Hiring is always one of the most difficult parts of running a business. Putting together a team to do the work is the baseline for productivity. But it’s the management and leadership team that is absolutely critical to the success of your company. Here are some tips for building an effective leadership team to help run your business.
1. Empower your teams
Of course, you can hire great leaders, but you should also work on building them within your existing team. You can begin to build leadership in your lower-level staffers by empowering them with autonomy on the job. Micromanaging teams will not help develop problem-solving and analytical skills, and these are critical in the managers of the future.
2. Cross-train teams
You will learn the unique skills of your teams by cross-training them to work in multiple areas. This is a great way to build critical leadership skills in your future managers. The best leaders know your business inside and out, so cross-training is a great way to keep front-line teams moving up the ladder.
3. Be transparent
How do managers make decisions in your company? If you don’t let employees in on the process of decision-making, it will remain a mystery. The last thing you want is a newly-promoted manager to have to wing it. Instead, share with your employees the “whys” behind your decision-making.
4. Be excited about the work
Show your employees how much you care about the work and why it matters. Your managers should do the same. This passion for the work will gradually permeate the business so that employees will be more engaged. This is also critical for leadership—they must care about the quality of their effort.
5. Set clear responsibilities and establish accountability
Everyone, from the lowest-ranked staffer to the highest leader, must understand their role in the organization. This requires you to have clear job descriptions and key performance metrics for everyone in the organization. Without these metrics, you can’t hold your teams accountable. Without accountability, production will decline.
All of these steps can help you build leadership characteristics into your employees. This process will help you begin to mold your workforce in a way that helps you promote from within. It creates a ready-made pool of potential leaders for your business that you can draw upon for years to come. Exelare can help with great software to help you track candidates and employees at all stages of their growth. Contact us for a demo today.
