Congratulations. You Are in Charge. Now What?

BY VIRGINIA SAMPSON

Chances are you have been working hard to become a leader, or perhaps you just got thrust into that position. Either way, being an effective leader requires a leader to develop certain skills. You can be a leader in your community, your home, or your profession.

“Command and control” doesn’t work.

Formerly, the consensus was that leaders needed to assert their authority and control what their “subordinates” did. This “command and control” style of leadership, according to recent research, is ineffective.

Businesses today face increased competition from all over the world. Profit margins and resources are tight, which can make providing bonuses and raises difficult. Businesses face high rates of:

• employee burnout

• employee turnover

• employee dissatisfaction

If these issues are left unresolved they worsen. Ultimately they affect the profitability of the business. These problems cannot be fixed by asserting authority and demanding team members perform better. They cannot be fixed by giving monetary incentives because, according to researchers, the primary motivation for the vast majority of team members is not monetary.

Motivating your team members to excel.

It is the job of leaders to “develop” the talents of the individual members of their team or organization in order to maximize each one’s contribution to the team. When each team member is working as productively as possible the team performance is maximized.

Team members want to know that what they do matters. When team members don’t feel valued by their leaders, they start to feel like a machine or a commodity. If no one notices a person’s commitment to doing the job well, motivation diminishes over time.

How can you motivate your team members?

Show appreciation. Team members need to feel appreciated in order for them to enjoy their jobs, do their best work, and continue working into the future.

Team members want to know that what they do matters. When team members don’t feel valued by their leaders, they start to feel like a machine or a commodity.

Psychologists have identified five types of acts of appreciation. It is your task as leader to discover what type works best for each team member and use that method to show appreciation. Five types of appreciation:

• Words of Affirmation – words of praise or recognition about an accomplishment.

• Quality Time – spending some quality time with a team member.

• Acts of Service – when others pitch in and help the team member get things done when he/she is overwhelmed – especially without being asked.

• Tangible Gifts – providing a gift such as tickets to a sporting event, a favorite restaurant, etc.

• Physical Touch – giving a handshake, a high five, fist bump, pat on the back, putting a hand on the shoulder, or even hugging where appropriate.

Determining team members’ appreciation style.

A team leader can:

• Observe a team member’s behavior. How does that team member encourage co-workers?

• Observe what a team member requests of others. What type of help is being requested— gifts, help, words of encouragement?

• Listen to team members’ complaints. What they complain about probably shows the type of appreciation they are not receiving.

If you are unsure what type of appreciation works best for members of your team, start slowly. Show appreciation and watch how each reacts to it. Rethink it if what you have done doesn’t resonate.

The “weirdness” factor.

Appreciation must be authentic if it is to motivate team members. As with anything new, showing appreciation might seem weird (i.e. strange, uncomfortable and even inauthentic) at first. But that “weirdness” will pass. In order to overcome the weirdness factor, a leader can be open about his/her uneasiness or even joke about the weirdness.

The benefits of showing appreciation.

When relationships are not nurtured by appreciation, team members experience a lack of connectedness to the mission or business. They become discouraged. Team members begin to complain about their work, their colleagues, and their supervisors.

People remain as long-term team members when they feel valued and appreciated. Appreciated team members have a high degree of loyalty to the company and their “leader.” They have a high degree of job satisfaction which correlates to a lot of other positive work-related factors and ultimately a more profitable business. People are motivated to excel when they feel appreciated and valued. AL

Virginia Sampson currently practices in the areas of elder law, estate planning, probate, and business law. Over her long career, she has also been a judge and a litigation attorney. She consults in the legal field, primarily with women, assisting them to excel and to find balance.