Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

5 Tips for Better Leading and Motivating Your Team

There are times when my driven and laser-focused clients are at a loss as to how to create urgency and propel their team. It is clear what needs to be accomplished, yet they fail to mobilize their troops. Laying the foundation for great teamwork involves a number of important factors. To succeed, consider these 5 tips.

1. Over-communicate. It’s not enough to communicate your vision. Equally important is whether each and every member of your team understands their specific role and how their contribution aligns with your strategic plan. Most leaders fail to communicate often enough. Each time you shift your focus, you must explain the why. Explaining the business rationale is important for employees to stay connected.

2. Find unique drivers. It is erroneous to assume we are all motivated by the same variables. The fact that we all have different drivers is what makes the market. Your exact passion may not be shared by your direct reports. Spend time with each of your team members. Learn where and how they derive value. This will foster a unique and personal commitment to the larger vision.

“Be willing to share the glory.”

3. Create ownership. If you lead with your ego, you might be doomed. It’s hard for a narcissist to see, because your own reflection can be blinding to you and off-putting to others. Confidence and creating momentum must be equated with being prepared to share the spotlight.

4. Profile your team. Be willing to share the glory. Ask whether you as a leader have taken risks and created visibility for your team at senior levels. Trust that your direct reports will be able to respond to challenging questions. If you don’t let go, you will have a disenfranchised team. How many of you regularly vet your team and explore whether they believe they are getting the kind of exposure they desire?

5. Create a risk-friendly environment. To create a risk-friendly environment, you have to surround yourself with experts.These experts have something to teach you. If you have all the answers, one of your key liabilities most certainly will be losing your star players. Your star players must have a voice at the table.

Stewardship in the truest definition requires you to launch everyone around you.The buzz is not really you. It’s each and every individual you have surrounded yourself with. That is, if you let them.

 


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.