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If you want to be able to lead effectively, you have to gain the trust of your team, writes James Short.
It just makes sense if you think about it. You can have all the necessary skills of a leader but if your team does not trust you, why would they follow you? Yes, they will still do their tasks if you tell them to but the quality of the results would be at most, average.
A true leader does not need to tell the team what to do. The team members already know what their roles are as they already have a clear understanding of what their leader’s plans are and what the common goal is. They know that whatever happens - you, as their leader, have their backs. In short, they can count on you. With that said, losing your credibility as a leader can have a serious impact on the performance of your team. And what would cause this? It can be caused by several factors but one that really stands out is the act of not following through.
When we think of not being able to follow through on commitments, the first thing that comes to mind is the customers. However, not being able to follow through not only affects your customers but also your employees. This creates a negative domino effect which will eventually be felt by your consumer base. Don’t leave your employees hanging. Give them the same importance as you would your customers.
Identify Priorities
It is common for an organisation to have multiple goals and seemingly countless priorities. It is your job as a leader to identify and clearly communicate which ones are at the top of the list. Communicate and identify those items as often as you can. It creates a natural filter for all future decisions and conversations. What this does is that you can quickly filter out requests that are not beneficial or in line with those said priorities. This will help you avoid promising on approving a request from a team member only to find out that the said request is detrimental to one of those priorities. You will then have to reject the request which will hurt your credibility.
Review, Review, Review
The easiest thing to do yet somehow, one that is mostly overlooked. Periodically review your written commitments, follow up, and follow through on action items. Doing this allows you to remember your commitments to the team and give a sense of urgency to follow through on them. Keep practicing this and eventually, it will become part of your routine.
James Short is a real estate consultant.
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