Importance of Language in Small Team Leadership!

I just completed my big five personality test and scored in the 1st percentile of people with low negative emotions, meaning in a room of a hundred people, I worry less than ninety-nine of them. This insight tells me that when my team is facing some tough times, I’ll shrug it off much more quickly than they will, and to be effective as a leader, I need to use language that lets them know I understand their worries and I have it covered.

Language is essential in your communication as a leader of a small team. To maximize internal motivation and minimize confusion, leaders must speak in a way that employees clearly understand and connect with. Words take different meanings in different contexts and with people of other personality traits.

Being a leader involves various duties, responsibilities, perks, and privileges. Many factors contribute to your leadership abilities, but the one thing that can make or break you is the language you use. Why is language important, and how can you improve your communication skills?

In the rest of this article, I will explain the importance of language for a leader and show you how different words can significantly affect how you communicate with your employees and peers. Additionally, I will show you some important facts and communication tips on what to do and not do as a leader.

Common Mistakes Leaders Can Make While Communicating

Find the best language to communicate with your team.

Naturally, finding the best language to communicate with the team you’re managing is a great challenge and a learning process. No rulebook can guide you to communicate perfectly with the people you are managing. Still, there are some things you can learn to avoid, according to the experience of other leaders and employees.

The mistakes on this list are from real-world situations. I have made them and see them almost every day, so chances are that you are also making some of them.

7 Common Communication Mistakes Leaders Do — 7 Communication Mistakes to Avoid

Being Condescending

Sometimes, people feel the need to address their team condescendingly or belittlingly when pointing out mistakes or just having casual conversations. This may be something they do people out of contempt or the need to establish their authority, but it’s wrong and ineffective.

The problem here isn’t usually that people want to be condescending; I more often find that it is just how they come off to their peers. Maybe it’s a facial reaction or a change of tone that discreetly gives the listener a sense of rejection.

It’s tough to understand sometimes if your message has been received negatively, especially if the subject being discussed is complex and takes up all of your brain capacity, not allowing you also to watch the reactions of your listeners.

If you don’t address this miscommunication, it most likely will lead to your employees losing their respect for you (since they believe you disrespect them). This happened to a colleague of mine who really struggled to communicate without sounding offensive.

The only reasonable solution I have found is to ask the listeners for feedback; after the session, ask them how you came off and whether something you said made them react in a certain way.

This will allow you to learn from every interaction and adapt your communication to the listener in a way that gets your message across without being offensive. This, of course, leads to less bitterness and resentment from your team.

Not Listening

When I was 21, I had a really good friend who would often look away or interrupt me while I was talking; this would piss me off. And the reason why it made me so mad wasn’t that the story I was about to tell was going to save the world, and I needed him to make it work.

No, it was because every time he did that, he showed me that whatever I had to say was always less important than whatever he had on his mind. This made me feel unimportant and disrespected.

So, when I see this type of poor communication in the workplace, it really enrages me, and I personally know how it impacts creativity and engagement in a team.

The (emotional) logic goes like this: Why should I listen to you if you don’t listen to me? As you can see, that creates a terrible working environment, making it almost impossible for high performance.

Some managers are not actually listening when employees talk; they are just waiting their turn to speak.

Your team needs to know that you actively listen to what they have to say, be it information, concerns, or ideas they might have. If you don’t have time to listen right now, tell them and set another time when you can engage with them.

When you consider what your team needs to say, you can provide helpful input that may solve their problems or improve the overall process.

Most importantly, you will make your team feel important, useful, and respected; you will start to forge unbreakable trust.

Active listening is a primary skill when building trust in a team.

Active listening is a primary skill when building trust in a team; that's why I created the Forging Unbreakable Trust program! Book a free discovery call and start forging trust today!

Using “You” Statements When Pointing Out Issues

As a leader, you’re supposed to let your team know when there’s room for improvement in their work. While addressing them, you must ensure that you don’t use “you” statements to single out individuals and make them defensive.

A common mistake is that leaders often say, “Here is where you failed,” or “This is where you went wrong.” As much as we think that our employees and ourselves aren’t easily offended, most of us will assume a defensive position if attacked.

Which I think we should since we are “under attack,” after all…

This offensive posture doesn’t allow the employee to engage fully with the exchange. Instead, they start thinking about how “it wasn’t my fault.” Even if they sound like they are being receptive by listening and looking interested, that tends to be a professionally taught response rather than a genuine internal openness.

Being defensive is such a negative term that many of us have developed ways of being defensive but not looking like we are.

The best way around this is to communicate smartly, focus on the practical problem when solving the situation, and focus on the individual when you want to develop your team. Don’t mix them.

