Teams: A Leader's Secret Ingredient

The most successful organizations with the lowest employee turnover are those that have leaders who create an atmosphere for their teams to succeed.

This means that they trust their team to get the job done.

It’s simple: You succeed as a leader when you enable and empower your team to succeed. When your team sees that you genuinely have their best interest at heart; they, in turn, protect you, the team leader and keep your best interest at heart as well. When you build loyalty and trust in your team, they perform better. With such simple and seemingly obvious statements, why do so many teams fail due to poor leadership?

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you lead your team daily:

1. Integrity breeds loyalty: In order to have loyal employees, you must be loyal. Most of us have been professionals far too long to live the credo: “Do as I say, not as I do.” We simply cannot just expect people to trust our leadership; we must show our teams that they can trust us. If we are insincere or dishonest, we lose trust.
2. Focus on the we and not the me: Our teams have to know that we support them and not simply ourselves. This needs to show in our daily actions, in every single thing that we say and do. Less “me, me, me!” and more “we, we, we!”
3. Continuous communication and clarity: A simple way to avoid confusion, mistrust, and uncertainty in your team is communication. A constant and continuous stream of clarity must pour through your team communication at all times. Our employees should always know where they stand with us on their performance, what the expectations are for their role and projects, and what they are in charge of bringing to the team.
4. Your motivation = your people: Numbers and metrics fund the payroll and keep the lights on. But so do our human resources: the people that are asked to meet those numbers and metrics. People first, numbers second. If numbers aren’t being met, ask your team why. Decide not to assume. See where you as their leader can help clarify, or determine if there is more to the story. Understand the why behind your team’s successes and failures.

Leadership is not about barking orders or bossing subordinates around.

There is true difference between a boss and a leader. Many times, it’s easy for a leader to forget that the key to their individual success as well as the organization’s success lies within their team.

One person cannot (and should not) be the key to a company’s success or downfall.

In order to be an effective leader, you must serve your team. Realizing that the success and happiness of your team directly relates to how well you lead them and serve them will equip you to become a stronger leader and create a thriving company culture.

Now it’s your turn:

How do you use your team as the secret ingredient to your organizational success?

Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts with us!