Your ERS - Leadership

ERS 7 of 10

In this series we are looking at creating, implementing, and executing an Employee Retention Strategy for the survival of your business over the next 24 months. 

75% of employees consider their manager to be the worst part of their job and 57% leave a job because of their manager illustrating how important it is to your ERS to have the right people in positions of management and leadership. 

Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people toward achieving a common goal.  In the workplace, this is the act of directing workers with a strategy to meet the company's needs. 

There are 7 key attributes of a great leader.  They:

1. inspire commitment which is the skill of leading people to engage and dedicate themselves to an outcome and/or cause enthusiastically and strongly.  A great way to do this is to understand that whilst every leader and worker is there to support the company’s needs the company and leader are also there to support the workers’ needs. 

2. lead employees by travelling with them on the journey as opposed to directing them and leaving them.  This does not necessarily mean ‘doing’ but rather applying the skill of delegation.

3. plan strategically taking the company vision and translating it into doable acts and outcomes that achieve the vision.

4. manage change which is one of the most difficult skills in great leadership because it first requires that trust has been established. 

5. develop employees by growing the worker for their role and meeting their personal development goals. 

6. embrace self-awareness and recognise their limitations, admit any failings, and willingly take responsibility for both without hesitation. 

7. welcome leadership development opportunities knowing they are also on a continuous pathway of growth. 

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is promoting workers into leadership roles without ongoing training and support, taking them to the point of failure.  A great performer does not necessarily a great leader make nor does a great performer want to take on the responsibilities of a leadership role. 

Being a leader is not easy and it’s not for everyone and being a great leader reflects your ability to influence rather than rule from a position of power or authority.  It requires a spirit of fairness, courage, the ability to build trust, maintain credibility and create opportunities for collaboration. 

You can contact me any time for advice or to ask a question and remember RIPPLE has all the services you need to plan, implement, and execute all components or your Employee Retention Strategy.