Managing your leadership...

We all struggle at times with being effective with our teams. Especially as a new manager or starting a new job. As a leader, you inherit authority and responsibility that cannot be taken lightly and at times it can be hard when your ego wants to take over. So how can you achieve more and worry less when at work? How can you become more effective with your people? Let me share some basic steps on how to be an effective leader from the beginning no matter what your title or role is.

Find common ground... first thing you have to do is create a relationship with your team. A great way of doing that is through finding common ground. By doing so, you will relate better with your team. Simply ask questions about their likes, dislikes, what they did the past summer or do they have plans for vacation? Kids, dogs, cats? Martial arts or regular art? Movies or books? Ask away! You will almost always find some common interest in a topic and if you do, continue there. The key here is that it has to be real. Don't fake it. You would notice that too from someone else, wouldn't you? Then every time you see that person again, you can follow up on your last conversation and pick up where you left off.

Create equity... Ever heard of the "bank account theory"? You can't make a withdrawal from the bank unless you put money into it. The same rules apply to human beings. As a leader, you cannot ask someone to do something unless you have demonstrated your willingness to do that job or shown previous support to that person or group. If you run a restaurant as a new General Manager, you can't ask someone on your team to clean the bathroom unless you have demonstrated that you have done it, or at the very least do it alongside your team. Even if your employees are not performing their job to the right standards, you need to show them first, explain, teach, show and review. Not until you have done everything in your power to show the way, only then can you start holding them accountable - and the key is to actually do it.

Show you have high standards... you really only have one chance to show and prove that your standards are high. "Strive for perfection and we will achieve excellence along the way..." (thank you for that one Mr. B). No one is perfect, but we need to work hard at being better every day - even if it is just a little. Never lower your standards and make it a big deal! You set the bar as a leader of your team or business. The day you slack, your team will do the same. So when the standards are not being met, make a big deal about it. You can show mercy with other things, but one should never lower standards when it comes to performing the job at hand. It is a competitive market out there and consistency is only met with the highest standards and it is your job to manage that.

Flexing is necessary... If you think about your team right now, I am almost certain that everyone is a little different. You need to adjust your style to the people on your team. If you have a reserved, quiet person that handles your IT department and that person needs solid data to buy into your ideas, then come prepared! Come armed with data, present your ideas in a calm and planned manner. Perhaps you have a sales manager on your team, extremely outgoing and highly motivated - then that person needs your energy, encouragement and perhaps strict controls and guidance so they don't go rogue while still pulling in those sales. You see - everyone is different and it is your job as leaders to address your team members and get out of your comfort zone to get them in a good place where they can be successful.

Situational leadership is a must... Do you have a server that has been late more than once? Does common sense tell you to write him/her up the second time and terminate the third? What about a General Manager that doesn't know how to handle a faulty HVAC in the middle of the summer on a Saturday night at 7:30pm in a busy restaurant? Well, we need to be sensitive to the situation... What if I told you that the server is a single mom that drops her kid off at day care in the morning and has about 15 minutes to get to work? Perhaps best solution in that situation is to ask the server what she needs and maybe offer her to come in 30 minutes later every day to accommodate her schedule? Imagine what that does to her and how she perceives the company? What if I told you that the General Manager has more than 5 years of experience with the company and knows exactly what to do, but didn't follow the right steps due to laziness and lack of motivation? This guy needs a kick in the butt and be held accountable immediately. You see, never be presumptuous when a situation arises. Get the facts, validate, ask yourself if the employee needs support, coaching, encouragement or direction.

Have fun... Let's do some math, shall we? We work a lot of hours a week and sleep a lot of hours a week. On the days we work, we spend the majority of that time together with our employees. So can we please have some fun? It is our job as leaders to make it fun! Reward your employees, buy them gifts, have sales contests with servers, or every time you break a sales record buy your kitchen team pizza and red bull. Just do it! It works and no one will ever get mad at you for taking good care of your employees and rewarding them for the hard work. (And if your boss does get mad, come work with FRC - you must clearly be in the wrong place). Recognize good employees in public, put them in the spotlight! Who doesn't want to hear that they are doing a good job? Accountability is crucial, yes, but promoting good behavior is more so important and highly effective.

You need results... at the end of the day you need measurable results. So make sure you have clear goals and actionable data for your employees. If you need to increase sales by 3% and tell your staff that, they may not get it and not feel like they can contribute. But if your 3% increase in sales is the same as $75 more each day in sales, then break it down and create a contest to sell an additional 5 extra specials every day at $15 and assign to your team with rewards. It now has become achievable, measurable, simple and the goal supports your goal. So remember that your leadership of a team or business or division all depends on metrics such as sales, cost of goods, labor, other expenses, retention, cleanliness, service standards, on line reputation; all these can be measured and if it can be measured - it can be improved! So create simple goals for your team and explain the why, get them involved and change the behavior in such a way that it supports your overall goals.

So there you have it, some simple tips on how to be effective with your teams and at work. Hope it helps you in your role.