12 Ways Leaders Tell Their People They Are Important
Leaders know the old saying “How you act shouts so loudly
I can’t hear what you’re saying” is the truth. They use it
to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of
accomplishment and importance often comes from non –
monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the
person who is the boss. And they know they can do it
without “breaking the rules” or incurring big expenses.
Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations
of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied
when it comes to rewarding their people – that their
actions are controlled by others, and there is little of
any real value they can do to motivate their people.
Here are 12 Ways leaders let their people know how
important they are:
Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their
people is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that
is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is
simply no way people can be convinced that what they do is
important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of
saying – or thinking – “Oh, she’s just the receptionist”
or, “He’s just the janitor” or “They’re just trainees” or
“They’re just a staff weenie?”
Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle
for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important
than high expectations for their performance. Leaders make
sure their people share in setting the expectations.
Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show
the tie in of individual work with the success of the
organization.
Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they
have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible
decision is made on who is selected. People watch very
carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved
in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know
that actions taken in selection communicate how important
the open position is. Who is selected is seen as a direct
reflection on the quality of the people in the
organization.
Way #5 – Leaders are their people’s institutional champion!
What’s that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders get it
right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders ensure
they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are
due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on
time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go
to person for their people. Institutional support people
can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for
their people.
Way #6– Leaders are absolutely intolerant of unsafe,
disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them
quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them
knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these
situations will not go away, regardless how much “wish’in
and hop’in and pray’in” might be done.
Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the
same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is
absolutely essential that people trust and respect their
leader. As a comedian said: “If you want to be liked, get
a dog.”
Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their
people. In their relationships with their people, they make
sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others.
Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of
self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a
seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may
be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a
podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not
have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of
creating added value through the investment of personal
effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful
way to express importance.
Way #10 – Leaders respect their people’s time – it’s their
most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end
them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they
have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much
of their work time as possible.
Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute
minimum. If there is workable set of cultural and
organizational “Way’s Of Doing Things” then the basis for
treating people with individual regard exists. If they
don’t exist, leaders set them in their own area of
responsibility.
Way #12– Leaders celebrate the successes – they create the
opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the
place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award
process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration
events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all
the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the
opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more
important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever.
Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them
deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies
or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and
they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts
that can be made to improve an organization. It’s always
tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or
take some action that shows a high level of commitment to
the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater
success is through a focused, day to day effort to improve
the level of commitment of the people in an organization,
and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of
change.
If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your
work group or yourself in this article, take them and run
with them – they are the basis for successful managers
becoming successful leaders.
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Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many
organizations in designing and implementing change. To
reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to
http://www.coxconsultgroup.com .
