Lean Tip #2851 – Managing and Leading are Not
the Same Thing
Some successful managers are not good leaders.
The art is in knowing when to delegate. You will be developing your staff if
you delegate leadership experiences. You will still retain overall control
because you will always retain accountability, so learn to trust your staff –
they don’t have a choice with you.
Lean Tip #2852 – Encourage Creativity in Your Team
Look to your team for the solutions to problems
rather than try and solve them for yourself. People like problem solving and
will be motivated by you involving them. Creativity is in all of us. It just
needs encouraging out. They will probably come up with better solutions than
you could have anyway.
Lean Tip #2853 – Set Clear Standards and Then Model
Them
Set clear standards and then model them –
always. People respond positively to certainty as they generally don’t like
surprises. Everyone needs to know what is expected of them and clear standards
will help them understand that this is the way we are going to do things around
here. It doesn’t have to be dictatorial either. Why not ask your team to put
together their ideas on what the standards should be and then agree them with
you. That way they have the ownership so you don’t need to motivate them to
live by the standards.
Lean Tip #2854 – Don’t Try to be Someone You Are
Not
The temptation is to emulate the previous
manager. This is bad news as you are not the previous manager, you are you.
Think about successful managers you have enjoyed working for and identify what
it was they did that gave you that feeling. Also, think about managers you have
not enjoyed working for and identify what it was they did that gave you that
feeling. These two activities will give you a framework from which to start
your career towards becoming a successful manager.
Lean Tip #2855 – Understand Your Role
To be an effective manager, you must understand
your role and how it fits within the larger organization. If you’re a new
manager or you've been in the position for a while and are focused on becoming
a better manager, evaluate your strengths and which areas you should focus on
improving.
Remember, managers also have supervisors. If
you need to gain more understanding of the nature of your role and how to grow
in it, you can turn to them for direction and support.
Regardless of how long you have been in a
managerial position, continuing to learn, educate, refresh and hone your skills
is an ongoing process. Take advantage of management training opportunities that
provide comprehensive development skills in the areas of time management,
planning and organization, employee management and leadership skills.
Lean Tip #2856 – Leaders are Consistent and
Reliable
Employees need to know that their leader is
stable, secure, and reliable. They will come to you for clarification regarding
organizational objectives, views on their work, and advice. And more
importantly, employees should feel comfortable approaching you when they are
struggling and need help. Employees need to know that their manager is a
level-headed person who won’t fly off the handle at a moment’s notice.
Otherwise, they won’t feel able to open up to you and their trust in management
will weaken.
Lean Tip #2857 – Leaders are Willing to Change
The world of work is constantly shifting. The
ways we operate in terms of technology, motivating employees, and reviewing
performance are processes constantly subject to change. From year to year, your
business will look different — and this is a good thing. It means you’re
staying relevant and competitive, which means you’ll be around for years to
come.
Managers stuck in their ways stagnate, while
good managers are adaptable and flexible. They are ready for change and they
plan for it, seeing disruption as an exciting challenge rather than a burden.
Lean Tip #2858 – Leaders Admit Their Mistakes
Trying to appear perfect implies you expect
perfection from your team, and nobody can live up to that.
Be honest and set an example.
Never pass the blame down the hierarchy to try
to appear infallible – whether they’re brave enough to say it or not, your team
will know if something was your fault.
Don’t lose their respect by shirking
responsibility; show them how to own mistakes, learn from them and move forward.
Lean Tip #2859 – Be Open to New Ways of Looking
at Things
The people that make the best of managers are
flexible, adaptable and attached to the environment closely. They are good
listeners and always on the lookout for opportunities.
The ideas that work best for process
improvement are those which come from the employees who are closest to the work
that is being done. Rigidity is the opponent of the progress and do not get
stuck on doing the things the way they have been done always. Do not be afraid
to shift the paradigm.
Lean Tip #2860 – Recognize a Good Job Done
If you wish to build a culture that is great
and dynamic, it is important that the employees are given their due. It should
be ingrained in the team culture and it takes time.
Recognition of work done good or good efforts
undertakes fosters a sense of positivity, togetherness and gratitude amongst
the employees. Not only big wins, even small efforts should be appreciated.
Lean Tip #2861 – Identify Your Training Strategy
Your approach to training must be aligned with
the business, and this must be shared with your leadership team. Mutual buy-in
must occur. If you are not informed on your company’s strategy, this is your
starting place.
Tying a training program to a business objective,
goal or challenge will identify you as a problem solver that can generate
results. Make sure you develop goals and metrics for your training program
before presenting it to leadership. Doing this work beforehand shows how
serious you are about using training and development to impact the bottom line.
Lean Tip #2862 – Promote
Collaboration Among Peers
Today, most strategies require heavy levels of
cross-functional collaboration and teamwork to succeed. A recent
survey from the AMA found that 97 percent of executives think that silos have a
negative effect on organizational health, performance, and customer experience.
While organizational
silos can foster powerful subject matter expertise and focus, executives
who want to fuel high levels of company-wide growth complain that silos lack
the necessary levels of transparency and permeability between functions to
maximize synergies.
Whenever
possible, encourage collaboration across functions. Use whatever means
work best at your organization to communicate what matters most – all day
events, town halls, team meetings, webinars, videos, corporate newsletters,
etc.
Lean Tip #2863 – Assume Resistance To Change
Employees don't fear change; they fear the
unknown.
We are an adaptable species that doesn't like
to change. Although we will change, given an appropriate amount of reasoning or
adoption of the new thing by influencers. Resistance to change is a natural
reaction. Change is uncomfortable and requires new ways of thinking and
performing their job.
So, when starting to consider employee buy-in
assume there will be some resistance to change and proactively identify major
employee objections. Once you understand potential objections, you can find
ways to acknowledge and overcome them.
Lean Tip #2864 – Ensure Your Team Has The
Proper Training
People are only as effective as the tools that
they have available. Ensure that your team has the proper training, ongoing
support, and the resources they need to get involved with your improvement initiatives.
The impact of offering training to your staff
is two-fold. First, it ensures your teams have the proper training, ongoing
support, and the resources they need to get involved with and contribute to
your continuous improvement initiatives. Second, providing your employees with
training that will further their skill-sets demonstrates the organization’s
willingness to invest in them and their careers.
Lean Tip #2865 – Recognize and Reward the New
Way
High performing companies effectively recognize
and reward the behaviors and results that they seek to best execute their
strategies. Effective reward and recognition components are also co-created
with key stakeholders and are perceived as proportionate, fair, meaningful,
relevant, and aligned.
If you want to encourage buy-in to your
strategic direction, make sure that employees feel like it is worth the
struggle to improve and change both their performance and their behaviors.
