From first-time managers to seasoned executives, effective leadership is crucial for any organization.
Leaders shape how your organization achieves success, motivates employees and cultivates work culture. When employees feel supported and appreciated by leadership, productivity and employee engagement increase. More engaged teams lead to a consistent and positive customer experience and innovation.
Effective leaders can make all the difference. It's up to organizations to foster their growth and inspire incoming leaders.
Related: Watch ITA Group’s Leveraging your leaders webinar for real-world examples and best practices on engaging your leaders.
What is "great" leadership?
We know great leadership results in team wins and employee happiness, but what makes them great? It's how they use their different strengths to get the most out of their team.
Strong communication
Clear and consistent communication ensures shared understanding and expectations. You empower employees to voice concerns or share ideas.
Inspiring
Motivating employees and recognizing their hard work helps team members feel valued. When employees feel appreciated, they're more likely to stay and refer potential hires.
Collaborative spirit
Teams tackle challenges more effectively when employees' strengths complement one another. A more connected team aligns with goals and brings consistent results.
Constant growth mindset
Helping employees develop professionally instills a sense of trust as they grow in their roles. A lack of growth can demotivate team members and make it less likely to retain strong talent.
Empathetic
Strong emotional intelligence helps managers nurture patience and understanding with employees. When managers fail to nurture understanding, employee satisfaction decreases.
How empowered leadership impacts employee experience
Investing in and empowering managers leads to clear, tangible benefits across the organization.
The employee-manager relationship impacts attrition rates and employee morale. Gallup attributes 70% of the variation in employee engagement scores across departments to management. Additionally, workers state trust in senior management is crucial for job satisfaction. Yet, only 21% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust their organization’s leadership.
Great leadership leads to higher organizational performance and profits. More talented managers leads to higher employee engagement, quality and productivity.
3 strategies for developing stronger organizational leaders
Leadership development helps new management or long-term senior leadership hone their skills. When organizations help leaders grow, they support continuous improvement and keep their teams agile.
1. Adopt a coaching mindset
Empower leaders with openness, curiosity and flexibility. It invites open dialog, which they mimic with their direct reports.
2. Improve communication
Seeking and acting on feedback builds loyalty and collaboration between leaders and employees.
3. Lead by example
Cultivate a sense of belonging and well-being with your team. When they feel a sense of trust in leadership, employees are 4x more likely to be engaged.
Leadership is a win for everyone
From motivating teams to acting on feedback, your management makes or breaks employee satisfaction and organizational success. Issues can lead to demotivated teams, while empowered workers help businesses thrive.
How are you motivating your leaders? Learn about leadership's critical role in an organization's success.