If you are a company executive, odds are many people admire you and look to you for direction on a daily basis. This kind of attention can be stressful for some, while it makes others flourish. If you find that you are not making the impact on your company and employees that you wish, here are some tips to help make you a more effective leader.
Foster a Healthy Company Culture
To be a successful and respected executive like Peter Dodge Hanover Research, it is essential that you foster a healthy company culture. Company culture can be anything from your company’s core vision all the way to how you treat and interact with your employees. Are you the type of company that works hard and plays harder together, or do you just want to get the job done and get out of the office? Neither is wrong, but ensure that everyone in the company understands your vision so there is no confusion. Good employees are hard to come by, so do what you can to appeal to the type of employee who will help drive your success.
Craft and Share Quarterly Plans
It is important that you always have a plan for growing the company and that you share this plan with all coworkers and employees (quarterly is recommended). This is particularly important if you work in a larger company or one where you do not get much facetime with any of your staff. Regular check-ins to update everyone on the future and to see where everyone stands is an easy way to get everyone on the same page so that you are all working toward the same goal.
Encourage Transparency
Encourage your team to speak their mind, even if what they have to say is negative. Ensure that employees feel confident enough in your trust (and in their job status) that they can tell you, and other coworkers, how they really feel about something. Your staff often works directly with your customers (and some of them are very likely also customers themselves) so they have an inside look into how your offerings are doing in the market. Trust them if they are willing to give you feedback and encourage them to do so.
Understand the Little Things
There is a fine line between understanding the ins and outs of how your company operates and getting stuck in the proverbial weeds. Do what you can to understand how your company runs from the ground up, but try not to spend your days focusing on the little things. Trust your employees to do the jobs that they have been given and do not micromanage. If you see an issue with something, then by all means, work to correct it. Your overall job is to provide leadership and make important decisions, but it is important that you understand all of the little details to guide your choices.
Be Accountable
Your job as an executive is to make bold decisions, sometimes in very quick fashion. Try as you might, not every single decision you make is going to be a homerun. If something that you decide falls flat, take accountability for the mistake and move on. Don’t harp on your misfires,
but rather, learn from them. If you are able to admit when you have made a misstep, your employees may actually respect you more and see you as a human just like them. Take it one step further and ask your peers to give their input on what occurred, and you likely won’t make a similar mistake again.
Being an executive in a company — large or small — can be challenging. It can be tough to have all eyes on you and know you’re being judged for every decision that you make. However, these tips will make you a more effective leader who is respected by your peers and your employees.
