Transformative strategies for modern leadership and team management
What is leadership? It’s defined as the ability of a person or group to influence and guide others as part of a group, or team. To many, a “good” leader is someone who has power and authority, such as military leaders.
However, there’s more to leadership than bossing people around. In the modern workplace with hybrid and remote teams, a wide range of technology, and more diverse teams, employees expect leadership to be accountable and empowering.
Discover effective strategies that you can use to improve your leadership approach, build a culture of collaboration, and get more out of your teams.
Redefining leadership
An organizational chart, or org chart, is a familiar concept in workplaces. This chart identifies each person’s role in the company – the hierarchy. Employees have a clear chain of command and know who they answer to, and who their leaders answer to.
However, the downside of the org chart is that it can lead employees to feel that they’re part of a pecking order, especially when they’re given commands from the employees above them. Now, modern leaders focus on more collaboration – and less authority – to effectively lead teams.
The focus has shifted to shared leadership, which moves away from the idea of employees as subordinates taking orders and toward employees having ownership and accountability with projects and goals.
When implemented, this approach can lead to high levels of collaboration and brings more balance to the manager-employee dynamic. Company leaders are able to guide their teams in alignment with the business goals while allowing them to grow and learn.
Building a culture of trust
As a leader, there’s arguably nothing more important than building trust within your team. Trust isn’t something that happens automatically because of a title – it has to be earned.
When employees trust their leaders, they are more motivated to perform well. They feel more comfortable sharing ideas and feedback, even if it’s critical, to promote the higher goal.
This goes hand in hand with cultivating a safe working environment. This doesn’t necessarily mean physical safety, but the idea that employees can perform their job without the risk of judgment, beratement, or ramifications.
Ideally, the most vulnerable person on the team should feel empowered to provide professional and appropriate feedback – or even criticism – of the most powerful leader.
Effectively delegating work
No two leaders are exactly alike, but one of the traits the good ones share is an ability to delegate. While this may seem simple, many people (including high-ranking leaders) struggle with this task.
No business can grow if work isn’t delegated appropriately. No one person can do it all, especially not well, and the art of delegating is understanding how to allocate work to the best employees for the job. In addition to producing more consistent, high-quality work, this gives employees a valuable opportunity to learn, grow, and advance.
Here are some tips to delegate effectively:
- Collaborate with employees to determine their strengths and weaknesses to assign work appropriately.
- Allow employees to communicate their needs and personal goals.
- Provide guidance and resources as needed to help employees manage their workloads.
- Create opportunities for employees to share feedback.
Being resilient in the face of change
The business landscape is always changing. Some changes are good, some are not, but any change can be difficult for leaders to address with their teams. Most people are not great with change.
Leaders who show adaptability can be motivating for employees, however. When the leader is comfortable and excited about whatever changes the business is undergoing, employees can feel more secure about them as well.
Change isn’t just the shifts in the market, expanding into new product areas, or adding new initiatives like event video production. It could also refer to cultural changes within the organization, such as changes to leadership strategy or employee involvement.
As a leader, it’s crucial for you to embrace change and see it as an opportunity to improve. If you have a negative or fearful attitude toward change, that attitude may influence your employees and cause turnover or low morale.
Whether the change is big or small, make sure to have open and frequent communication with employees to help them understand the reasons behind the changes. For example, if your organization is creating opportunities for learning and development or live events like conferences, discuss it with employees so they understand what the change means for them and its benefits.
Build more effective leadership for more effective teams
Leadership isn’t just a title and authority. It takes time to become an effective leader that encourages accountability and collaboration, as well as some trial and error. But when you start from a foundation of wanting to learn, empower, and grow, you can positively influence your employees and become better together.
Author Name: Cameron Magee
Author Bio: Cameron Magee, the owner of avad3 Event Production, is a passionate and dedicated professional who began his journey in event production as a curious 12-year-old at his childhood church. Today, he leads a team of hard-working production professionals, having built avad3 from his college dorm room into a national production company, committed to both client success and the well-being of his team.