Any organization is practically run by its employees. The success of the organization depends much on whether employees understand instructions and how well they perform their duties. Good leaders do not micromanage, but act as catalysts to mobilize employees, identify strength and weaknesses, provide constructive feedback, and utilize their managerial skills to help everyone reach their full potentials for the benefits of the organization. Effective leaders have their own approaches to their jobs, but each consists of the same essential points as follows.

·        Communicate the Expectations: employees have better chances of achieving objectives if they know what the objectives are in the first place. Giving instructions alone without explanation of the goals or milestones to accomplish within certain timeframe removes the sense of urgency and limits employees’ ability to practice efficient time management. They must understand what is expected of them and that their leader is on their side in case they need counsel, resources, support, feedback, approval of ideas, or to clarify confusion.

·        Provide Guidance: there is a good reason why there are more employees than managers in any organization. Employees handle day-to-day tasks, while managers are responsible for providing guidance on how to get the job done. Our workday rarely goes exactly as planned without managers’ interventions every now and then. Even the most skillful employees can always benefit from additional suggestions given by a person of authority during and after every project. This is not to say that leaders should micromanage; it is just a concrete form of oversight. Guidance develops confidence on employees’ parts, knowing that you’re working alongside them.

·        Encourage and motivate: motivation comes in all sorts of shapes and forms, so does encouragement. Verbal motivational expression addressed to employees is the simplest one, yet there are other ways to bring excitement to the workplace, for examples: monetary incentives, employee-of-the-month programs, or even free lunch depending on how difficult the tasks are. You cannot push them to work harder than their professional capacity allows, but you can drive employees to perform to their best. Approval of ideas and recognition of achievements make effective encouragement methods. When employees realize that a leader cares about what they do and how they accomplish goals, they have personal satisfaction and the job becomes more rewarding.

·        Objective Evaluation: in a professional environment, objectivity looms large. Whether a leader is giving suggestions in the middle of project and delivering feedback at the end of a workday, all points made are based on objective evaluation. A leader is not a peer to employees; a leader is there to give objective judgment of performance and use the clearly defined assessments to help employees improve. Evaluations must feel fair and clearly communicated in advance. Objective feedback is based on facts, not unproven claims so everything is verifiable. Objectivity is the key to honesty. Employees must feel like the leaders has given them adequate communication and time to meet the expectations on what they are being evaluated on. Wise leaders coach employees throughout the year to meet the expectations on the evaluation, rather than wait to beat employees up with an evaluation and documentation done for times they failed to meet expectations.

·        Resolve Conflicts: any workplace is essentially a community of professionals. Employees come every day primarily to work, but there is no denying that social interactions happen. Good interpersonal relationships allow for comfortable work environments, but just like in any other social setting, conflicts are not uncommon. In this case a leader acts as an intermediary – yet with authority – to help settle disputes and bring all parties back to focus on the tasks at hand. There are always more than one perspective in arguments, so listening to understand all perspectives and help others do the same, can lead to win-win outcomes that feel like opportunities that make teams stronger.

Last but not least, a leader is responsible for the career development of employees. The most viable way to fulfill the responsibility is by encouraging employees to enroll in educational courses or training to further hone their professional skills. Depending on the type and size of organization, such educational programs can be quite limited or not available at all. However, leaders can still guide good-performing employees to career advancement opportunity inside the organization. These days, online workshops are a great opportunity to build stronger teams with stronger skills.

Make good choices and have a great day! Only you get to choose how you feel about it!

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Dr. Paul Gerhardt is a skilled leadership and diversity training who builds customized workshops online or at your workplace. He is a tenured professor of management. He is a diversity and leadership well-respected and trusted trainer who helps organizations get amazing returns on their training investment. Visit www.SupervisionEssentials.com for more great free articles and to learn more about Leadership Training. Dr. Gerhardt is the author of several publications available on Amazon.com, including Diversity at Work, The Diversity King; Leadership Lucy and the Leadership Handbook. Consider inviting Dr. Paul Gerhardt to do customized leadership or diversity training at your organization. Most organizations find that diversity and leadership training by the right trainer yields a significant instant return on investment. You can get your FREE COPY of the Leadership Handbook by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/LeadershipHandbook