Department head, manager, owner—whatever role you carry in your business, it can be hard to find a balance with your staff.
How do you appear firm but approachable? Effective but understanding? In charge but open?
To be an effective leader in any environment takes the trust of your employees. But just how do you get it?
Some people agonize over finding the balance between boss and confidant for years, but it turns out earning the trust of employees while also maintaining respect is simple.
It just takes 3 steps.
It turns out, the key to being an effective boss isn’t being tyrannical and distant.
Who knew?
It actually turns out that the opposite behaviors are the ones that earn and keep the respect of employees, and even improve workplace productivity.
No matter what your business is or how many people you manage, these 3 things are sure to make you and your company successful.
1. Show vulnerability
This may seem counterintuitive at first, but it’s important to remember that vulnerability is not the same as weakness.
Many leaders make this mistake, thinking that the admission of a flaw or failure means a show of weakness.
But guess what?
It doesn’t!
In fact, vulnerability makes you seem more relatable to your employees, and makes them more likely to trust and appreciate you.
Vulnerability is synonymous in the workplace with openness and the ability to head feedback and show growth from it, which is essential to workplace success.
2. Communicate
Once you’ve shown that you are a living and breathing person like all of your employees, they will be much more likely to approach you with questions, concerns, and updates, all of which help you better understand the functionality of the business.
Vulnerability breaks down a barrier that, when left up can cause huge issues in communication and productivity in an office.
Once that barrier is gone, maintaining an open line of communication with your employees is key.
With this step, remember it is your duty to disseminate information to your workers in a clear, concise manner. You are meant to be a resource to help them understand their jobs to the very best of their ability.
Remember, knowledge is power. And if you share knowledge, you are showing yourself as a powerful leader.
3. Appreciate
Once you’ve built this strong foundation with your employees, the last step to leadership success is to simply appreciate all that your workers accomplish.
Remember, no one is perfect. But everyone succeeds at something, and when they do, appreciation helps boost them towards doing it again.
If you show appreciation to your workers for their accomplishments, they will wish to prove themselves again in the future, to earn your approval once more.
A part of appreciation is also offering yourself to help. In return for their hard work, you can offer your own aid.
By simply checking in with employees once a week to see if there is anything you can do to assist them, you are showing your appreciation AND opening the pathways of communication to ensure there are no lose strings.
Offering your aid shows your workers that you care, and in return, studies show that workers are more likely to increase productivity, and overall workplace moral will spike.
With just these three simple steps, you’ll no longer feel like leadership is a balancing act. Plus, your workers will be happier and more productive, and your business will prosper as a result.
