Good leadership is the key to good employee retention. Surveys consistently show that one of the top factors leading to job satisfaction is getting along with your boss. If you know this, then it’s time to ask yourself if you’re doing what it takes to be a good leader for your team. Let’s go over some of the wrong ways and right ways to lead.
The Wrong Approach
Let’s start with what not to do. We’ve all been around the type of manager where you wonder how on earth they got to be where they are. They lack empathy and tact, and they either seem clueless or overinvolved in the details. As we pick this apart, you’ll start to see some themes emerge. Here are some of the common leadership mistakes:
- Being close-minded.
- Using poor communication (doesn’t return phone calls, avoids issues).
- Lack of vision; doesn’t have a clear idea of where the team is going.
- Not being open to new ideas.
- Being unavailable or absent.
- Yelling and screaming instead of taking someone aside to speak with them calmly.
- Micromanaging; not giving people enough space to do what they do well.
- Inability to manage a diverse group of people from different generations and backgrounds with care.
The Right Approach
Now that we’ve detailed some of the behaviors to avoid or bad habits to overcome as a construction leader, let’s talk about how good leaders manage their team.
It’s important for a good leader to express the company’s larger goals to the team. People want to know that they have a bigger purpose than just making money. Social responsibility is also an important part of good leadership.
- Is your construction firm lessening its environmental impact in some way, or giving back to the community?
- Does your firm volunteer for a local charity?
- Has your firm established a foundation or scholarship fund?
Great leaders provide feedback and guide their team. They truly want to see their employees succeed.
- Provide mentorship.
- Offer guidance.
- Guide them in their overall career.
Managing a team means getting to know your employees on a personal level.
- Listen to your team.
- Get personally involved in understanding your workers.
- Learn about their life their personalities, families, and hobbies.
- Be supportive and caring.
- Encourage them instead of demanding certain outcomes.
- Get to know what job satisfaction means to them.
- Learn your workers’ goals.
- Help them achieve their production goals; make sure that goals are in alignment with the company’s goals.
Honing your skills as a good leader will benefit you, the company, and the team many times over. Leadership becomes more personally rewarding when you take responsibility for the impact you’re making on others. Let your team know that their work has a bigger impact and more meaning than just the bottom line. Invest in your workers’ personal and professional goals and lives, as well as their skills. Ultimately, you’ll get more buy-in, more camaraderie, and better production.
