Millennials are working their way into
management and leadership positions. In fact, by 2025, millennials will make up
75 percent of the global workforce. They have a unique opportunity to learn critical
things from previous generations that have tenured leadership experience under
their belts.
Here are eight pieces of wisdom that are
essential for new leaders (and, if you are not a
millennial, ask yourself if these tips could apply to you too):
Know what it means to be a
leader. As a leader, you have a great amount of
influence on those who report to you. How can you use that influence to help
others improve? Frequently check in with your team and ask how you can help
them. Understand that leadership isn’t all about you and strive to use your
influence to serve others.
Develop your soft skills. Growing as a leader is a long-term journey and so is developing
your soft skills. Key soft skills include emotional intelligence, empathy,
communication, and problem-solving. It’s important to be aware of yourself and
how you engage with others. Set up feedback systems to learn and bring
awareness to your blind spots. Get a coach who can help develop your weak
areas.
Embrace failure. As a leader, it can be especially challenging to admit to falling
short on a project or goal. Leadership requires having the courage to take
ownership, especially of your mistakes. Great leaders view failure as an
opportunity for growth. Having a fear of failure can hold leaders back from
taking risks that may propel the organization to the next level.
Be clear. Without clarity, your team may feel like they are working through a
fog. They don’t know what to do to achieve the missions or goals of the
organization. They may also have a difficult time embracing change, which is
imperative for growth. Teams need clarity on purpose, priorities, process,
performance, and problem-solving. Check-in with your team to see where they may
need more clarity.
Seek diversity. To be innovative, you need to have lots of ideas. If you are
homogeneous in your decision making, you will have gaps in your strategy. Seek
to gain insights from people of all backgrounds and build a team with multiple
perspectives.
Delegate, but don’t
micromanage. New managers often struggle to let go
of old tasks and expect people to approach opportunities the same way they did.
Be mindful to let go of old responsibilities and fight the urge to think ‘it’ll
be easier if I just do it’. Allow the people below you to grow.
Put in place a system of
accountability. Now, more than ever, millennials
are pushing for flexibility and remote work opportunities. However, there needs
to be some structure for measuring performance and productivity. Clear accountability
consists of mutually agreed upon expectations, definitions for meeting those
expectations, how expectations can be measured and monitored, and, importantly,
how to communicate along the way so there are no surprises.
Be a student. Leadership and learning go together. Pay attention to those around
you. Learn as much as you can about your people so you can lead them to the
best of your ability. Be a student to the leaders before you and learn from
their mistakes and wisdom.
Leadership is a life-long journey that
builds with each generation. Be a learner. Be aware. Be intentional about
your influence. Implement what you learn along the way and pay it forward. Be a
leader worth following.
While the pandemic has created many
unknowns, there is one thing we know for sure: businesses and organizations will
face more disruptive changes in the next year than they have in the past 20. The
way we lead cannot stay the same as the environment around us changes.
Leadership development and training and are essential for organizations to stay competitive and thrive. With travel and group restrictions, training programs have been halted, leaving HR leaders to deal with the fallout from pay cuts, furloughs, and eliminations. As we learn how to change and recover from the pandemic crisis, organizations are rethinking their development strategies and turning towards an online platform.
Companies
waiting for the return of in-person leadership training risk falling behind
companies that continue to grow their skills using other methods. In fact, market research from the Center for Creative Leadership
report that 82% of organizations feel investing in leadership training gives
them an advantage over competitors.
While online learning is not new, this
method of developmental delivery has skyrocketed in popularity. But not everyone’s
on board. Organizations without previous experience with online training may remain
skeptical of the advantages of online learning. Others may have had a subpar
experience with online deliveries in the past and prefer face-to-face training
as a result. However, organizations cannot
afford to wait for in-person development programs to resume. Online learning is
here to stay, and these programs can create similar engagement and results as
in-person programs.
There are many advantages to online leadership development.
According to market research
from the Center for Creative Leadership, satisfaction
with virtual leadership development equals that of face-to-face training. At Aha! Leadership, we have found our online classes have similar scores as
in-person workshops as well.
We’ve also seen similar positive results for learning objectives
and achievements.
Both formats deliver an engaging experience and include the
same effective elements as our in-person training, with breakout rooms,
polling, quality videos, etc.
In addition to the high impact
of online training, virtual leadership development programs are easily scalable to be delivered to a
number of leaders.
Virtual training programs are also
convenient for organizations and leaders, allowing
them to participate from anywhere in the world without additional travel
expenses.
