A leader’s behavior can make or break a team. Learn how to become a great leader by avoiding certain management mistakes and embracing positive behaviors.
Becoming a great leader takes patience and compassion toward your employee's growth. Lead your team to success by doing the following.
Avoid micromanagement
Micromanaging means you seek control over every step of a task or process. Micromanaging slows internal processes. Instead, opt for the process of “trust, but verify,” which means you trust your employees to do their jobs, but you verify that their tasks have been done correctly.
Celebrate your employees’ skills
When introducing tasks to your employees, using a one-size-fits-all management style can be unproductive. Celebrate your employees’ diversity and become flexible to your team’s differing strengths.
Lead by example
Your employees look to you as an example of what to do as well as what not to do. Learn to lead by positive example and avoid contradicting your own words as this will lead to confusion or frustration.
Don’t point fingers
Mistakes and accidents happen. When they do, avoid playing the blame game and pointing fingers. Rather, improve your goals and strategies and help find solutions to the problems at hand.
Give your employees credit
When your employees do well, avoid taking credit away from them and show appreciation for their hard work. A lack of appreciation will most likely lead to turnover.
Have a clear vision
Your team needs to move in one direction to keep the company’s vision alive. However, this vision starts with the leader, and employees cannot help you if they are confused about what to do and how to do it. Keep your focus on setting goals and strategies. When you lack focus, it leads your team to confusion and low motivation.