Here is a brief excerpt from an article by Will Yakowicz for Inc. magazine. He explains how the individual relationships you build has a huge impact on how your entire team performs. To read the complete article, check out others, and obtain subscription information, please click here.
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As the year comes to a close, you should be reviewing your leadership techniques.
Sydney Finkelstein, professor of management and director of the Leadership Center at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, writes in Harvard Business Review about common behaviors of the most successful leaders. Below, find out the five that you must engage in to benefit your employees while achieving your company’s goals. The list might just make you realize that you’re in need of some management skills training.
[Here are the first two of the five.]
1. Lead the individual
To be a great leader, you need to lead each employee as an individual rather than motivating through an all-team strategy, Finkelstein advises. When it comes to promotions, raises, and career development, don’t stick to “rigid competency models.” Instead, push people to grow their unique strengths to help achieve the company goals. “Ensure you understand what makes them tick,” he writes. “Be available and accessible for one-on-one conversations. Deliver lessons cued to individual developmental needs.”
2. Pump meaning into productivity
You need to set an inspiring vision and purpose for the work your employees do; the purpose cannot be just to grow revenue and cut costs. And once you set your vision, you have inspired confidence in your employees. Finkelstein offers some examples: “Legendary bosses like Bill Sanders in real estate, Julian Robertson in hedge funds, and Bill Walsh in professional football all communicated visions that entranced employees and left them hell-bent on success.”
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.
Will Yakowicz is an award-winning journalist and a staff writer for Inc. magazine. He has reported from the West Bank and Moscow for Tablet Magazine; he covered business, crime, and local politics for The Brooklyn Paper; and he was the editor of Park Slope Patch. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Twitter: @WillYakowicz