Self-awareness
Establishing the ability to reflect on your actions, your inward and
outward responses, is crucial when attempting to improve the
perception of leadership and the true intent of leadership. Ask any
skilled poker player; everyone has a tell. Even if you think you're
hiding a reaction, the odds are someone will see your truth. Instead
of masking and hiding throughout the workday, take the time to
learn how to become self-aware, see the opportunities for change
and improvement and find worth in those adjustments. Taking those
steps and making an effort can help reshape a person's instinctual
responses. If you walk into work and declare you're going to have a
bad day, odds are you will. Instead, if you walk in and say you're
going to have a great day, the odds are far better you will indeed
have a decent day. The same can be said for regulating yourself and
being aware of how you interact with people and your actions that
impact the business and the people around you. The alignment of my
suggestion to work on self-awareness directly speaks to the
following questions from the engagement survey, "Provides
leadership who act in just and ethical ways, and I trust my
supervisor." Trust is tough to regain, and if it's addressed and a
person isn't self-aware, they will never change. A person who thinks
issues only apply to others is usually the biggest problem in any
organization. Seeing someone struggle, but knowing they are aware
and are learning to do and be better, is much more palatable than
watching someone who thinks they are above it all. Having the
individual accept their part in the organization's dysfunction would
be the first step. Creating an environment that allows for growth will
be the tricky part. For the years referenced on the survey results,
these questions did not score well; this perception was not an
anomaly it was the norm. Once the individuals work on themselves
and learn to express themselves honestly and respectfully with
integrity, they will notice a change. With scores as low as they were,
any improvement will be seen. However, with the amount of damage
done over the years, it may take a year or two for leadership to
regain the trust lost and see a decent increase in the scores. It will be
an actual test of commitment; will leadership still try to fix what's
broken if the reward for that change is not swift? It will be up to all
parties involved to create a positive result regarding trust, ethics, and
self-awareness in the following survey.
Communication
Communication involves many factors that can compromise the
delivery. Providingintegrity, eye contact all play a part. If you lack in
one, it could not only disrupt the intent it could compromise the
entire fabric of the team. If you provide valuable information but are
yelling, it will not be heard for its intended value. It will be received
in a negative light. Suppose you whisper, with your head down, while
explaining new and exciting changes to the company. In that case, it
may reflect an attitude of disinterest or disagreement with the
initiative instead of the intended enthusiasm you may feel.
Cultivating a team of active participants requires impeccable
communication and the ability to positively relay information and
receive information. Growing up I always heard in school, knowledge
is power. Knowledge provides you the power to make informed
decisions. It's the power to leverage information learned to create
change or fuel growth. If someone can't communicate their feelings
or their reactions adequately, all that opportunity is lost. The
questions that speak to communication are, "Promotes an
environment in which employees feel free to make suggestions and
complaints, and my supervisor lets me know where I stand and what
is expected of me." Communication is a two-way street. It's the most
collaborative thing a team can do to organize chaos, create change,
or keep things on a steady path.
Empowerment and
Engagement
"Great minds don't think alike. They challenge each other to think
differently. The people who teach you the most are the ones who
share your principles but not your thought processes. Converging
values draw you to similar questions.Diverging views introduce you
to new answers" (Grant, 2021).
A leader who takes the time to share ideas and explore opportunities
for themselves and their employees is a way to create a team that
works together instead of against each other. The questions on the
survey relating to empowerment and engagement are, "I feel
encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things;
my work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment, recognizes
employees based on merit, i.e., accomplishments, successes, and
when people work extra hard to meet our goals they are rewarded
accordingly." Each of these questions utilizes communication and
self-awareness, as mentioned above, but also speaks to the need for
leadership to be engaging and engaged in the day-to-day
functionality of the team and the betterment of the employees.
Creating opportunities and rewarding efforts may help empower
workers to maintain their momentum each day. A group of people
who feel undervalued and underutilized creates a disconnect
between the mission of the business and the individuals who are
tasked with accomplishing the mission statement's goals.
Imagine the company is a car. Could you ride on the rims in the event
of an emergency and get to your destination? You might, but it could
cause irreparable damage. Would it be better to ride in a car with
properly inflated tires, a seat belt strapped across you, and a full tank
of gas and windshield wipers to wipe away the rain? Yes. There are
ways to get by, and there are ways to do things properly, efficiently,
and productively. Creating opportunities to communicate, become
self-aware, empower employees and engage in their success will lead
to a well-oiled team with a goal and the ability to meet those goals
together.
Grant, A.[@AdamMGrant].(2021, November 18). Greatmindsdon’t
thinkalike.Theychallengeeachothertothinkdifferently.Thepeople
whoteachyouthemostaretheoneswhoshareyourprinciplesbutnot
yourthoughtprocesses.Convergingvaluesdrawyoutosimilar
questions.Diverging views introduce you to new answers.
[Tweet].Twitter. https://twitter.com/AdamMGrant/status/14613373
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