Doing The Right Things Right

Do you think that you are a leader? Maybe you're head of administration or maybe you believe you have what it takes to be one, but you dont know what the next measures that you need to take are. If one of those states applies to you, then this is article is for you. Here, we tell you in detail what it is you need to do to become a powerful leader, one who can reach their goals and who is exceptionally good at working out complicated issues while simultaneously doing so the right way. You will also learn how to use your time more wisely when working, while getting results that arent any worse, but that will not be as time consuming and you wont have to put in as much effort into it.

Leaders must set the right kinds of goals and communicate them effectively to the team

Being the leader of a business is comparable to that of a captain of a ship. Your job entails getting your employees and crew to the final destination while staying away from disasters or obstacles such as an ice-berg. Leaders have easy guides to assist them with staying on the right track to success just as captains have some guidelines that help them navigate their ships in the right direction.

First, set goals that are clear to the entire team. They need to coordinate with the companys mission as a whole. You can accomplish a large number of important things with the right goals. Since goals give you and your team a better focus, they are a great way to give everyone a sense of purpose. This is important, since productivity is gained from purpose.

The engine that drives your team is a tangible goal, one that gives their work a meaning. Additionally, they are motivated to keep working despite a hard or boring task that they get because they will have the big picture in their minds. Stated simply, the meaning will instill the team with determination. However, as stated earlier, the goal needs to be perfectly in sync with the strategy of the company since it will stop people from spending their precious time on otherwise useless projects that dont help the company move forward in the right direction.

This is a perfect Segway in the communication, which is the next practice.

If you arent clear and concise about the things that your employees need to be doing, you will most likely just waste your time and money on people who do not make an impact with their work since they dont know what they can do to be useful.

Take, for example, a company who was in charge of finding a specific spelling for a certain word for a client. However, because of some sort of miscommunication, the members of that company had not been made aware of the importance of that job and thus, copious amounts of material had to be both revised and reprinted. Since you obviously never want to be in a situation like that, you need to practice great communication. Try to keep these three things in mind:

• Be straightforward and keep it simple when reiterating what is expected of the members
• Remind them how each and every one of them is making their contribution to the goal
• Have written and verbal instructions available to eliminate any chances of miscommunication

A leader must be willing to adapt along with the changing marketplace and act on their ideas

Change is something that people either love or hate. They either are incredibly impatient to receive the newest gadget or they could care less and actually prefer to keep doing things the old-fashioned way.

Whatever your personal preference may be, you must strive to adapt and change alongside the modern world if you want to be a leader with a profitable company.

Its common knowledge that the way that people in your industry do business correlates to how the world is changing. Looking at todays most successful companies, youll notice that have adapted to both globalization and the technological innovations that are associated with mobile computers as well as the internet. On the other hand, the companies that choose not to change and just stick with the old rules are destined for failure.

What if, for example, a shipping company from the 90s decided that the internet would just have a moment in history, so the companys leader refused to create a website or use email. It is highly doubtful that they would still be here today. The people who fail to take advantage of change and innovation dont understand the number of opportunities that they are missing out on.

When Google had first come out, the ill-considered Yahoo executives had declined an offer to invest in that then, young startup. Today, however, they still probably cant get over it.

Whenever you embrace new ideas, you simultaneously catch the eye of new clients as well as make your companys image seem new, modern, and exciting.

When the time comes for change or to make a decision, the leader must do so with confidence. They cant let the constant thought of details slow down their progress since results are what matter most in business. Additionally, you cant get any results without acting on them and you cant act without a plan.

As soon as youve created a well-though out plan, and a plan B in case something doesnt work out the way that it should of, then you need to act on it! It is better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all since the best way to learn is through your mistakes.

To do excellent work, a team must have the tools they need and be properly motivated

Culture is often associated with terms such as art and literature, or at times a biological sample. However, there is also such thing as business culture. Business cultures is the social environment of a work area. That is something that leaders should really pay attention to and take care of. As a result, the third practice for effective leadership is to have an open work culture that will give your team members the space to work in as efficiently as possible.

There are some leaders who just want their employees to do what is asked of them, with no need to go above and beyond, but the most successful leaders will push and help drive their team to give the work their all to produce the best results possible.

Youll be amazed at the results that youll get if you encourage your promising employees that need a challenge to keep from getting bored to work hard. This is imperative since little to no motivation can spread throughout your team in no time. In all honesty, it could just take one bored person to worsen the attitude of the rest of the team.

