In our last newsletter we had a discussion around the importance of The End of Year Review.
The end of year review is a continuation of the mid-point review and is an opportunity to assess and discuss the progress of the goals that were set at the beginning of the performance cycle. This process should be done as a final year-end review for the business, as well as a formal year-end conversation with each of your people.
I believe it is also important for us as leaders to take the time to have that soul-searching conversation with ourselves as a way of personal constructive criticism that we all need – the proverbial year-end look in the mirror!
NINE QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE A GOOD LEADER
As a process person I like to have an approach to this frank conversation with ourselves. Oftentimes, bad leadership skills are overlooked as the cause for employee turnover, unhappiness in the workplace and unproductive employees. Leadership is not a passive duty; it is an active responsibility. If you are in a management role where people are in your care, you are expected to lead in a way that drives results and improves employee satisfaction. You set the tone.
With the goal of becoming a better leader and manager, there are nine questions you can ask yourself to determine if you, or the people throughout your organization who manage, are effective leaders. Let’s get in front of the mirror.
1. Do the people on your team meet deadlines?
A consistent culture of missed deadlines can represent that a team is mismanaged and confused about what is expected of them. When deadlines are set and consistently met, it’s easier for employees to organize their workload and responsibilities. Therefore, when your team meets deadlines, it’s a clue that you’re organized and each person who reports to you understands how to adhere to a productive workflow.
2. Do you have a high turnover rate?
People usually don’t leave a bad job; they leave a bad leader. If you personally have a high turnover rate, it might be time to look in the mirror and determine why it’s hard to keep people working for you.
3. Does your team feel confident enough to take risks?
A good leader creates and sustains an environment that supports experimentation and rewards risk-taking. Risk-taking empowers people, builds confidence and reinforces that you support your team. This type of leadership also encourages innovation and creativity, which will ultimately benefit your company.
4. Do people hesitate to approach you?
If people are scared or apprehensive to approach you, this could be an indication that you lea with fear, or you are that leader who does not accept bad news well. Under fear-based leadership, people are scared to fail, so they don’t take risks. This can also cause an employee to keep quiet about festering problems. It can lead to analysis paralysis within a team and an eggshell environment.
5. Do you give people answers in a timely manner?
The inability to get answers to your team in a timely manner can signal a disorganized leader. This type of leader is hard to follow, and if employees aren’t getting answers, this can often stall projects and cause people to lose motivation and momentum.
6. Do you delegate?
If you can’t delegate, you are probably considered a micromanager. If you can’t delegate and have the mentality that you are the only one who can do the job right, this chips away at the productivity and confidence of the people in your care and often stifles creativity.
7. Do you send emails during off hours?
I believe a leader who does this sends the message to the person on the receiving end that you don’t value their time. This can create a toxic work environment. This behavior can also signal that a leader confuses activity with results.
8. Do you make decisions?
Effective decisions can save time and propel work projects forward. This increases workplace productivity and gives the people you work with confidence in you because you exude the confidence to be a decision maker.
9. Do you have the same rules as the people you manage?
Said another way, are you a “do as I say, not as I do” manager? If you don’t respect your team, they will struggle to respect you. If you are unwilling to put in the same effort or follow the same rules you expect your team to follow, people can lose trust in you and your credibility can fall by the wayside.
If you’re looking to attract top talent into your startup or your current business, a company built around strong leadership will always be essential. True empowerment comes when people discipline themselves, and that’s what happens under good leadership.
Have a great 2023 and BE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR OWN DESTINY
For more information visit our website https://www.3sixtymanagementservices.com/. My book, Tighten The Lug Nuts, will also serve as a workbook for these important topics and discussions.
Finally, I am also a Forbes Contributor. I recently had an article in Forbes published titled, “Implementing three key strategies can help managers transform year-end performance reviews into a highly effective meeting.” https://hubs.li/Q01w1g-T0.
Visit our web site, https://3sixtymanagementservices.com, as well as my
book, Tighten The Lug Nuts, for additional information.
Contact me at:
[email protected].
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Remember, People don’t quit on their jobs, they quit on their bosses.
