Want to be a good leader? Listen, watch and dialog!
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Boss, Head, Chief. (From fr. chef).
- According to Merriman-Webster: the head of a body of persons or an organization.
- According to urban legend: the source of all my troubles; the person who I can accuse of all my frustrations and work problems, as they will never understand me and will do everything to make my life impossible…
An exaggeration? Who doesn’t have a friend who spits fire every time they talk about their boss? Well, is it justified? Probably not, not in all cases, and in most cases, I’m sure no party is free of blame, despite the worker perceiving them to be the epicenter of all problems and the manager having the on-going sensation that their subordinates ignore them. So what’s it all about then? Obviously, a communication problem.
We should remind ourselves that being the boss doesn’t necessarily mean leadership and when someone takes on an executive role, they need to reinforce their communication skills more than ever
Without communication, there is no leadership.
If we are not capable of listening and understanding the needs of our workers, how can be expect them to see us as a role model to follow? If we don’t know our team, how can we guarantee an efficient distribution of tasks according to their skills and motivations? A good leader listens actively and learns by watching, conversing, empathizing with their workers and makes an effort to reward their performance and foster their skills. By acting this way, they have so much valuable information on their team that managing it and giving instructions becomes an easier task, much more natural than it appears. A motivated teams moves almost by itself, and a good leader will maintain that motivation and feed it constantly, giving clear indications and guiding the group to improve their performance.
Where there is a will, there’s a way: it’s a rather cliché saying nowadays, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. An executive with leadership skills will pay close attention to these two factors among their workers: will and ability. If an employee wants to do something but doesn’t know how, the company should give them ability through suitable training. If an employee wants and can do it, a good leader must reinforce that, thank them for their effort, look after them and pose them new challenges so that they feel valued and have new goals to fight for. Finally, if a worker can but doesn’t want to, they need to be motivated, and if their attitude persists, a coherent leader will ask them to leave the team so that they don’t de-motivate or intoxicate the rest of the members.
A good internal communication, which is direct and sincere, aids the flow of information, knowledge and emotions. Employees feel valued and part of a project in which they are proud to offer the best of themselves. What’s more, if the person who leads them does it intelligently, promoting dialog between members and a personal approach, they won’t be seen as a dictator and will enjoy the trust of a team that believes in them and values and follows their instructions.
There’s no leadership without communication! Try it out and see the results for yourself!