The Best Leadership Techniques to Get the Most out of Your Employees

As a manager, there are lots of things you can do to lead your team. 

Sure, you could give orders, punish mistakes and sit back and micromanage - but that will only create resentment and an unhappy working environment. You should lead from the front and adopt techniques that help you to get the most out of your staff and build a respectful, productive place to work where everyone can thrive. 

Here are our top 6 leadership techniques to get the most out of your employees.

1. Help team members play to their strengths

If one of your employees excels in a particular area, even if they might not think so, give them the responsibility to take ownership of those tasks. Even if it is something you could do yourself, by delegating work you can empower your employees to take more responsibility.

This demonstrates to your employees that you trust them to take control and value their skill set. Not only does it help to boost their self-confidence, but it can also lighten your workload so you can focus more attention on supporting your team, rather than delivering work.

2. Communicate with employees with openness and honesty

Whether there are changes happening in the company, performance isn’t as you’d expect or you are facing some challenges of your own, you should communicate honestly with your employees.

Break down barriers by speaking openly with your team about your own challenges and ambitions to create space for them to talk about theirs. By being open about both good and bad news, you can make your employees feel more valued, especially if they know they have your support during challenging times. It can also result in higher levels of engagement.

3. Pay employees what they are worth

Despite your praise and support, if an employee feels like they are not getting paid what they are worth, it can be disheartening. However, they may need to take on more responsibility or reach certain goals before moving up to the next pay bracket. Be honest with your employees about what they may need to do in order to get paid more. 

Once they’ve met all of your expectations, you should keep your word and secure their pay rise. This helps to earn their respect and motivates them to keep working hard towards their next pay review.

4. Set clear goals

If you are not clear about what you expect from your employees, it can be difficult for them to meet your expectations. Without providing the clarity needed to complete a task or achieve a goal, you could be setting up your team for failure.

So, set clear goals for your team. Make sure they know what you expect and allow them to ask questions so you are all on the same page. By being clear about what you want, it makes it easier for your employees to achieve the goals you set without any misunderstanding.

5. Don’t punish failure

Failure is an important part of learning. If you don’t give your employees the space to fail, they cannot learn from their mistakes. Therefore, if an employee makes a mistake, treat it as an opportunity to learn something new. Spend time evaluating what went wrong and together, you can figure out a way to make improvements and avoid similar mistakes in the future. 

By doing this, you are creating a safe environment for your team to challenge themselves and try new things if they know they have your support.

6. Show your team you appreciate them

To show your team you care, you don’t have to spend lots of money on thank you cards or gifts. There are plenty of ways to show your team you appreciate what they do without spending a penny. This could include making them a coffee while they’re hard at work, celebrating their success by sharing it with the wider team or asking for their input on a task that relies on their expertise.

When your team know you appreciate them, it contributes towards their job satisfaction, loyalty, increased productivity and can even boost staff morale.

So, you have two choices.

You could micromanage your employees and create a toxic working environment built on fear and resentment. Or, you could lead your team to become the best version of themselves in an environment built on honesty, trust and support by adopting our top leadership techniques.

Here at JVP we know how hard you work to create an amazing workplace where employees are engaged, motivated, and feel valued. It’s why we’re so passionate about employer brands, because we know the difference it can make when it comes to attracting the best talent. 

To discover how our employer branded job advertising and recruitment marketing solutions will help you to quickly attract the best people, whilst removing the hassle and high costs from the recruitment process, call the JVP Group team on 01745 774 955, or click here to schedule a 20-minute free consultation call.