How Your Leadership Style Could Be Affecting Team Engagement

When was the last time you considered whether your style of leadership could be affecting how your team are performing? Often you as the business owner can be the centre of the issues. In saying that, there are easy strategies and habits that you can form to improve your leadership style and the team’s engagement at the same time.

Consider the following:

Are you a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kind of person?

If you expect your team to live by a set of values, you need to be demonstrating these on a daily basis. Pull people up (even senior people) on this also.  There is nothing worse for engagement if your team are saying ‘how come so and so always get away with that?’

Are you a person that defends your opinion to the death, and struggle to listen to another point of view?

If you do this, it is a sure fire way to kill engagement. People will stop caring and will stop sharing their opinions if you are not willing to listen, admit you are wrong, or able to compromise.

As a leader, the best thing you can do is to show vulnerability. A strong leader admits when they have made a mistake and they apologise for it – full stop.

Are your team ‘in the dark’ when it comes to your vision and values?

Remember that your team are guided by your passion for your business, they will buy into anything if you take them on the journey and share your vision with them. Showing how they fit in with the vision, will improve engagement. Don’t forget to regularly talk about your values too and bring them into your meetings, reviews, performance discussions.

Do you over promise and under deliver?

There is nothing worse for an employee, who had a conversation with their leader and the leader promised something (like a pay rise) and they either forgot or never followed through. Not only will this lead to disengagment but will get sick of this and eventually leave. A great leader follows through and does exactly what they say they are going to do – and when it goes pear shaped, they apologise and fix it! 

When was the last time you provided constructive feedback to your team?

Once a year reviews are a thing of the past and no way to build an engaged team or make people feel valued. If you get the opportunity to provide feedback straight away – do that, every time. Particularly if its to do with a problem or issue. A great leader asks questions to understand what might have gone wrong and then give advice.   Dont underestimate the 15-30 minute regular sit down with a team member to check in on how they are going.  It can work wonders for their motivation and continue to build on rapport.

Are you forgetting to thank your team, even for the small stuff?

No news is good news, right? Wrong! The number one thing that most team members say they want that makes them feel appreciated, is a simple thank you from their leader when they do a good or great job. It’s as simple as that! Just be warned – don’t kill them with kindness. We are thankful as leaders that someone is meeting the expectations and doing the job they are being paid for and we acknowledge that. Team members who go out of their way and exceed expectations – this is where the ‘thank you’s really come in’.

A final question to ponder, if your team members were asked, would they say that you are a good/great leader?  What do you think they would say about you?

If you would like to know more about what your team think of you in order to build more trust, respect and engagement, consider carrying out a survey with your team. If your team is only small, maybe a round table chat over lunch or a few coffee catch ups one on one. Asking a few simple questions, will give you enough feedback to work with. 

If you would like help getting feedback from your team, let us know. We can provide you with a format and process to deliver a team survey and help you review the results.