Leadership Tactics, Part 2

If you are a leader, finding time for interaction with your employees is one of the most important jobs you will face.

You must learn to maximize the results of the time you spend interacting with your employees.

Last week I presented the first 5 of my Top Fifteen Leadership Qualities. If you didn't catch last week's article, visit this link, www.benmarksupply.com/archives, or click on the link at the end of this article.

Next up, Leadership Qualities 6 thru 10. These qualities are presented to help you with daily interactions with your employees. While you're reading, determine how good you are at them and how often you use them in your leadership role. Rate yourself, and determine where can improve.

6. Spend 80% of your supervision time with your best people. Time is irreplaceable, so you must invest it properly. Spend your time with the people who can show the biggest return from your leadership. When you are training, supervising, and delegating to your employees, spend 80% of that time with your best people. Your best people will respond to your leadership and provide you the biggest return on your investment.

7. Teach for 10 minutes every day. Invest time training your employees for at least 10 minutes everyday. Provide them with product, customer service, and sales training. Make the training fun, something your people will look forward to every day. Remember that 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week, equals over one full 40 hour work week per year of training.

8. Schedule performance evaluations every 6 months. People like to know how they are doing. Schedule evaluations with your employees and review their progress on the job. Communication during the evaluation is very important. Let them know how their job fits in with the "big picture" of the company. Praise them for work done well and suggest improvements they might be able to make for the future. This is also a good time to set goals with them for the next six months.

9. Take time to listen. Ask questions of your people about things you don't understand. Always listen to their complete answer even if you disagree with them. Never cut your people off because you don't think they have the solution. Next time they might, and will be reluctant to tell you. Listen to every idea, and then act on the ones you think are best.

10. Make your people solve problems. When your people come across problems in their job, don't be too quick to solve it for them. Provide them with information and support, but make them think through the situation and come to a solution themselves. Make them answer these questions. What is the problem we are facing? What caused the problem? What are the possible solutions? Which solution is best for the customer and the company? When a problem occurs, have them bring the answers to these questions to you and then decide on a solution together. Teaching your employees to become problem solvers is one of the best investments you can make in your company.

Take time and go re-read the above leadership qualities. Make a plan to implement each one into your leadership role next week. Start interacting with your people, and then be sure to catch my last 5 leadership qualities in next week's issue.

John

The Pipeline archives webpage has been updated with all the previous issues. Click the link below for access to the first 20 issues.

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