The past month or so, I have been writing a lot about recent experiences that help trigger many of my past experiences. I have had a lot of fun, looking back on the good and bad of leading teams.
What came from that were three (3) really good questions every leader needs to be asking themselves from time to time. They are also great questions for leaders to ask their managers in their organization.
1. How are you treating your employees?
My answers usually come when I look how I am being treated back. You usually get back what you put in. If you are a good-hearted, warm and friendly person – well you are probably getting the same back. The converse does not normally direct back. If you are belittling your employees or treating them badly – they really can’t treat you the same way. They normally will act numb or just let everything said or done go in one ear and out the other.
2. Are you getting the desired results from your employees?
If not, again this is probably a good time to look at how you are doing with setting expectations (are the realistic and achievable?). Are your messages clear and provide the right level of details for the job to get done right? I also think that question one plays into this one pretty clear. If you are not treating your employees well, then that will have an effect on their performance. People are human feeling beings.
3. Is everyone on board with the team’s mission, vision and goals?
Most leaders like to believe that they communicate better than anyone else in the world. If you assume that your message has been sent, you better look to see if that message has been received. Simple review and discussions from time to time have a huge impact with keeping everyone on track.
I use these questions all the time. It helps me to see if I am doing what I should be doing. You can too! They will help you become a more effective leader, if you answer them with the truth. You can only get better when you are honest with yourself.
Try it and let me know how it goes.
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