., This can not happen unless the people in the organization feel empowered and confident that their initiative is welcome and even more so, encouraged.
I am excited for future leaders. Never before has the newest generation been able to directly and actively participate in the growth of an organization.
If the reigning leaders are secure enough to allow them to participate.
@Susan Mazza – Thanks Susan and that’s a very good point you mention about demonstrating to your employees that communicating with them about their needs to complete the tasks assigned to them is an on-going process. To really let your team know that your there to help them succeed, it’s important that they see this is one of your priorities and not something you only mention at the start of a project.
@Richard A Marti Jr – Excellent points, Richard and I agree that this is something that has to start from the top down, that management encourages this both as a result of their own actions as well as through their mentoring of their employees.
It’s interesting how the advent of all these new communication channels, both internally and with the client/customer base, is starting to break down those silos between employees and ‘upper management’. But as you pointed out, Richard, only those companies that are willing to embrace this flattening of the hierarchy stand to benefit from the next growth cycle.
My thanks to you both for these insightful contributions to the discussion.
Tanveer,
Great post and great reminders for anyone who has been or is headed to a a position of leadership of any kind. I particularly liked your advice to not be afraid to let your team members outshine you. I think as leaders we often shy away from this, knowing that if we truly grow our team members to their full potential, they won't stay on our team for long. But that is how it's supposed to be. I love watching people who have worked for me grow in their jobs, expand their knowledge base and then move on to take a leadership position of their own.
Growing the next generation of leaders should always be part of our goal.
Thanks Kristen; I'm glad you enjoyed it. I agree it can be difficult for leaders to let their team members outshine them out of fear that they'll eventually leave their team for bigger opportunities. But as you said, this is part of the process of leading others – helping your employees grow to their full potential and eventually becoming the source of guidance, support and inspiration for others that you were for them.
Thanks again, Kristen for sharing your thoughts on this piece.
I owned a business for 20 years running a school. “Preparing For Tomorrow’s Leaders Today” is relevant not only for me as a business leader, but as a parenting coach! This is a great model for parents who wish to inspire their CHILDREN to take leadership!
1. Don’t micromange your children,
2. Pay attention to what you delegate.
3. Don’t be afraid of your children outshining you. (Hurrah if they do!)
4. Listen more than you talk.
5. Parenting is a never-ending process of growth.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for the great comment and drawing the connection between my points on developing future leaders and parenting. I agree with you 100% that these same points hold true to the best way to raise our children. Just like leaders of an organization, parents have a choice as to whether they believe their job is to raise individuals who are completely reliant on them to move ahead or whether the responsibility of parenting involves nurturing children to become the best people they can be by teaching them to draw on their personal strengths in order to be contributing members of society. Not hard to see the parallels there to the choices a leader has in developing their employees.
Thanks again for drawing the connection, Sharon and I'm glad you were inspired by this piece.
The leaders responsibility is to motivate activate and participate in the process to see that the Team reaches the GOAL. We term is the programme as MAP.
Start the day with a PLAN perform the day with activity and end the day
with accomplishment. DAY…..A little life.
Thanks and Regards,
Yours in the journey of Joy,
K.Ramaswamy.