The beginning of the year is a time to take one's eye off the rear view mirror and look ahead. People want to follow leaders who are confident and optimistic - not weighed down by the past but moving forward. With that in mind, here are 5 forward-looking ideas to help you be a more effective leader in 2015.
"Tone at the top" really does matter - Setting an example in all you do makes it easy for people to want to follow. Fact: Even if you think they're not, employees are always watching how their leaders behave. A great role model is an exceedingly easy one to follow - and it has a ripple effect down to the lower levels of an organization. It can be an effortless but powerful way to boost productivity beyond one's immediate executive circle. On this topic there's a memorable quote from physician and theologian Albert Schweitzer: "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing."
The time you carve out to develop your people is a sound investment - Studies show high-potential employees frequently don't receive the career development guidance they desire, leading to predictable (and costly) retention problems. The flip side of this talent coin is that taking a sincere interest in employees' careers is sincerely appreciated - leading to predictable positive attitudes and productivity. A common managerial comment about employee development? There's just no time to do it. A simple response: As a leader you make time for what's important. I'd say you can't afford not to.
Slicing is not a viable long-term growth strategy - In challenging times, it's easy to default to a focus on reducing costs. Not to say efficient operations aren't critical - of course they are - for all businesses. But a relentless single-minded focus on cost reduction... to the near-exclusion of looking creatively for new products, new channels for growth, new opportunities wherever they might present themselves... is no way to manage a business over the long term. It's just not sustainable (not to mention the quagmire of employee morale problems it inevitably entails). Cost containment always has its place. But it's ultimately a defensive strategy, and long-term success requires a potent offense.
Avoid the tempting tendency to lapse into micromanagement - In times of stress and diminished control, it's natural to focus on the little things one can control. Like micromanaging your directs. It's easy. It makes you feel more in charge, more like you're getting things done rather than merely being buffeted by events. All I can say about this tempting tendency is: Resist it. Like cost-cutting, it's essentially a small defensive approach, rather than an expansive forward-looking one. Besides, it discourages. You want your people to push the boundaries on your behalf, to do the most energized work they can. You want them empowered and effective. Micromanaging has a cold-water effect: dampening, dousing, demotivating. Not the direction you want your leadership to move others.
Focus on real substantive accountability, and win respect for it - Research shows a large number of high-level managers are, quite simply, poor at accountability. (46% are not "firm" enough, according to one Harvard Business Review study.) And isn't accountability - ensuring things get done in the way they need to - one of the very core management skills? How can one be a strong manager with an accountability weakness? The simple answer: You can't. Which is why it's so critical for leaders to focus on The Big Stuff, The Hard Stuff... the intractable important projects that really need accomplishing. They're not as easy as falling back into comfortable micromanagement, but when finally done right you'll be respected for it.
Effective leaders, by definition, take the lead, don't hold back, lead from the front. They attack the hard but meaningful. Here's hoping these 5 fundamental ideas will be productive for you in 2015.
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Victor is author of The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World (Prentice Hall Press).
