We often overlook one of the biggest tools in building an engaging culture, our front-line managers.
In order to continue success in leadership and business, we must continue our focus on seeking innovative and rewarding ways of empowering our leaders at all levels to drive, coach and support their teams to greatness.
This needed shift in perspective is one reason why performance reviews are moving away from annual or bi annual affairs and toward consistent, forward-looking talks where the leader speaks with their people on a daily and regular basis.
In the leadership programs we facilitate here at RdL, we promote that the role of the leader is to spend 70% of their time, leading, coaching and developing their people for excellence. The other 30% is about administrative or operational activity.
Our current executive leaders focus needs to be on empowering their leaders to have thoughtful conversations with their people.
This is all good and well assuming your leaders know how to have these conversations with their people and understand the importance of developing them without fear.
To ensure success, leaders must be trained to have the right conversations. It’s easy to tell employees they are doing well, and if the relationship is there between the leader and his people, it is equally easy to share with one of their team how you would like them to improve and grow, ie fix what they are doing wrong.
HR teams need to shift their focus onto that of coaches or people managers so the leaders in the company are fully equipped to have the right conversations with their people thus growing workplace culture and financial performance.
