According to Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, “Really great people make you feel that you too, can become great.” This well-kept secret is the key concept of effective leadership and team management. Bringing the best out of others through inspirational leadership, team building, and effective communication will catapult you to the ranks of history’s greatest leaders.
Invest in your team members and they will in turn invest in your company. Inspirational leadership is inspiring your team members through active engagement by helping them to connect the dots between the work they do and the mission of the organization or company for which you work for. By bridging the gap for employees, you help them understand where they fit in the company and how that company fits into the outside world. Helping employees understand where they fit into the company is only half of the battle. An inspirational leader must also lead by example, exemplifying high character, moral and ethics in both a professional and personal setting.
Teams are often a representative of their manager and building a team in your image is critical to the success of a group. Of course this concept only works when the manager is a positive representative for the team and leads by example. Team building is imperative and gives employees the opportunity to get to know their manager and vice versa. Team building activities should include the entire group and be led by a committee of team members chosen by the manager. The key to the team builder is to get your team involved in the planning and the implementation of the event. Putting individuals into leadership roles among the team through the delegation of activities empowers them and gives them the desire to perform at a higher level. Team builders are not only engaging for team members but it also improves communication among the group.
Effective communication can be summed up in two simple words- active listening. Often times leaders fail to listen to the needs of those that look up to them and as a result their employees eventually tune them out. Listening to the needs of your employees will help you to determine their needs and what motivates them to perform at a high level. The top Fortune 100 companies understand the importance of investing in their leaders and implore training tailored to the vision and values of the organization. The relationship is often reciprocal in that the company that invest in the leader will in turn invest in his staff that benefits the organization and the community in which they service.
Nkozi Knight 