Author: brigette

The corporate world is littered with managers but lacks leaders. Over the course of my career, I only had one manager who was a leader ( Joseph). He made such an impact and influenced my leadership style. It is a rare individual who excels in both managing and leading. Joseph was such an individual, and I would have worked for him in any company.

Today, there are too many individuals in positions who abuse their power. This is why good employees quit jobs.

Here are Five Qualities of Leaders:

1. Integrity & Authenticity go hand in hand. Joseph was honest with employees even though this trait was sometimes unpopular with top management. He often took the slack for his team. If leadership is not authentic, then what is it?

2. Humility. True leaders always aim to serve rather than be served. Being humble makes you more approachable to your followers and allows you to create an environment of open communication and more effective feedback.

3. Empathy plays a critical role in one’s ability to be a successful leader. It sharpens your “people acumen” and allows leaders to develop and maintain relationships with those they lead. Leaders that possess this are interested in the well-being of their people.

4. Communication Skills – Great leaders are able to communicate their vision in such a way that motivates their team. They are great communicators; quick to listen and slow to speak. They possess high emotional intelligence skills.

5. Inspirational – Joseph didn’t need a title to get us to complete tasks. He had our full support. Words such as “Good work team,” “You are the best”, “I trust your judgement” were at the top of his dictionary. Team spirit was high during his reign.

The greatest legacy a leader can leave is having developed other leaders.

Managers are forgotten but true leaders live on in the hearts and minds of followers. Joseph passed on 5 years ago, but I can still remember him and the legacy he left behind. He truly cared about his employees, but sadly this didn’t sit well with top management and he was transferred from our department.

Can a manager become a leader? Yes, it’s possible. Sometimes it just takes being human and developing your people skills. Technical skills alone do not keep employees motivated. In this Artificial Intelligence economy, the new smart is not determined by IQ but by EQ. It’s about listening, relating, collaborating and connecting with your team. This takes humility, authenticity and empathy.

Studies have shown that leading with vision, inspiration, and purpose, produces better bottom-line results as well as happier, more engaged employees. Leadership is a privilege not a right. If we want employees to feel commitment to the organization; we need to show we respect and value them. The “human touch” makes all the difference. If you want to make a lasting positive impact – Don’t be a boss, be a leader!

Check out my latest Bestselling Book

 Leading the Workforce of the Future

Two in five CEOs fail within their first 18 months of leading an organization, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review. One-third of chief executives from Fortune 500 companies don’t make it past three years.

Achieving goals requires your teams’ support and commitment. If your team is not on board, this could lead to you being unsuccessful in your leadership role. Here are four of the most common pitfalls that can cast you in a negative light and “turn off” your employees thereby rendering your leadership ineffective.

1) The “Marionette” Trap – The challenge for any leader is working within pre-defined parameters, yet being able to apply your own talents to achieve results. In an age of uncertainty, many leaders are yielding to this trap of just playing it safe to preserve their position and privileges. They just follow orders. They never stand up for their team or question policies. The sad part is your employees are listening and seeing everything and are murmuring behind your back. If you have to be continuously directed, you are in fact a puppet.

I know of some boards who only hire managers that they can control. If your only concern is to impress top management you will be surely losing points with your employees. There must be a balance, yes, you want to impress those at the top, but what about your employees? In the end no one takes you seriously, neither the board you are trying to impress nor the employees you have ignored.

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” ~ Richard Branson

2) The “King Kong” Trap – Some leaders when they reach to the top immediately forget where they came from. These type of leaders possess a superiority complex and like to draw the distinction between management and staff. Great leaders don’t talk down to their employees or make them feel inferior. How can you motivate the troops when you are out of sight? Come down from the mountaintop and mix and mingle with your subordinates. Respect is a must. Show respect, not just for your employees, but all those you come in contact with, inclusive of the kitchen attendant, janitor, security guard…etc. Your in-house reputation will quickly spread.

Bill Nuti former CEO at NCR Corp – While the company’s revenues grew to $6.2 billion in 2013 from $6.0 billion in 2012, employees showed a strong dislike of their CEO, Bill Nuti. One current employee, while commenting on Glassdoor, wrote to upper management, “We carry your water every day, and you disrespect us every day, we’re just your minions. You put out surveys, obviously you pay no attention to them or things would begin changing.

