5 Best Ways to Lead Your Smartest Workers

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Shortly before legendary?management?guru Peter Drucker's death in 2005, he made this bold declaration: Increasing the?productivity?of?knowledge workers?was "the most important contribution management needs to make in the 21st century."

If you're new to the label, Drucker simply defined knowledge workers this way:

Knowledge workers are people who know more about what they are doing than their boss does.

We've reached an era where the ever-increasing presence of technologically savvy and innovative knowledge workers, in flatter organizational structures, are rendering top-down management hierarchies virtually obsolete. This is a good thing.

Today's best leaders are of a different breed. And one thing they never do is assume they know more than the very people they lead.

Leading knowledge workers effectively

To thrive in this decade, leaders must recognize the power of shared status and shared decision-making. They must leverage the skills and expertise of their knowledge workers on the frontlines, and enable them to contribute great ideas that lead to great customer experiences. They must understand that while they may not be the experts, they still play a critical role in helping their tribe of knowledge workers to achieve their goals.

Here are five ways to effectively do it.

1. Be a coach and facilitator.

The "ask versus tell" approach is perfectly suited to leaders in the knowledge economy. They don't tell their knowledge workers what to do, but rather ask powerful questions that allow them to create their own solutions. This thought process works well with smart workers who prefer to own the solutions to their own problems. The role of the leader is about empowerment--increasing their tribe's development and facilitating the learning process through a coaching approach.

2. Develop their workers for the future.

With more global competition, today's leaders look to the future to help their workers gain the know-how that will keep their skills sharp and relevant while helping the business be successful tomorrow.

3. Allow them the freedom to build professional networks.

Knowledge workers become loyal employees when given the freedom to form or pursue strong networks both inside and outside the organization. Professional networks add value as workers whose job is to "think for a living" expand their knowledge and bring back to the organization new skills for competitive advantage.

4. Actively involve others.

Great leaders recognize that leadership is multi-directional. While it can come from the top down at critical times, the best scenario is allowing it to travel from peer to peer or from the bottom up, where the collective wisdom of knowledge workers helps solve real issues on the frontlines.

5. Demonstrate your leadership competence.

Lastly, let's quickly erase any assumptions that leaders of knowledge workers are mere doormats. On the contrary, they exercise great influence by holding their own--demonstrating keen knowledge, insight, and expertise in their industry or business sector. From purely a leadership standpoint, they will carry the vision forward, communicate the vision, and actively engage their knowledge workers in pursuing the vision. This takes leadership competence and builds confidence in your tribe. And their confidence in you, the leader, will ultimately deliver excellence.

Your turn: Do you lead knowledge workers? What would you add to this list? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.

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On episode 105 of the Love in Action Podcast, I sat down with Sabrina Horn , an award-winning CEO, communications expert, and bestselling author. Her career is highlighted by her 25 years as founder, CEO and President of Horn Group, the iconic U.S. tech communications agency she founded in Silicon Valley at age 29 (thus becoming one of the few female CEOs in Silicon Valley in the early nineties). Her most recent book, Make It, Don’t Fake It: Leading with Authenticity for Real Business Success , aims to help high-level leaders make the right decisions as they start and grow their businesses for long-term success.

Listen here: Website |?Apple Podcasts ?|?Spotify ?|?Google Podcasts

5 Key Take-aways from This Episode

• 'Fake It Till you Make It': This phrase has bred and normalized dishonesty to get ahead. It encourages people to lie or twist the truth for personal gain, which sabotages your success and destroys your reputation.
• Running a business on integrity: It's difficult because taking the shortcuts to avoid that is easier, Sabrina says. By definition, integrity means truth, but the reality is that sometimes the truth hurts. “If your product has a flaw and you have to do a recall or if the market’s turning sour and you have to do a layoff, that’s hard to face,” she remarks while providing tips on being more authentic.
• Leading with love: Sabrina shares, “A leader loves well by creating an environment where values and culture matter, where people feel like they can stay and grow and build their careers, where they feel like they can be themselves." She adds, "when you give that kind of care [to your people], that ultimately translates into better financial performance, more employee retention, and a stronger brand; all of it pointing to a more successful business."

• More on why core values matter: “My advice to every entrepreneur is to determine what you stand for and what your company has to offer before you start,” she replies. “Think about every business process you’ll have in your company and how your values will integrate into them.”?
• Leadership and communication: “I suggest that leaders overcommunicate with their teams, especially coming out of the pandemic.” She adds, “In the midst of uncertainty and doubt, you need to know what is unknown. You need to acquire a bias for information and overcommunicate with your people to remove that uncertainty and doubt.”

Great conversation with an accomplished and high-profile executive. Hope you'll join Sabrina and me. Listen to the whole episode now. ????

Listen here: Website |?Apple Podcasts ?|?Spotify ?|?Google Podcasts

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An invitation for senior leaders looking to develop their management teams

I have created the ‘From Boss to Leader ’ course to teach emerging?leaders and managers?the leadership skills they need to flourish in remote and hybrid work settings. Watch this?2-minute video ?to see if it may be right for your management team. Then I invite you to?book a 15-minute call with me ?so I can personally hear your organizational and leadership challenges and offer some free advice.

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes ?is an international speaker, globally-recognized leadership authority, executive coach,?podcast host , and?syndicated columnist ?with a worldwide following. He teaches emerging leaders the skills to build great work cultures where people and businesses flourish.