“Globally, when employees report they follow effective leaders, the average employee engagement score is 91%”
- Kenexa Research Institute
How often have you had your boss help you create and produce breakthrough results you were looking for? Most likely this is a rarity for you. Many leaders want less on their plate so they do not have time to get to know their employees, let alone influence them with a slight nod.
Your boss has their own leadership style, now you have to try one on for size. Your boss hired you to create and produce breakthrough results. With this in mind, you need to see what works for you in regards to how well you do the work you were hired to do. Your approach to leadership impacts your organization’s ability to meet its obligations.
What moves the needle for you as an influence from your leader to help you move forward, creating and producing your best without any intimidation, yelling or screaming, or disciplinary action to push you along the way? The following gives you a taste of what breakthrough leaders do to help their employees achieve their best work in reaching the breakthrough results you need.
Your Own Style
You may already know that both leadership and communication of each person has a style all their own. As an “entrepreneurial” employee, you need to develop a style that fits for you regarding the work you do. Leaders of breakthrough organizations allow their employees to choose their own style of working as long as you create and produce breakthrough results, interact well with your colleagues and co-workers and are able to … Employees who work with an “entrepreneurial” mindset create and produce greater breakthrough results than an employee who is told what to do.
Engagement
Avoid making employee engagement an announcement or policy. Businesses simply can’t afford to have disengaged employees. If employees have a negative attitude toward their company or boss, they are far more likely to be disengaged than engaged.
Getting in-put from employees on the work they do is critical for engaged employees. Leaders of breakthrough organizations influence employees by having them understand clearly what they are to do and to make sure the employee has everything they need to achieve the end goal. These employees are satisfied in the job as they are empowered beyond what “employees” typical are.
Getting Immediate Feedback: Encourage In-The-Moment Feedback
While your boss can help you so far, you need to put out the effort and energy to maybe expand on what they tell you in order to get better at what you do. I am not talking about disciplinary actions here. In receiving feedback for your work, being open to it is typical for those who work to create and produce breakthrough results. When you receive feedback from your boss, think first before responding to it. Your best bet is to be proactive and not react to something you do not like or want to hear.
Leadership by Walking
While working on a project or task leaders who employ high performing individuals prefer to get to know who you are, ask how you are doing, and what they can do to help. They also get to assess and evaluate your strengths, skills, talent, attitude and ability to take on more challenging projects or tasks. Those who work in this environment are typically “entrepreneurs” who prefer to stay with this employer rather than go out and work for themselves. This is not to say that they will not do so at another time.
Empower Your Employees
“Organizations should create an environment where people feel empowered and trusted, with a culture where leaders can thrive” -Pawel Brodzinski
Do you empower your employees? If not, you’re missing out on several opportunities to improve your business and your life. Your employees think and act like entrepreneurs. With that in mind, most successful leaders are willing to exercise their leadership in such a way that their people are empowered to make decisions, share information, and try new things.
When the leader of an organization empowers employees, that employee feels confident in using their creative thinking and focus on what they want and need to accomplish. Empowered employees care more about the success of your company. They want to do a good job, and they have a sense of ownership in your goals. In fact, many of your goals become their goals. Empowered employees require less supervision, develop outstanding business ideas, work smarter and more efficiently, and are happy – which means they’re extremely loyal.
“Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.”
– Lee Iacocca
A leader’s approach can have an influence on the productivity of his/her staff and the rest of the organization. Remember, leadership is about influence and leaders influence their “entrepreneurial” employees to create and produce breakthrough results by empowering them with greater responsibilities. This in-turn allows employees the ability to use their critical thinking skills and motivate themselves with the breakthrough results they achieve. After the goal(s) is reached, the entire organization celebrates for the work they completed. Then it is off to the next challenging task/project.