Leaders of the modern world in are required to be more aware and involved with their company, their employees, and their processes than ever before.
To be a successful leader, you must ensure you provide balance to the personal and professional lives of your employees and that your workplace is a pleasant place to be, all while trying to run a successful business.
Whether you are a CEO, a manager, or a supervisor, you are looked to by your staff as a role model for how they should behave. Leaders must lead by example and demonstrate the behaviours and attitudes that they wish to see reflected in their staff.
To many, it might sound like an impossible task to lead a group of people, hoping they will create a harmonious and productive team. While difficult, it is not impossible. There are several things a successful leader can do to guarantee they provide their staff with every opportunity to be happy and constructive in their jobs.
Are you wondering how far away you are from your next promotion? Take our quiz to assess your management career pathway.
GO TO QUIZ
Maintaining a healthy work/life balance for your employees will help to give them a greater sense of control in their lives. Nowadays, employees are looking to feel like their life is more balanced. If they can achieve this, it will make them less stressed, more productive, and able to compartmentalise their work lives from their home lives.
Leaders who make balance a priority will find a higher rate of employee retention, increased loyalty, mutual respect for one another, and a higher quality of knowledge.
It is proven that one of the best ways to relieve stress is through physical activity. Having the availability of an onsite gym is beneficial to both employees and leadership staff. It encourages everyone to be more active, and in turn, they will feel relaxed, and productivity level will increase. If you are unable to provide an onsite gym, partnering with a gym close by and offering discounted memberships is a great way to encourage your staff to get active.
Parents often find it difficult to return to work after having children. They worry about missing the small moments like mealtimes together and school drop off or pick up. Policies for working parents make their lives much easier. Whether you allow them to work from home or work only during school hours, they will thank you for the opportunity to be a present figure in their family’s lives. They will feel more positive about coming to work knowing they will be able to pick their kids up from school and spend quality time with their family.
Offices are no longer defined by the four walls and cubicles that they once were. Nowadays, people can work from most places and still be useful in the same way. With communication tools like instant messaging and project management tools like Slack and Trello, employees can stay up-to-date on all their tasks, regardless of where they are. The flexibility gives employees independence and freedom that is appreciated in the modern working environment.
Offering an incentive that positively benefits your employees is another great way leaders can push motivation and productivity forward. It may take some time to hone the exact details but offering your staff a half-day off every week or every fortnight, with the condition that all work is completed, is a good way of rewarding them for all the effort they are putting into your business.
Ultimately your employees want to do the best job they can do at work and home. By allowing them space, flexibility, and opportunity to find that balance for themselves, they will become more efficient, valuable, and constructive.
Where someone works is just as important and has as much of an influence on a business, as how hard they work. The physical environment that your staff are working in will greatly impact their mood, their productivity, and their motivation. As a leader, if you ask your employees to work in a boring and unstimulating environment, they will feel less inclined to complete their tasks to a high standard and will likely feel bored in their work.
Facebook is known as one of the most desirable places to work as an employee. Culture, workplace perks, and a collaborative environment are only some of the things that have earned the tech giant this title.
Located in Silicon Valley, the Facebook campus is abundant with open plan workspaces, making collaboration and discussion with colleagues easy and something they are encouraged to do.
Additionally, the campus offers an array of perks for employees. All employees are provided with free meals, dental care, haircuts, laundry services, and on-site health check-ups — almost anything you can name, Facebook offer.
Understandably, most businesses do not have the same means as Facebook to be providing the same work perks. However, even leaders of small businesses can adapt some of Facebook’s policies and make them applicable to their companies. Offering staff free food, whether it’s a meal or snacks throughout the week is a great reward for hard work and shows that you appreciate their efforts.
If you are looking to be a successful leader in the present or the future, your goal should be to create a work environment that is pleasant, stimulating, and will not cause your staff to overwork and burn out.
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes across all industries. Modern leaders should be looking to hone their skills and experience throughout their career. If you try to achieve these things, there is a good chance you will one day progress into a leadership role.
You may love your current job and all the perks that come along with it; but have you considered the additional benefits that come from working on moving forward in your career?
One of the best things you can do to ensure you are on track to becoming a successful leader is to have a strong educational foundation to stand on.
Whether you are looking to move into, or are currently working, in the construction industry, human resources, project management, or similar areas, you will benefit from further education. Gaining a leadership diploma will show prospective employers that you have clear career goals, a determined and forward-thinking personality, and a drive to succeed – qualities that are extremely valuable to any business.
Leadership boundaries are being challenged for the future and leadership is no longer as linear as it once was. It is no longer about ordering people around and waiting while others complete the work for you. Leadership is becoming collaborative; it is about sharing the workload and encouraging your staff through leading by example. Listen to your staff, have compassion and empathy for their problems and hardships, and discuss and implement strategies that can help them solve those issues, while still maintaining their work responsibilities.
It is advantageous for a company to seek a better work/life balance and a more welcoming work environment. On top of this, you want leaders to have a strong base of knowledge and experience to draw upon. A diploma qualification will reassure your clients and staff that you are the right leader for the job at hand.
Remind yourself that your staff are a priority. You can’t do the work without them, and your staff will not do their best work if the circumstances aren’t suitable. Listen to what they need, provide it to the best of your abilities, and your staff will consider you to be a timeless, fair, and very successful leader.
