With a little work and the right processes, I believe anyone can manage others. But what does it take to not be just a manager, but a leader? How can you inspire others to do more and be more?
Lead by Example
I know, that sounds so trite; and how do you lead by example when your role is not the same as those you are leading? This has nothing to do with writing good code, or trying to keep a Sprint on task. It has to do with passion and inspiration.
What’s the end goal of any company? Profit. How do you make that profit? Keep your customers happy, make them feel like the company cares, make them want to not just stay, but tell others and get them to become customers too. It know it sounds a little abstract, and it is. But bear with me…
There’s a reason companies, and even organizations within the company, have mission and vision statements. They may even sound a little cheesy or obtuse, but they’re there for guiding customer experience and success, and that’s where the leading by example come in to play. A good leading is passionate about these and that passion shows in meetings, in presentations, and in how problems are solved and decisions are made. That passion helps others see how their actions can (and should to some extent) drive towards a common goal.
Sometimes it’s obvious, like fixing a major pain point in the existing system for the customer, or delivering a new solution that’s been asked for by numerous customers. Other times it’s not quite as obvious, such as improving stability. Let’s face it, most customers aren’t going to notice going from a 99.8% uptime to a 99.9% uptime, or that their larger reports now run 30 seconds faster, but that’s not the point. The point is, you improved it, and a leader’s passion is paramount to this success.
Inclusion
I would hope that it goes without saying that your team needs to feel as though they have a say in matters. They need to feel connected and in control of the actions and processes that lead to the accomplishment of the team’s goals or the final decision in an upcoming project or process change.
Soliciting feedback is great, but it’s not the only way to ensure that the team feels included. They need to feel safe to be able to come to you issues, both professional and personal. You team needs to know that they can talk to you on the side about anything that is bothering them and know that you’ll support them however you can and that it will remain confidential if the topic needs to remain between the two of you.
Helping improve the inclusion of your team is done through…
Listening
You can’t just talk to your team and expect them to go along with you, no matter how passionate you are. You need to listen. Not just hear them, but listen.
Some of the best ideas I’ve helped to implement over the years have been because I listened to what my team had to say. Sometimes it was listening to good ideas, which then lead to discussions over how to implement them. Other times it was listening to feedback about me, and how I was not as effective as I could be for them. Regardless of the topic, improvements would not have been made if them team didn’t feel as though they would be heard.
Listening to your team also helps you to understand what it is that motivates them. You can’t always give raises and promotions no matter how much you may want to. What you can do though is listen to know who on the team wants praise for their work, who needs public recognition (and who doesn’t want it at all), and who just needs a simple thank you from time to time in order to remain motivated.
Care
It sounds a little silly writing it down, but it doesn’t matter how much you listen if you don’t care about your team, their success, or their well being. If you’re not sincere in what you say and do with your team, they’ll know. There’s nothing that kills a person’s morale and productivity than a leader that is perceived to not care.
As easy as it sounds to just listen and care and be passionate in what you do so that you can lead by example, it’s not. It takes time. It takes practice.