The landscape of leadership has changed a lot over the years. Gone are the days that it’s acceptable for a leader to bark orders and command respect based on job title. Leading with fear is also a concept proven to be extremely ineffective in producing desired results.

When a leader isn’t respected by their team the team’s motivation and desire to complete tasks diminishes. Their overall drive to perform is weakened therefore impacting on your bottom line. The worst part is that this tends to be a pattern, repeated over and over again. The team doesn’t perform, leader blames the team and demands better results starting the whole cycle over again and festering a toxic work environment with declining results.

The good news is that there are ways you can improve your relationship with your team.

Encourage positive emotional connections.

Emotions are a huge driving force for the overall tone in a workplace and they are infectious. Negative emotions have a toxic effect while positive emotions are uplifting and encouraging. Be conscious of your emotional state and the impact you are having on those around you. Set the mood that you would like to see everyone else display.

Collaborate, don’t compete.

Leaders can often feel they have something to prove when performing alongside a member of their team. It’s counterproductive to work in competition with your team, a collaboration of strengths will promote much better results as well as contributing to a positive working relationship.

Inspire.

A leaders job is to drive a team towards a common goal, however doing this from behind a desk is ineffective. Successful leaders pull rather than push, they roll up their sleeves and pitch in when necessary offering experience and encouragement. Your skillset and knowledge base is how you became a leader in the first place, so use it to work alongside your team and inspire them to achieve positive results.

There are many ways you can encourage a positive relationship with your team, energy should be spent on this every day. Get to know each member of your team and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Encourage their strengths and work with them on their weaknesses. The bottom line is, if your team respects you, they will happily work toward your common goals.

Do you know what the strength of your relationship with your team is? Are you unsure of how to achieve this or struggle with a toxic environment? Our Leadership programs are a great way to enhance your skills, help you motivate your team and overall become the leader you’ve always wanted to be.

 

Read more about your AWESOME Leadership program HERE.