“ You don’t build a business. You build people, and people build the business.” -Zig Ziglar

3) The “Superman” Trap – They think the organization revolves around them. Some start behaving like they are the owners of the company. This trap includes making all of the decisions solo, ignoring feedback you don’t like and taking the credit. “ Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people … or find another room” ~Michael Dell. Letting your ego get ahead of you and thinking you know it all is a sure path to failure. Be generous with Reward and Recognition and “Thank Yous.” Recognize publicly. Use collaborative skills to arrive at solutions. Admit what you don’t know. Showing some vulnerability allows you to strengthen relations with your team. You’ll build trust more easily.

4) The “Taskmaster” Trap – Micromanaging and breathing down someone’s neck all the time can be very disheartening. Sometimes knowing when to step back and let your employees do their work is what they need. Micromanagement suffocates, demoralizes and kills creativity. If you hired someone, it means you believe they are capable of doing the job. Then trust them to get the job done. You don’t need to be constantly monitoring their every movement. The best ideas and advancements are a result of empowering your team. Furthermore, do you brush over your teams’ successes, automatically working towards the next goal with a bland acknowledgement? Is results your only motivator? Continuously drilling employees is a sure way to lose points. If you ignore the wins of your team, you miss a vital opportunity, to not only inspire, but build a more personal connection with your team which can give your leadership personal brand a boost.

Many leaders don’t stop to celebrate their small successes. One notable exception is Richard Branson who, at the Virgin group, integrates work and play. Richard Branson on How to Make Employees Happy – “Don’t forget to celebrate achievements and have some fun while doing so.”

Treat employees like your business depended on them!

Most businesses put customers first while employees are just secondary. Employees are the branches of a tree that makes a company grow. They are your best ambassadors. If we treat people only as the means to an end, we will never have their loyalty. Don’t just consider them as a robot on your cog-like production line. Demonstrate that you value people and they in turn, will take care of customers.

An employee’s relationship with their manager sets the tone for their level of commitment to the organization’s success. Gallup research shows that a mind-boggling 70% of an employee’s motivation is influenced by his or her manager. It’s no wonder employees don’t leave companies; they leave managers. Disengaged employees can cost companies millions of dollars from lost productivity, damages from employee negligence and negative publicity due to poor customer service. Organizations know how important it is to have motivated, engaged employees, but most fail to hold managers accountable for making it happen.

7 Things a Manager can do to Improve Employee Morale:

1.Connect with staff– As a leader you should be seen. Make your presence felt. Don’t just lock yourself in your office whole day and only communicate with staff when you want something done. Get to know your employees. Find out about their interests.

2. Show employees that you genuinely care. If an employee is dealing with an issue whether personally or professionally, show Empathy. Advocate for your team. Stand up for them. Don’t throw your people under the bus when things go wrong.

3. Practice Open and Honest two-way Communication. Keep employees informed. Don’t let them have to be hear of upcoming changes through the grapevine. Listening to employees – Have an atmosphere where employees ideas and suggestions are valued. Don’t have surveys and suggestion boxes then when feedback is given, you simply ignore it.

4. Be fair and neutral. Treat everyone fairly. Don’t pick favorites. Lead by example. Be known as a person of integrity.

5. Empower Employees. Provide them with the proper tools, then give them room to get the job done. Don’t micromanage!

6. Reward and Recognition– Offer incentives. Show employees how much you value and appreciate them. Always reward staff for good work, and not only top performers include those who are improving or doing their best. Be generous with “Thank Yous.”

7. Recommend employees for training and new opportunities. Staff members can interpret an employer’s unwillingness to invest in training as a disregard for their professional development. Acknowledge and encourage strengths, recognize the different skills they possess and recommend training and development opportunities.

If you believe, that employees are your most valuable asset, you will create a healthy work atmosphere and provide them with the tools and support to do their jobs effectively.

It’s important that managers focus on relationship building and encourage a family atmosphere at work. Get to know your employees, meet them where they are and be flexible. Many organizations treat their employees as if they are a commodity. They use them until they can get no more out of them, and then cast them aside. This leads to poor morale, lower productivity, and higher turnover.

Loyal employees are your most valuable asset. Don’t take them for granted or treat them poorly. They use your internal tools and systems and interact with customers. They are your best brand ambassadors. Loyalty is a two-way street. You can’t buy loyalty, but you can certainly foster and nurture it. Employees who have been pushed to the point where they no longer care, will not go the extra mile. They will not take the initiative to solve problems. They will end up treating customers the same way you treat them. Employees are the heart beat of the company. And if the heart stops beating…What will happen?

Society longs for leaders of integrity. Sadly what we often see is a greed, selfishness and a lust for power. Integrity is something that is built over time, not overnight. It can take years to build and be destroyed in one moment. Once trust is lost, it is hard to regain.

