You've heard these before, but are you doing them consistently? Check yourself against them today.
1. Offer Specific, Positive Reinforcement. - Point out what people are doing right. Help them recognize what they should be repeating.
2. Kill Long Boring Meetings - Keep your meetings productive. Ten minutes with a useful agenda ("Here is what I need from you today. What do you need from me?") is far better than sixty minutes spent in useless updates and chit chat.
3. Be of Service to your Employees - Your job as a leader is to support your team in doing the work that needs to be done. Spend your time removing obstacles and ensuring your team is set up for success.
4. Let it Go. Why spend energy harboring resentments, hard feelings, or playing games? These emotional cesspools just drain your energy and make you lose focus. If you are stuck, clench your fists very hard and think about the thing that is irking you. With a long breath out, relax your hands and "let it all go." Move on.
5. Coach, don't instruct. When someone comes to you with a problem, particularly an employee, resist the urge to give them the right answer. Say "let's look at your options...." and engage them in thinking about the pros and cons of the different choices. Help them become better decision makers, not order-followers.
Friday Five. How well are you doing these?
