One who hated books

Throughout my career, I have got guidance from many leaders. Some leaders stayed with me even though they have done with their careers. Those were the ones who are open to change. The ones never stood out, even if they are so good in what they do are the ones who did not accept change. I am almost closing towards three decades in leading various teams. Leadership 101 I learned is to trust your team. You hired them to do the job. You should let them do.

What I am trying to say here is, We all have our own ways to get the job done effectively. My father used to say you want to go from A to B, whether you walk, you run or take a bus. It doesn’t matter, as long as you get there eventually in a timely manner matters. Same thing here at work, If an employee is doing a chore in a certain way and it is not to your liking, trust that person to do that job. As long as the job is done with quality and we meet safe practices. You should be good to go. Those are the leaders. They will let their team grow with them.

These days we all communicate via email. If you have an employee who writes an email longer than your liking. Do not push that employee to change his way to bullet point form. This will hinder his thoughts. He may not find it easier for him to convey his thoughts. He will miss valuable points. As a leader, read that email regardless of the length, because this employee put effort in that communication. If you constantly try to change this employee, he will soon or later stop communicating. He will wait till things fall apart for you to fix or he simply moves on to next job. Another point to be noted her in this scenario. He or she may finish the lengthy email in 10 minutes, compared to bullet point format. Here this is not his or her strength. He or she will doubt how to write and wastes valuable time to convert a simple email to bullet forms just to please the boss. On the other hand, if the boss is complaining, that he or she doesn’t have time for long emails, then that shows his interest in this particular employee. This is not a leadership quality.

Guiding a person is different than changing a person. Do not change their strengths. You are the leader, you should change according to needs. Let them perform in their turf at its best. Involve with them with the same passion they show. You will have a great team to support you back.

Answering calls is an important part of leadership. Everyone is busy and employees know that. If a leader continues to let his calls go to his voicemail over and over, then this shows he is not taking the calls. Soon or later, this becomes an annoyance. Employee will not bother to ask any questions. There are many times an employee need support right away from his or her boss. He or she understands if they cannot get hold of them once a month, but if this is a recurring issue, Leader will be considered as ignoring the staff. They will not feel the support.

Answering calls is an important part of leadership. Everyone is busy and employees know that. If a leader continues to let his calls go to his voicemail over and over, then this shows he is not taking the calls. Soon or later, this becomes an annoyance. Employee will not bother to ask any questions. There are many times an employee need support right away from his or her boss. He or she understands if they cannot get hold of them once a month, but if this is a recurring issue, Leader will be considered as ignoring the staff. They will not feel the support.