As a leader, you are supposed to take effective actions and risks, have good relationships with your employees and stakeholders and embrace change. The easy way to do it is by commanding. But don’t expect to produce lasting behavior changes. A great leader is not all about telling and commanding. A great leader is recognizable by his or her ability to produce viable and extraordinary performance in those who he or she leads.
Yes, sometimes you will have to roll up your sleeves and direct people. It is a necessary leadership move. However, this kind of move is oftentimes overused that it results into resentment, resignation and displeasure. What can you do so that your team can work better? What can you do to bring the best out of your client? Be a coach. Executive coaching has been around for decades and it is adopted all around the world as a management and leadership tool. Whether you have a startup, a small or large company, coaching can have a dramatic and positive effect on the way you solve problems. As we all know, we learn best when we engage with a certain problem. Coaching aims to help you and your organization by drawing out new thinking, new actions and new behaviors from the one who is being coached. It provides support, advice and feedback in the business setting and has a positive impact on workplace performance.
Ask questions and listen
One of the essential characteristics of a great leader and coach is the capacity to ask questions that will go beyond the problem. By asking interesting and dominant questions, you can help the contributor get back in touch with the things that he or she cares about and how to associate them with the company’s mission and goals. Listen to what they have to say and cooperate with them in order to understand that what they do is making an impact on something bigger.
Break the patterns
Conversations need to produce shared commitments and lead to an effective action. Sometimes though conversational patterns are ineffective. You have to be the one to break these patterns and be clear about what are your expectations. A great leader can identify the reason why there is lack of communication either with the stakeholders, clients or employees and propose a new way to redesign your communication pattern.
Stress and time demanding day-to-day activities can somehow make us lose interest in reflective conversations that will produce positive thinking and new behaviors. Don’t be afraid to support the contributors by coaching them in order to understand that their emotional intelligence is yet another skill to reach higher levels of performance and career development.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, once said that great businesses are places where problems are solved and lives are improved. All these elements above will help you manage and avoid any conflicts at your company in order to build a better and stronger team. Because we know that conflict management is really important in every company, we are giving you the chance to discuss leadership development trends and insights with industry leaders and see how much they will be beneficial for you and your organization. Join our CFO Executive Summit in Prague on April 6th &7th and meet your peers and find out more on the strategic role of the CFO and the role of analytics in today’s business.
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