The Secret Sauce of Leadership

I was talking to a well respected executive the other day on the topic of leadership. I asked him to reveal the most important leadership lesson over his tenure of twenty plus years. He did not hesitate with his response, "Take care of your good people". What does that look like?

1. Set clear expectations and provide consistent feedback

In my experience, great leaders focus their energy on the high performers and take care of performance issues promptly. If you are familiar with the Pareto principle and apply it to team performance, you live with the reality that twenty percent of your people do eighty percent of the work. While there are many articles out there giving ideas to retain high performers, they tend to ignore the thing that irritates high performers most - not addressing the low performers.

2. Communicate the big picture

High performers are energized by knowing the "why" behind decisions. Keep employees informed of the organization's vision and strategy and involve them in generating ideas for goal setting.

3. Provide autonomy and flexibility

High performers are stifled by lack of autonomy. If you have involved your employees at the strategic level, make sure you are delegating appropriately and not hovering over the process. This also includes providing the space for your employees to generate creative ideas. High performers aren't of that caliber because they have to be in the office either, so offering flexible work schedules or opportunities to work from home is a great way to demonstrate your trust.

4. Make your employees the priority

Effective leaders ask about career and educational goals and give employees the opportunity to reach those goals. They make employee discussions a priority and observe what type of work energizes the employee and what depletes them. Assign work that best aligns with the talents and interests of your employees. Make sure employees have the tools and resources they need to perform at a high level. It will payoff in employee engagement and productivity.

5. Build authentic relationships

Humans want to feel connected to one another. It's no different at work. Take the time to know your employees outside of work and learn about what matters most to them. Most of all, in addition to offering consistent feedback, share your gratitude. Be specific and timely with your feedback and gratitude. Tomorrow does not always come.

If your organization would like to learn more about leadership development and/or employee engagement, contact us at Dolce Consulting!