10 Leadership Practices to Stop Today
If you want to be the best in your
industry, you have to get rid of your outdated management style.
You might not feel it day-to-day,
but business management is in a major transition. The old days of
command-and-control leadership are fading in favor of what might be better
termed a trust-and-track method, in which people are not just told what to do,
but why they are doing it. More formally, we're moving from what
was called "transactional" leadership to "transformative"
leadership. And there's no turning back.
Business owners certainly have a
long way to go, especially in more established companies where old practices
die hard. But you can see increasing evidence that by creating a company
with a clear purpose and values, you'll find your employees connect themselves
to something bigger, and that increases productivity. In other words, a
culture of engagement leads to greater customer loyalty, and better financial
success.
Here's my list of "old
school" practices you ought to chuck, and "new school" practices
to champion instead:
1. Out: Micro-management, or the
need to control every aspect of your company. In: Empowerment, the ability
to give your people some rope--even rope to make mistakes without blame.
2. Out: Management by walking around
the office; it is no longer enough to be visible. In: Leadership by watching
and listening, engaging in conversation, implementing the ideas presented to
you, and distributing the results.
3. Out: Pretending you know
everything. You don't have all the answers, so why try to make people think you
do? In: Knowing your leadership team members and trusting them. Choose
great people who have the right skills and fit the culture. And get out
of the way.
4. Out: No mistakes, or a "no
tolerance policy" some still think works. In: Learning from mistakes, or
being the first to admit an error.
5. Out: The balance sheet drives the
business, and informs all other decisions. In: People drive the business,
boosting customer loyalty, and profit.
6. Out: Job competency is
sufficient. Do the job asked, and you'll survive. In: Recruit "A"
players who will go the extra mile. They're out there.
7. Out: Invest in technology to
increase productivity. In: Invest in people.
8. Out: Demand change; be very
specific about what you want and when. In: Nurture change; your people can come
up with the best ideas and you can give them credit for it.
9. Out: Fried food in the cafeteria.
In: Wellness in the workplace.
10. Out: Incentives; pay employees
more money and they'll do more. In: Rewards; being valued matters more than
money.
So ask yourself which of these
out-of-date practices you're still using. There's no time like now to try
something new.
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