While there are actual people who are naturally ‘born leaders,’ leadership can be cultivated and shaped through training, experience, and continuous learning.
Whether you’ve recently got promoted or are struggling to manage your company, here are nine tips to help you build better relationships with your team and lead more efficiently, as shared by nine CEOs.
Be Compassionate
Even top-performing employees have tough days, and if you notice your best workers suddenly missing a due date or doing something they normally won’t, never rush into discarding them entirely. Instead, Moe Davis Hamade, CEO of BlackNote, says leaders need to use empathy and compassion to understand what went wrong before drawing fast conclusions.
Be Transparent
A lack of transparency in any business can result in an epidemic of mistrust within their operations, leading to poor engagement, lower productivity, and increased employee turnover rates. Ariel Chiu, CEO of Wonderstruck Events, advises always to share the good, the bad, and the ugly with your employees.
Help People Understand the Importance of their Jobs
Neo Kian Hong, Singapore’s SMRT CEO, encourages leaders to help their employees understand their jobs’ importance. He believes that if you don’t train your workers well, your team will be ineffective, and they’ll often do their jobs because they have to rather than because of its importance, decreasing productivity and engagement.
Get Rid of Toxic Emotions
Dr Kevin Kitt, CEO of Winnipeg Chiropractor, advises you never to mix up business and emotions together. Failing to control this can have a dreadful impact on your brand and personal image, so never make a business decision when you’re overwhelmed with your emotions.
Foster Reciprocal Trust
Great leaders should initiate a collaborative relationship with their employees. James Morris, CEO of Stay In Cornwall, says when you make yourself accessible and approachable, it helps make the workplace environment more open, encouraging employees to share their ideas with you.
Be Team-Oriented
Abby Johson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, believes that involving whole teams in forming collective goals is more efficient. Practising a team-oriented company culture that focuses on uniting employees behind a common shared goal improves productivity better than ordering directives.
Stay Humble
Richard Li, CEO of 4k.com, advises that the best and efficient executives are the ones who are the most approachable and humble, implementing an open and more productive workplace environment. The more humble you are, the better results your company produces, including high job satisfaction rates and better engagement.
Recognize Individual Achievements
Although receiving praise as a team is great, getting personalized notes or a simple ‘thank you’ from an executive is a different kind of motivation booster for employees. Harry Crawford, CEO of My Tree Service, shares that no matter how you recognize individual achievements, it must be in place.
Continually Improve
Great leaders don’t stop when they’ve achieved positive results. They continuously dedicate their time to self-learning and training, work on personal issues, and monitor their team’s performance. Plus, they always stay open to new ideas heading their way — Derek Iwasiuk, CEO of Assisted Living Near Me.
These nine pieces of invaluable advice from the world’s top CEOs will help you mold yourself into becoming a better leader for your team and business in no time — ensuring long term growth and success.