If you arent quite sure how exactly you need to motivate someone, dont hesitate to ask what kind of task your employee finds challenging. Additionally, increase efficiency by rewarding those who find different ways to save time.

It is also crucial for a leader to simplify the way that your team gets things done as well as to eliminate any obstacles that could be in your way since a successful team, is one that performs at its best. No need for issues with old software, spotty internet or computers and printers with inconsistencies. As a result, pay attention to whether your company needs new equipment or training to be better, since you, the leader, are the one who finds and deals with those issues. Your team cant have any obstacles or distractions if you want them to reach the goal that you have made. At the same time, watch out for unnecessary paperwork or repetitive tasks that may be decreasing efficiency. Sometimes, the way things are done may be the culprit to the problems.

There are many ways to motivate your team, and its also important to establish mutual respect

Before, we had talked a bit about motivation, but we didnt stress how important it is to be a motivational leader. Your members can be passionate about what they do with the help of motivation, since it makes them dedicated, and thus they can overcome any difficult situation. Whether it is dealing with every minor request from a demanding client or having the capacity to create an app that makes learning calculus fun, there is nothing that your team cant do without motivation. As a result, it is imperative for the leader to motivate the team so that they care about what they do.

There is a number of ways to do this, but first and foremost, you need to make sure that every person on the team knows why what they do is important, so that they dont just work towards a paycheck. You should also avoid micromanaging at all costs. You need to give motivated employees a sense of ownership so that they feel as if they own their work. Dont always tell them what they need to do because you dont want them thinking that they need your permission in order to do something.

Additionally, dont forget to acknowledge your teams accomplishments. Throw a party whenever a milestone is met or a project is finally completed instead of just going from one project to the next.

On top of that, you need to earn the respect of a motivated and loyal team in order to be a good leader. Today, employees often move from one company to another in search of the best-paid position of a well-known brand. However, this does not mean that the loyalty of a good employee cant be won.

Mutual respect with the team and its leader is at the center of a company that is successful. In order to gain this atmosphere, show them your respect. You can do this by often asking them for their opinion as well as addressing their concerns. To strengthen their respect even more, never go back on your promises and make sure that you work as hard as you expect them to.

To be efficient, prioritize your work, dont overload on data and remember to take care of yourself

Trying to find the time to supervise your team as well as your own work is one of the most difficult parts of being a leader. As a result, you may end up spending more time than needed on a task, which only makes you unproductive. Thats why prioritizing is very important. Sort out your work by focusing on what really needs to be done, adopting a triage mentality and ranking how important and productive the tasks are. Medical settings are where youll see triage used most often. They focus of making sure that the sickest patients are treated first. However, this can easily be applied to business as well. In contrast to the sick patients, there are tasks that need more urgent care in comparison to the other projects that could just all together be dropped.

Disruptive tasks can also be severely damaging to your productivity. A good example is refreshing your email inbox every couple of minutes. Since your focus moves to another activity every time, you ruin your workflow and start wasting time. To be more efficient, deprioritize checking your email and better yet, allot specific times in the day just to check your email.

Another essential practice is understanding when to cease extra data flow. A lifetime can be spent on educating yourself about a specific problem. You might think that this is your only option to make a decision that is informed. However, our brains can only take in so much before we start to get confused and distracted. Therefore, keep track of the amount of time that you spend researching so that youll be more productive and make better decisions.

Lastly, make sure that you take care of yourself. Since so much is constantly happening in our lives, we often dismiss looking after our own health. However, making decisions as well as solving issues is often just as tiring as physical labor is. Unfortunately, too much mental exertion can result in some unpleasant side effects. Overworked and sleep deprived people usually feel burnt out, are moody, get sick more often and have difficulty focusing. So dont forget to take breaks, find time for fun activities and make sure you get enough rest. Not only is it good for your well-being, but it also makes you more productive and a better leader.

Final Summary

It is your job, as an executive, to oversee everything that makes up the environment of your company in order for your team to perform the way that you want them to. Although you are the leader, you will only be productive when actually act like you are a part of your team. As a result, you need to create goals, be respectful, and most importantly, look out for you and your teams well-being.

Practical Advice:

Dont make it more difficult than it has to be.

Dont think too much the next time that you are faced with a difficult decision to make and cant choose between the options. Just compare the advantages and disadvantages of each action and figure out what you think would be the best for both your team and the company. Just listen to your inner voice and act on it.