10 STRATEGIES TO TURN YOUR EMPLOYEES INTO LEADERS
Leaders are not born
Businesses are facing increased competition and disruption. Developing leadership is a top priority for many companies. A business can turn its employees into leaders by using the following ten strategies. The best businesses grow their own leaders, rather than looking for new talent to fill vacant positions.This blog will discuss how to transform reorganization employees into leaders.
Figure 1 : Leadership at work
Source : https://www.bizlibrary.com/blog/leadership/servant-leadership/
Make a smart investment
When hiring potential employees, make sure that they possess the skills that you need both now and in the future. The new employee needs to gel with your company's culture and be excited about your products and services. Paying them a competitive salary and offering perks are prominent places to start.
Know who they are.
Knowing your team on a deeper level creates a more positive work environment. You can also use this knowledge to begin shaping and inspiring them to become a leader. For example, if they lack communication skills — then you could show them the basics of nonverbal communication. Not sure how to do this? Well, you could have informal chats with your team during breaks or schedule a one-on-one meeting. Discover their strengths and weaknesses.
Help them drop bad habits.
You could suggest that they implement a morning routine where they exercise and eat a healthy breakfast. Encourage them to work on their most important tasks when they have the most energy. Help them break those bad habits that are holding them back from work.
Teach and encourage them to network.
Start small by encouraging networking within the workplace during lunch hours or at after-work events. When they feel more comfortable, have them go outside of your organization by attending industry events. The power of networking can open the door to new business opportunities and give your team the chance to exchange ideas.
Provide plenty of opportunities for them to learn.
You can't go wrong with formal education and training. Personally, I learn best by doing, so delegate some of your responsibilities to your employees. After all, failure is often the best teacher. Personally, I learn best by doing. You could also pay for them to attend workshops and industry events.
Find time to mentor.
As a leader, being a mentor within your organization is a must. Mainly mentoring provides opportunities for you to pass on your knowledge base to potential leaders. As a mentor — you'll help mentees set and achieve short-and-long-term goals. You'll also be there to help them work through any difficulties. Refer this individual to someone whom you think can guide them — don't just toss them out.
Encourage decisiveness and accountability.
If you are continually micromanaging and criticizing your leader-in-training, they will fall.
“One important trait of being a leader is the ability to make decisions and to be accountable for your actions, When you give your employees autonomy and authority, you’re telling them you trust them.” As a result, they’ll “step up and surprise you with how much they can do if they know you are counting on them.”
Help navigate organizational politics and culture.
Make sure to cultivate a positive work environment where respect and transparency are the norms. Dan McCarthy for Balance Careers suggests job shadowing and role-playing as "ways to educate employees about the ins and outs of being politically savvy". McCarthy writes that you must get everyone on the same page regarding company policies and standards.
Keep them well.
When your employees aren't at 100%, either physically or mentally, their productivity and overall well-being suffer. You can encourage your employees to prioritize their health by launching an employee wellness program. Most importantly, I would suggest that you be open about your own health struggles, especially when it comes to mental health since this will remove any stigmas.
Teach them practical time management skills.
If your employees are struggling with time management now — then how will they fare once in a leadership position? You can help your team solve their time management problems by setting clear expectations and timelines. I'd also share with them a variety of time management techniques that have worked for you. Examples would be prioritizing goals, eating the frog, block scheduling, and saying "no". Suggest that they protect their maker time.
Conclusion
It is critical to acknowledge that most great leaders do not inherit their legendary leadership qualities. For decades, prominent leaders such as Barack Obama have worked to maintain their status quo and develop their leadership abilities( Gregory, A. 2009). To become a great leader, one must cultivate an interest in the subject, persevere, listen to mentors, and transform properly. To lead effectively, one does not need to be born a leader.
Make a smart investment
Know who they are.
Help them drop bad habits.
Teach and encourage them to network.
Provide plenty of opportunities for them to learn.
Find time to mentor.
Encourage decisiveness and accountability.
Help navigate organizational politics and culture.
Keep them well.
Teach them practical time management skills.
Gregory, A. (2009). Great leaders are born or made? Retrieved from http://www.sitepoint.com/are-great-leaders-born-or-made/
Maker Time Vs Manager Time – The Agile Director.” The Agile Director. theagiledirector.com, February 20, 2014. https://theagiledirector.com/article/2014/02/21/maker-time-vs-manager-time/.
Hall, John. “Encourage Employees To Prioritize Health And Wellness - Calendar.” Calendar. www.calendar.com, October 21, 2019. https://www.calendar.com/blog/encourage-employees-to-prioritize-health-and-wellness/.
10 Ways To Develop Your Employees.” The Balance Careers. www.thebalancecareers.com, November 13, 2019. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/developing-your-employees-2275869.
Rampton, John. “How To Find the Time for Mentoring - Calendar.” Calendar. www.calendar.com, November 1, 2019. https://www.calendar.com/blog/how-to-find-the-time-for-mentoring/.
Lavoie, Andre. “5 Ways To Turn Good Employees Into Great Leaders.” 5 Ways to Turn Good Employees Into Great Leaders. www.entrepreneur.com, February 17, 2015. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242663.
Hall, John. “Team Building Activities - Calendar.” Calendar. www.calendar.com, September 5, 2019. https://www.calendar.com/blog/team-building-activities/.
Palmer, Max. “Don’t Make These 8 Disastrous Leadership Mistakes - Calendar.” Calendar. www.calendar.com, March 18, 2019. https://www.calendar.com/blog/disastrous-leadership-mistakes/.
The best businesses create leaders, rather than looking for new talent to fill vacant positions. thanks to share
ReplyDeleteValuable thoughts. In corporate world it is possible to turn employees in to leaders. But small businesses employees becoming leaders are very rare. That is why it's very hard to find employees with leadership qualities.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting article for me. Current generation is very smart & they more focus on new things learning & experiments. As a leaders if we create a good learning environment in the organisation with above 10 strategies it will be great place for our new generation. Thank you very much for sharing interesting article
ReplyDeleteEvery organizations must have good and skilled leaders to achieve their goals easily. Turning employees into leaders is a bit challenge. With your above points are very useful to every organizations to build a good leader. Really useful article.
ReplyDeleteIf we focusing to turn every employee to leader there will be issue for the manufacturing sector specially organizations like garments manufacturing etc.. so strategy and goals should be different from the nature of the business.
ReplyDeleteAll the leaders are not always managers.. According to this we can realise managers are not leaders but every employee can be a leader among others. Good skilled leaders can change the others negative attitudes and can make a difference.. Your above ideas can help to make it a success.
ReplyDeleteSpotting second line leaders is really important to an organization. leaders should give them chance to lead selected projects. It will enhance their leadership quality.
ReplyDeleteIn the current context, developing skilled, knowledgeable and well experienced employees for the next level will help to create a competitive advantage for the organization which help to increase their revenue and profits. Informative article.
ReplyDeleteOrganizations have to look for leaders within their existing employees. Your blog shows some strategies to make employees into good leaders. Sometimes it is costly and time consuming task, but it is actually an investment to the organizations to create effective leaders.
ReplyDeleteYES.... as leaders, we should always encourage others to become leaders some day. We must identify each and everyone's skills, knowledge and commitment and always drive them to become good leaders.
ReplyDeleteEvery employee can become a leader if they have the right skills and attitudes a leader should have to have. The strategies you have highlighted in your article are really useful to empower the employees in an organisation to become leaders. A very interesting article.
ReplyDeleteOrganizations have to work on creating leaders. They can implement training and development programs in order to enrich their leadership skills.
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