A leader, whether you are executive management, directors, managers, supervisors or team leaders should consider these words . . . how you are perceived is how you are received.

 

A leader, whether you are executive management, directors, managers, supervisors or team leaders should consider these words . . . how you are perceived is how you are received.  These words are powerful and should be considered by all who are reading this article.  I wish I knew who coined this phrase.

 

Sometimes we forget that to be a leader you need to remember your journey to the management team and what it was like being a line staff member.  It is not easy working on interactions minute after minute and trying to be upbeat, pleasant and knowledgeable call after call after call.

 

I would like to share my personal tenets on building leadership:

 

• Lead by example 

• Motivate through empowerment

• Delegate responsibility

• Recognize that employees are your company’s greatest asset

 

Leaders are mentors and should be consistent listeners.  They are self motivated, charismatic, work well independently and most importantly are respectful.  You need to find staff members who have these attributes and create an environment of trust and openness.

 

When conducting your line staff meetings start looking for individuals who:

• Ask questions

• Listen and do not doodle – yes I wrote doodle

• Make suggestions on policies or procedures

• Offer to be part of teams or task forces that will work on solving a problem

 

On the opposite end, team supervisors should have mini-staff meetings to seek out individuals that they would like to mentor.  Agenda items/questions for group discussions can be:

 

• What do our customers like about us

• What do our customers dislike about us

• If you could, what do you wish you could change

 

You will see the staff getting excited because they are being asked their opinions and know that their answers can make a difference.  Then select teams to work on what could benefit your customers and implement.  You can also implement something you know in your heart will not work to teach these team members that not all ideas work and why.  Remember, you can never underestimate the power of enthusiasm!

 

Team players are leaders of the future.  It is management’s responsibility to identity these employees and support them in their career development.