Thoughts on Leadership: Support

Support:

A manager is not an island. A manager is not a super-worker who gets things done by herself/himself and saves and organization or an institution singlehandedly. A manager is a manger because of the employees she/he supports who in turn work hard and collaboratively to complete projects and drive an institution forward.

Supportive: First and foremost, a manager needs to be supportive. No matter what happens, it is the manager’s job to support his employees to get the job done, to remove obstacles, and to use her/his influence and knowhow to good use. Each and every employee needs to directly experience the supportive actions of her/his manager and not let support be just a word but action.

Inspire teamwork: Most jobs are build on teams, and most places do not know how to fully utilyze teams. As a manager, you must inspire your team, whether you lead 5 to 30 direct reports or you lead 5 to 10 managers and indirectly lead 50 plus; you must inspire your team to work together. Inspiration comes from focusing on the fundamental reasons for working, knowing that your actions will have positive and productive outcomes, clearly communicating these ideas, and recognizing a job well done to everyone involved. By doing this over and over again, your team will gain the skills needed to work together and have the trust in you to lead them.

Encouraging subordinates rather than driving them: Drive is a popular word these days. Leaders drive results, managers drive employees, companies drive for success and market share, et cetera. But there is a downside to driving your employees; you can burn them out. The best way to drive for results is to encourage them to do their job to the best of their abilities knowing that everyone will benefit and not just a few individuals. A manager can only drive employees for so long because each individual needs to be driven by their own internal drive and not by their bosses’.

Treat people the way you want to be treated: This is so simple it is laughable but there are countless books, articles, and first hand accounts about how leaders and managers do not treat their employees how they would want to be treated. Simple; treat your employees how you want to be treated. Start with respect and end with respect.

Be a good coach: Every manager is a coach, but what does that really mean? Does it mean that you rally the troops with motivational speeches or does it mean that you play a wholistic role of leader standing with your employees? Like any good coach, you help improve and acquire the skills to be successful and in essence, be a teacher. Like any good coach, you provide encouragement and inspiration when times are difficult. And like any good coach, you correct certain actions and hold your employees accountable to help them improve and not to merely discipline them. Like any good coach, you are only successful when your employees are successful by truly supporting them. .

Empower your team and don’t micro-manage: When people get stressed and the pressure builds, everyone reacts differently. Some find inner strength and do whatever is needed to succeed and help their peers and the organization while others turn inward and protect themselves. When managers feel the pressure they react like everyone else; some positively and some negatively. Micro-management helps reassure a timid manager that they are doing their job by thinking they are holding their employees accountable when in reality they are just getting in the way, causing confusion, creating consternation, and killing moral. *Are there times when a manager needs to micromanage, yes, but that should be the exception and not the status quo. Instead of micromanaging your team, empower the, give them the tools to succeed, use your influence to lead the way, and communicate your trust in their actions.

Express interest in employees’ success and well-being: As a manager it is your job to care for your employees. You have to care about their job performance, their professional development, their well-being, and depending on how much rapport you can build, their lives outside of work. Some managers do not express interest and are distant with their employees and although that is an option, it is not advisable. The best way to instill employee engagement and learn what motivates them is to get to know them (within reason).

Keep promises and commitments: This one is simple. The best way to support your employees is to keep your word and follow through on promises and commitments. If you say you are going to do something do it and deliver. There is nothing worse than a manager who holds her/his employees accountable and does not follow through with her/his own promises and commitments.  

Help your employees with career development: Getting the job done is priority; making deadlines is key; being professional is always required; and helping employees with career development has to be done. Why? Because part of why we are at work is to not just fill out reports and manage people, but to advance and develop as individuals. You should ask, where am I going to be in three years? If you have goals then each one of your employees has goals too. Always help your employees work towards advancing their career development day in and day out.

Respect people’s time. Respecting people’s time is about respect. Sometimes a project requires extra hours and that is understandable, but respecting people’s time is all about knowing that the most important priority in each person’s life is family. No matter what you do, your job supports your family and by respecting your employee’s time and not wasting it on useless tasks or projects, you are supporting them, supporting their family, and keeping morale high because of a positive work-life balance from the boss. The boss sets the tone and it is extremely important that she/he also has a work/life balance because if they don’t, time will become an unclear expectation that employees try to satisfy to no avail.

Generosity (offer enthusiastic praise): Everyday, tell your employees they are doing a good job. This might sound like ‘everyone gets a gold star’ kind of thinking, but offer praise when praise is due. Everyday someone or multiple people on your team does something that is excellent and noteworthy. By being generous helps employees feel valued and there is often nothing more valuable than praise.