I always say, you have the herd you deserve, and if you are a subpar leader, your herd will follow suit. Here are a few tips for effectively leading your herd in the direction of success:
- Give clear direction. Your herd needs a clear set of rules and guidelines from you, and it’s your job as an effective leader, to give it to them. Make sure that your vision is clear and that you are consistently making it known.
- Thoroughly orient new employees. On-boarding new employees is more than just giving them a quick tour of the facilities. You need to make sure that your new employees get a feel for your companies culture and vision. Give them clear-cut expectations and let them know why their work matters to your organization.
- Perform thorough employee reviews. The very purpose of performance reviews should be to inspire the employee to not only improve, but thrive and excel at their job. If your employees aren’t inspired to improve then what are they inspired to do? One of the most important parts to making performance reviews effective is making them comfortable. And that means that communication has to be frequent between an employee and manager. There should be regular informal feedback given during all parts of the year rather than just at an annual performance review.
- Make sure you are hiring the right people for your herd. Are the right people in the right seats? Have you started off on the right foot from the beginning by compelling the right people for your business and repelling the ones that aren’t the best fit? If you aren’t compelling the right people in the first place, then your business is bound to have a higher turnover rate. Once you have the right people in the right seats, your goal becomes retaining those employees long-term. They will become a huge asset to the success and growth of your business.
To be the best leader for your herd, you need to be willing to continually grow and improve. In this way, you can continue to cultivate an environment of growth for your herd.