When you hire employees to work for you, being a good leader can make a huge amount of difference when it comes to your company’s profit, reputation, and productivity levels. A boss or manager who is also a good leader knows how to build strong relationships with their employees, inspire and motivate the team, and improve the overall workplace morale by prioritizing employee satisfaction. As a result, good leaders are good for business – not only will employees be happier, more productive, and loyal to their workplace, this will also transfer over to the customers who’ll have a better experience and therefore be more satisfied with their choice of brand.
Whether you are a manager or you’re looking to hire somebody to be a great leader within your company, here are just some of the things that employees want from a good leader regardless of their industry or position.
Approachability.
When it comes to the workplace, a good leader never puts themselves so far above everybody else that they are always locked away in their office and very difficult to get hold of. In fact, the contrary is true – a good leader will make sure that they are a part of the team that they are managing and always make themselves available to anybody who has any queries, questions, issues, or simply needs a helping hand. While the leader may find themselves in a situation where they do need to be separated for the team for some time, an ‘open door’ policy will ensure that all employees know that they are welcome to approach their boss about anything whenever needed. A good leader is an approachable and empathetic person who the team is comfortable bringing any suggestions, comments, or grievances to.
Education.
When you’re leading a team, those team members will expect you to be somebody who they can go to for help and advice when needed. This usually means that they expect you to be educated in your field and more knowledgeable that they are when it comes to the work tasks and processes that they do on a daily basis. And, a good leader understands the importance of always learning and striving to improve themselves. You can improve your education in several different ways; for example, get an MSECE degree from Kettering University or sign up to classes that will help you work smarter and better in your career. There are also a wide range of training programs, both online or offline, that can help you specifically fine-tune your leadership skills, or you may want to consider getting a mentor.
A Positive Attitude.
The attitude of a leader is always going to have a massive influence on their employees. A leader who comes in with a negative attitude in the workplace and spends more time complaining about everything that is going wrong instead of trying to come up with constructive ways to correct and improve things is going to lead to employees that always see the negative side of things and begin to give up hope and motivation when it comes to improving the situation. On the other hand, a leader who demonstrates a positive, can-do attitude at work regardless of the situation will motivate and influence their employees to be the same. While it’s important to be realistic, a good leader will always try to look on the bright side and find learning curves that will impact them, their team and the business for the better.
Personal Investment.
When it comes to picking a good employer, manager or team leader, it’s safe to say that most employees would choose the one who is invested in their personal development. A good leader understands the importance of the people to the business and as a result, is committed to helping them improve their own personal development in the form of learning more about what they do, boosting their skills and taking on more responsibilities. A good leader is not only invested in the business itself, but also committed to helping their team go far, and supporting them in their success. They will offer opportunities for training and development and will always be willing to share their own knowledge with their team.
Honesty.
Every good leader knows that being honest with their employees is going to earn them a lot of respect. In fact, surveys show that a huge over 80% of employees prefer a boss who is honest with them even when it comes to making mistakes. And, a good leader knows that holding themselves accountable, owning up if they mess up and admitting their mistakes honestly when needed, will earn them a lot of respect from their team, compared to a boss or manager who never talks about their mistakes and needs to put a perfect persona on every day in work. Not only does honesty and accountability earn you more respect, it also sets the best example to your team that honesty and integrity are the best policy no matter what.
Appreciation.
Finally, employees who are dedicated and motivated to their position at work are looking for a leader who truly appreciates them and what they have to offer. The simplest way to do this is to ensure that you are regularly saying thank you to your employees and showing them that you appreciate everything that they do on a daily basis. One important way for leaders to show appreciation to the teams that they manage is to involve them in any decisions that affect them. Keeping your team in the loop and letting them know the latest updates or potential changes in the pipelines will provide them with an undoubtable knowledge that they are appreciated and thought about enough for their opinions to be important.
In a workplace, good leaders can make a team work harder, boost motivation and productivity, and encourage a great workplace morale leading to increased loyalty and employee satisfaction. Which of these leadership qualities do you think you already possess? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
