Why your leadership style is crucial for your and organization’s success?
Do you know your leadership style? How do your employees see your leadership style? There is a saying that people don’t quit organizations… but their boss. Though this might not be true in all cases, employees do leave managers who don’t treat them well or give opportunities to progress or at the fundamental level listen to them or give feedback. This makes the role of a leader pivotal. Leaders don’t just manage the performances of their employees to meet the organization’s goals but they are representing the entire organization to them. After all, people don’t work just for money, they need much more than money can offer. Knowing where employees stand in Maslow’s theory of need is vital for a leader to manage their employees.
I had my own share of lessons learned as a leader. I realized how incorrect leadership style can affect reputation as a leader and at the same time impacts the productivity of the employees. On the contrary, the right leadership style can significantly boost employee’s morale, productivity, loyalty and of course your credibility as a leader. In my 25 years of career, I am blessed to work with several amazing managers (38 of them to be precise!). Some of these managers are still my good mentors. Based on my experience as an employee and now as a leader, I prefer to classify people managers in 3 unique categories. Chronic Whiners, Perennial dreamers, and Serial Winners.
Chronic Whiners
These are micromanagers who constantly expect things to be done in their style. They interfere in every step of their employee’s decisions. They fail to notice the strengths in others’ “point of view”. They fail to appreciate employee’s different perspectives, strategies and the value it can offer. Most importantly these managers don’t value the strength of cultural differences through which individuals can bring a new angle of looking at the problem. Its impossible make them happy as they constantly want more. Their only objective is to accomplish more on their bucket list. They become prey for their own blind spots. These managers typically lack empathy. I hardly seen such managers progress far.
Perennial Dreamers
These are the people who set their eyes on the team above them aspiring to take their role and go up in the corporate ladder. They have little interest in the people below them. They leave their employees to run the show on autopilot mode. When things go well these leaders take the credits and when things fail, they blame their employees for incompetence and even replace them. I have seen several such leaders in this category claim the corporate ladder quickly and establish themself very well. I am sure they can’t go too far with this attitude. It’s unfortunate that some organizations don’t differentiate Perennial Dreamers from their management team.
Serial Winners
These leaders strike the right balance between organizational goals, empathy for the people below him/her and results for the people above him/her. These leaders possess natural charisma. They don’t just look for Win-Win but they allow others to win as well. They form a strong winning team. They give timely feedback to their subordinates. They take pride in developing his/her team. They make sure their team members get equal opportunity. Their high emotional intelligence will be eminent in every transaction. They never shy away from tough questions. They confront their management when it comes to promotions, pay hikes, even retrenchments of their staff. These leaders know every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit and they encourage employees to come out of their comfort zone.
I am blessed to have several serial winners as my managers and I had the great opportunity to learn from these brilliant minds. When I started as a new manager I made up my mind not to be labeled as a Chronic whiner or perineal dreamer. I tried to establish myself as a serial winner but I failed miserably in some incidents. I learned quickly that this is a journey every manager goes through. Instead of attaining perfection, one should always strive for continuous improvements. Every time I see my employees succeed with my feedbacks I get immense satisfaction. Now I thoroughly enjoy my role as a leader and started seeing the seed of opportunity in every adversity. When leaders display natural empathy for the employees and passion to deliver organization goal, they are on the right track in their leadership journey.
What is your leadership style? What is your strategy for continuous improvements?
