If you are going to ask people to accomplish tasks as employees, you will need leadership skills to convince them. Skills such as relating to your employees, making them feel they can come to you when they run into problems and being able to make people feel listened to are skills that important business leaders like Eyal Gutentag consider key to running a successful business.
- When a manager stays behind a closed door all day, employees become hesitant to approach. Good managers get out among their employees. They strike up conversations while getting coffee in the break room and ask how families are doing or talk about personal interests. Keep it general. Some business writers have referred to the practice as Managing By Wandering Around.
- Once you have established a rapport with the people who work for you, leave that door open. Let them know that you want to hear their concerns and that you will listen to their ideas. This usually works better on one instead of in an all-office setting like a staff meeting.
- When people feel like their concerns are being heard, it improves morale immensely. It is also a good practice to give people credit for their ideas. It builds a feeling of general camaraderie.
- Building leadership skills and goodwill among employees is always helpful, but especially so when a manager has to make unpopular decisions about budgeting or personnel. A good leader can communicate the situation to the employees effectively and help them to see where the problems are. Perhaps the staff will come forward with ideas that could solve the problem. Ultimately, your word goes and they have to accept that, but you can make that easier.
Showing respect and building a good relationship with employees go a long way to making leadership easier when you are a manager. When people feel like you are part of the team, they become better players.
