Lean Tip #2686 - Communicate Your Vision to
Employees
Every successful business has a vision.
Maintain regular communication about the company’s vision and request your
employees and other people to help you to achieve it. Sharing your business
motives with your employees allows them to set their mission and the future
leaders see their future in your company and work towards attaining it.
Therefore, it is imperative to have a common goal with your employees. Keep
them on track each day to ensure that they do not lose focus. Always remember
that the future of leadership in your company is determined by the manner that you
handle your current workers.
Lean Tip #2687 - Keep Regular Monitoring,
Measuring and Rewarding of the Employees
Every employee should be accountable and
answerable for their performance. Those that show great efforts and appetite
for producing better results should also be rewarded. Rewarding your employees
makes them feel appreciated. They put more effort to clinch higher positions
and achieve their goals. Ensure that the incentive and appraisal system that
you use evaluates your employees’ performance with fairness and rewards the
deserving candidates.
Lean Tip #2688 - Show Employees You Trust Them
If you want to help employees develop, trust
them to do their jobs by getting out of the way. Let them know what your
expectations are by modeling the behavior you expect—show them you trust them.
This not only lets employees know what they need to succeed and gives them
greater ownership, but it also shows them that credibility and trust are
important in your organization.
Lean Tip #2689 - Teach Employees the Difference
Between Leadership and Tyranny by Example.
Employees look to supervisors to set the
standard for leadership in any workplace. As the primary example of what
leadership look like, supervisors have to strike a balance between tyrant and
pushover. You can’t let lousy workplace behavior or poor performance slide, but
you also can’t resort to unfair punishment for employee mistakes. Just
remember, future leaders in the organization will learn what acceptable
leadership behavior is from the current people in management positions.
Lean Tip #2690 - Train Promising Employees to
be Active Leaders, Not Passive Ones.
Leaders need to be engaged in the work
they’re doing and in the work they’re supervising. Many employees do not feel
that their performance is managed in a manner that encourages them to do the
best possible work. Encourage your leaders to take a more active hands-on
leadership approach.
Encourage future leaders to bear part of the
work burden. Managers and supervisors should delegate work when necessary, but
they should also be closely involved with the work of the people they’re
leading. Leaders should demonstrate to those under them that they are not above
the work they’re assigning.
Lean Tip #2691 – Never Underestimate the Value
of Sharing Your Time and Building a Relationship With Staff.
They appreciate your genuine interest in their
ideas and thoughts about their jobs. They like bouncing ideas back and forth
with you and look for your sincere input on their projects and goals.
The role of mentor and coach is powerful in
training your organization’s culture and expectations. It is also a significant
source of experiential knowledge, history, work approaches, and on-the-job
training.
Pay attention to your staff, recognize them,
and provide exciting work. Provide constructive criticism, that they will
actually implement, you must have a relationship with them first.
Lean Tip #2692 –One of the Best Forms of Recognition
is to Provide Opportunities for a Contributing Employee.
Opportunities can take many forms. But, all of
them are outside of the normal day-to-day requirements of their job plan.
Employees appreciate chances for training and
cross-training. They want to participate in a special committee where their
talents are noticed. They’d like to lead a team that is pursuing an important
objective.
They are happy to attend professional
association meetings and proud to represent your organization at civic and
philanthropic events. They’d appreciate the green light relative to
implementing an idea they have for increasing morale in your workplace. They
are eager to stop doing portions of their job that have become rote in favor of
new goals and assignments that stretch their skills and build on their
abilities.
Lean Tip #2693 – Connect to the Bigger Picture
Recognition helps employees see that their company
values them and their contributions to the success of their team and the
company overall.
This is particularly key when organizations
grow or change. It helps employees build a sense of security in their value to
the company, motivating them to continue great work.
Regularly share news about how the company is
striving to reach the mission, and explain how individual employee goals relate
to that vision.
Lean Tip #2694 – Connect Recognition to Company
Values
Another way to ingrain recognition into company
culture is to relate it directly to your organization’s core values. This can
take praise to a deeper level; rather than simply recognizing an employee’s
great work on a project, you can explain how that work epitomizes the
organization’s mission and is a key step toward its big-picture goals.
Employees will see that their work is integral to the success of the company,
which should help to inspire their work on a daily basis.
Lean Tip #2695 – Recognition Is More Than Words
There are so many ways to praise your
employees. You can write positive feedback or publicly recognize employees at a
team or company meeting. You can give them a handwritten note or gift. If the
team has a big success, you can switch up the daily routine—let them come into
work a bit late or leave a little early, or do a fun virtual activity.
Another way to recognize employees is through
your actions. That could be a raise or promotion, or it could be that you
assign them a big new client or let them take on more responsibility. It’s a
way to exhibit trust and demonstrate that you’re invested in their long-term
growth. Want to learn more? Check out our other resources on recognition and
feedback.
Lean Tip #2696 – Earn Respect, Show Humility.
Be willing to admit your flaws, but do not
focus on them. You should have some self-depreciation, but it should be paired
with self-confidence. People generally will not respect a leader who appears
insecure and continuously mentions their shortcomings.
Show your human side but maintain a sense of
bravado and self-assurance.
Lean Tip #2697 – Earn Respect, Have Patience With
Others.
Realize that co-workers each have their
individual levels of learning and adapt to new tasks and job assignments
accordingly. Praise others as they master each step of their new assignments.
Having patience with others will demonstrate you have confidence in co-workers
and believe they can expand their knowledge and skills. People are most likely
to respect those who treat well and will not fear approaching them with
problems or questions.
Lean Tip #2698 – Earn Respect, Be Inclusive
Tell employees about changes in the
organization and what impact it may have on all involved. Encourage employees
to ask questions and stay informed about what is happening within the company.
One simple way to accomplish is to publish an office newsletter.
Lean Tip #2699 – Earn Respect, Share
Knowledge With Co-Workers
This action demonstrates that you have
confidence in their abilities to handle new situations and that you respect
them enough to share this important information. As you seek knowledge, you
must also learn the value of communal learning.
This will help you form a team mentality in the
workplace and include others in your success. Respected people are seldom
loners on the road to success. They include others along their journey and make
it known that everyone has a role in the success of the company.
Lean Tip #2700 – Earn Respect, Praise Workers
This enhances their confidence in their skills.
It may encourage them to work harder and learn new tasks and skills. If you
must give criticism, combine it with praise for what the employee does well. If
something does go wrong, do not publicly blame anyone else. If addressing a
group, explain the problem and what steps are being taken to prevent future
occurrences.
