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| All together, now! Motivated people => harmonious output. Note: I'm not in any way implying that people on real teams are muppet penguins! |
When people ask me about what's most important in leading others, I first tell them that coming from a place of openness, transparency, and caring is key. Then, I direct them to my posts "Nurturing People = Nurturing Motivation" (Part 1 and Part 2). While this is good reference, it's more reading; I needed to distill key points to help people get the gist in a conversation. Here's the written version!
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Leadership Maxims: Leading People
After starting a tiny team from scratch and growing it to a much larger team, thereafter inheriting another large team, I've had the pleasure (and rocky moments!) of experiencing what it took to build a productive, happy group of people.
Here, in no particular order, are my maxims:
Present Reality, Inspire Hope
You can't hide the truth, however ugly, from anybody for very long. People are smart; they figure things out! I always try to convey to my teams the reality of the circumstance, but follow it up with what I am (or what management is) doing to mitigate and/or what we can do as a team to make lemonade out of lemons.
Let People Know You're There For Them
Making yourself accessible boosts engagement, and I don't mean just "ping me if you need anything" but as in visiting folks and just saying hello and asking how they're doing.
Let People Know You Understand
Know their job so they know you understand what they're going through. Provide context to them: acknowledge any parts of the job that aren't exciting, convey the ultimate impact their work has on the business, encourage them to bring their creativity where it makes sense.
A Few Kind Words
A congratulatory email on a job well done. A quick stop by your team member's desk to say "I like what you did," or "You're going in the right direction" - anything to let them know you care, and you notice them and what they're doing. It only takes mere moments, and it goes a long way.
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I shared this on Mike Figliuolo's Leadership Maxims forum, a great place to read and share best practices on leading in four areas: Leading Yourself, Leading the Thinking, Leading People, and Leading a Balanced Life.
Mike is the author of the book and site One Piece of Paper, which gives you tools to distill and convey your approach to leadership in a simple, authentic way.
I was inspired by Mike's method, and the Maxims forum helped me identify the most important elements in my leadership style to share with others. Check out the forum, and come back to share any maxims you contribute.
Here's to nurturing happy, motivated people!
Image of conductor Gustavo Dudamel with Sesame Street friends (love the penguins!) - Google Image Search