Online
leadership development joins the remote workplace in growing with the current
times and challenges. At Aha! Leadership, we seek
to help you navigate these times with effective and impactful training that
generates the results your organization is looking for!
Many things this year have been different than we’ve expected. It’s been a year of constant stressors, changes, and adjustments we never thought we’d have to make. I think we can all agree—it’s been a really difficult year.
And
it’s okay for gratitude to look a bit different this year too. Although expressing gratitude is something we know we should do,
being thankful in difficult seasons is easier said than done. One place we can
start is by calling out the disappointment. It’s okay to be upset that this
holiday season doesn’t look like we thought it would. It’s okay to feel the
weight of the changes we’ve been through this year. From validating and
acknowledging what exists inside us, we can begin to expand our minds to see
the good.
What are some positive unexpected things that have come out of this year?
In what ways did you grow, adapt, or change for the better?
What blessings have you experienced?
I am incredibly blessed and thankful for
all of you. Thank you all for being with
us during a difficult year. For your willingness to learn and your openness
to new ideas and training. Thank you for sharing yourselves and your passionate
stories. Thank you for challenging us to grow with you. We have learned so much
from your strength and watching you lead others through this unexpected time.
Leadership provides the opportunity to influence others. It is a great joy, but also an incredible responsibility. Influence is the ability to move others from where they are now into something new. However, influence is not a one-way transaction. We are influencing others and being influenced on a daily basis. When we race through life distracted and busy, we forfeit the opportunity to intentionally influence others. Thus, we must be intentional about what we take in and how we impact those around us.
People are always tuned in and observing our actions, words, and attitudes whether we realize it or not. We can choose intentional influence, and whether our influence is positive or negative.
As leaders, we cannot settle for influence
that is good enough. Great opportunities and exceptional work are
never born from settling for good enough. So, how do we have influence that far surpasses good-enough thinking?
1. Make the choice to be a positive influence. Great leaders understand that influence is equally as important as reputation. Reputation precedes us, and it creates an expectation of what is to come from you. Influence generates reputation and is what’s left behind after others interact with you. It’s the piece of you that you leave with others and the sentence that comes to mind when others think of you. Having a positive impact and leaving others with a positive sentiment is a conscious choice.
2. Accept
responsibility for your influence. Good leaders understand their ability to influence others. Great leaders
go beyond this and also accept responsibility for what is influencing them.
They guard their intake and are vigilant about how they are being influenced.
They are intentional about their inner circles and what information they
consume. This is critical because, ultimately, we give out what we take in. We
reproduce what we are.
3. Aspire to
inspire. Great leaders are
inspiring, especially during challenging times. They are able to bring out the
best in others and instill hope that draws people in. Great leaders are equally
inspiring as they are inspired themselves. They know the purpose that drives them
and tap into their mission to motivate others.
Influence is a two-way street. How others pour into you will dictate how you pour into others. Being intentional about your influence takes you, and those around you, from good enough to great.
Sourced from Kevin Brown at leadercast.com
Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. – John Maxwell
The easiest way to have a positive impact on your colleagues is to tell them how much you value them. While supervisors and managers may try to use their words to encourage others, they often don’t do a great job. The good news is, using our words to encourage others is easily done, whether you are working onsite or remotely.
Here are a few simple tips to make your words of encouragement most effective and some common mistakes to avoid:
Be personal and individualized. Statements of encouragement to a team are great, however, they are impersonal. Direct and specific communication to one person makes the affirmation more sincere.
The more specific the better. One of the most common phrases team members don’t want to hear is “good job!”. The phrase is so generic it could be applied to any person at any time. Be sure to tell the employee specifically what you appreciate about them and their work.
Some specific suggestions:
Leave an encouraging voicemail.
Use sticky notes to write short messages of appreciation.
Recognize them during a meeting or conference call and give them an example of something they did well.
Tell them why what they did is important to you, the organization, or your clientele. While it may seem obvious why an employee’s work is valuable or desired, they often don’t understand the true impact of their actions. Framing encouragement in light of the big picture can make it more meaningful.
Keep in mind that words are not equally important to everyone. In a study with over 100,00 employees, less than 50% want appreciation through words. That tells us that 50% of employees want appreciation in ways other than words. Seek information from your employees regarding how they best experience encouragement and how receptive they are to other avenues of affirmation.
How do you encourage others at work?
Excerpt from Paul White from appreciationatwork.com