7 Deal-breaking behaviours that makes employees lose trust in their leaders.

1. Taking credit for someone’s work.
2. Blaming others and not standing up for your team.
3. False promises to get someone to do something.
4. Favoritism and being unfair.
5. Downplaying employees’ accomplishments to make oneself look better.
6. Not appreciating loyalty, hard-work and efforts of others.
7. Treating others poorly – not showing respect or empathy, micromanaging employees, not trusting them to do their job.

Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to. -Richard Branson

People don’t leave bad jobs. They leave bad bosses. A lot of business leaders don’t even realize how closely they’re being watched by their subordinates. Your ability to influence is not just based on skill or intelligence; it’s based on trust and requires integrity, which is the foundation of real and lasting influence.

Leadership is about people. Your business is nothing more than the collective energy and efforts of the people working with and for you. An employee’s relationship with their manager sets the tone for their level of commitment to the organization’s success. Threats and intimidation only yield temporary results. You can’t keep throwing your employees under the bus and expect them to give their all.

If you are not a person of integrity— your team won’t trust you, vendors don’t believe you, and customers will not support your business.

People might tolerate a boring job or long commute, but they are more prone to leave if their boss treats them poorly. Many companies are struggling with low employee engagement. It all comes down to how you treat people. For loyalty, there has to be a relationship that develops between employee and employer and this develops over time through trust that gets built and sustained. Transparency, authenticity and walking the talk are essential for building trust. You can’t buy loyalty, but you can certainly foster and nurture it by being a person of integrity.

My new boss told me to never be afraid to give feedback. The next Monday morning in a meeting, I happily shared my viewpoint on a new policy. Thereafter, I noticed my boss’s disposition towards me changed. He stopped talking to me. I was shunned. I even felt the effects of this in my monthly performance appraisal, where he noted, I was not supportive of the organization, and I needed to be a better team player. The picture was quite clear – truthful feedback was not appreciated.

Heather, a co-worker approached me and said, “You are new, honest feedback is just lip service, don’t fall for it.” I quickly learned loyalists and sycophants were appreciated, while realists were punished. They built a culture of “yes employees.” I knew I had so much to offer, yet I couldn’t. Six months later, my boss was fired. He made a mistake on a proposal that cost the company its biggest client. This could have been easily avoided if he had just asked for honest input.

Listening is the most powerful skill a leader can master but it requires humility.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” – Promoting honest feedback

Be Humble. Many people think humility is a weakness, but it actually takes strength. It makes you approachable. The more humble you are, the more team members would be motivated to share their suggestions and recommendations with you. One of the best employee engagement tools is transparency. To be transparent requires two-way communication, therefore, feedback from employees is important. Honesty creates a solid platform to building a relationship of trust and loyalty. Employees want to be heard and they want to be respected. Listening shows that you care. Additionally when you receive feedback, act upon it. This helps improve employee morale.

PRIDE – The ego must go. The ego blinds us with a false sense of indestructibility, clouds our judgement thus leading to poor decisions and a break down of relationships. It’s not about you. Build a strong team and surround yourself with smart, passionate and highly competent people. Researchers at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois in one research stated, “flattery and opinion conformity” makes leaders overconfident, resulting in “biased strategic decision making” and an overall disconnect from the execution on the ground.

Developing leadership skills is a lifetime project. It’s too easy, as a leader, to feel like you have to be the one who knows everything. Great leaders recognize that they need to keep learning. Leaders need to be willing to learn and be open to seeking input from both inside and outside their organizations. Feedback allows us and the organization to grow. Additionally, treat everyone you meet with respect, from the janitor to the CEO. Great business tips may come from the most unlikely sources.

” Listening is crucial to gaining a complete understanding of situations. Without this full understanding, one can easily waste everyone’s time by solving the wrong problem or merely addressing a symptom, rather than the root cause.”

Titans as Blackberry, Kodak and Nokia have paid the price for leaders who refused to listen. Their leaders operated in a bubble and engaged in group think. The greater your success, the more you need to stay in touch with fresh opinions and perspectives and welcome honest feedback. Raw truth is needed to make well-informed decisions and steer the organization in the right direction.

As a leader, your job is to encourage others around you to be open and honest without a negative consequence. When employees offer their ideas and differing opinions – be open-minded. Companies that remain strong in this competitive market, understand the need to embrace change and continuous improvement. More than ever, leaders will need to master the skill of “Lead with Listening.” The success of your business will depend on it!