Doing this will distinguish the person Jane from Jane’s performance outcome. Far more things than them impact the outcome as individuals: time available, support, external events, etc., so blending them isn’t just ineffective; it’s also the wrong level of analysis.

Use feedback and 1-on-1 sessions to work on personal development, such as improving communication or orderliness. You should use more “you” words and address the person’s character here.

“When you responded to me during the presentation yesterday, you spoke with a very high voice; I took it as if I had done something wrong?”

The same situation but with a technical focus and non-confrontational would be;

“During the presentation yesterday, the contrast of slides wasn’t strong enough, so I couldn’t clearly see the text. Would you mind changing that?”

As you might have noticed, both lines of communication end with a question. A great rule is to approach each situation as a scientist, someone who wants to understand the problem and learn more, not someone who already has the answers and wants to implement them.

Not Reading the Room

As I explained above, words can mean different things in different situations. Your responsibility as a leader is to understand what kinds of situations you’re in when communicating with the team you are managing.

You do not want to be the guy who runs into a room, takes over the conversations, and tells everyone a joke you heard, only to find out they are mourning the loss of a good friend.

This will make you look insensitive and uncaring of other people.

Understanding your context can impact how your team sees you and how respected they feel. Reading a room resembles active listening in some real sense.

Failing to understand the context you are in could also make you miss insights into what your audience is interested in (i.e., what they care about); this is what great comedians do; they start with a set of jokes, and when receiving wanted reaction, they continue down a route of similar jokes.

A better way to get in tune with the situation’s atmosphere is to see yourself as if it were the first day of a new job. Start by listening to the tone of the conversation. Is it upbeat or slow-paced? What is the discussion about? Are the people welcoming or distancing?

This will allow you to choose how to make your entrance and how to approach people in the room. Once you can competently read a room and adapt to the situation, you are much more likely to be organically engaged in the conversation and much and much less likely to be excluded and looked strangely upon.

Take a moment to read the room’s tone before speaking.

Using Too Much Corporate Jargon or Complex Words

The only reason I recommend you use a complex word is that when a specific term has a very narrow definition, and it is helpful to get your point across. But what is more common is when leaders use complex words to avoid doing something more challenging, communicating clearly and precisely.

Using complex words or jargon is a shortcut to confusion; what it means for you to think outside the box is different from what I mean.

This has happened to me many times during my military career. I have been encouraged to think outside the box, but the problem is that my commander’s box was usually much smaller than mine. But if they had clarified precisely where they wanted to change certain things, I would not have wasted so much time developing new ideas for areas they were unprepared for.

Instead of talking about this mysterious undefined box, I suggest that you specify what thinking outside the box doesn’t look like (because if you tell them what it looks like, then you’re basically just creating a new box).

For a company looking to increase its online following, thinking inside the box could mean continuing to post on TikTok and Instagram and looking for new trending topics to pursue.

Once you have defined the box, you can discover the options beyond its borders. The best part is you can do this without ever again mentioning that stupid, stupid box…

This will give your people a sense of direction and the autonomy to explore and discover new ways of doing while still maintaining the goal.

Some types of corporate jargon have become so overused in business environments that they have lost all meaning.

Using Hyperboles

Hyperbole doesn’t work well in a professional business environment. Some leaders may consider using it to alter their statements’ impact since exaggerating gives them more room to navigate if there is backlash later.

However fun and clever you might feel when using them, the hyperboles may change the communication process entirely and give the wrong message.

Being Vague

The leader informs the team about what they need to do and how they are supposed to achieve it. When you’re communicating with your team, you need to ensure they understand precisely what you require of them, so you should be as direct and detailed as possible. You risk your team’s productivity if you choose to be vague to cover your bases or avoid backlash.

Communication Mistake	Description	Consequences
*Being Condescending*	Loss of respect, ineffectiveness in communication, potential bitterness, and resentment from the team.	Providing unclear instructions or expectations to the team leads to confusion and reduced productivity
*Not Listening*	Failing to actively listen to team members, interrupting, or showing disinterest while they speak.	Decreased creativity, engagement, and trust within the team; negative impact on the working environment
*Using “You” Statements When Pointing Out Issues*	Using accusatory “you” statements when discussing problems can lead to defensiveness and hinder productive conversations.	Defensive reactions, reduced engagement, avoidance of addressing issues effectively
*Not Reading the Room*	Failing to understand the context and atmosphere of a situation results in insensitive or inappropriate communication.	Perceived insensitivity, diminished respect, exclusion from conversations
*Using Too Much Corporate Jargon or Complex Words*	Employing complex language or jargon that confuses rather than clarifies, hindering clear communication.	Confusion, misunderstanding, and reduced effectiveness in conveying ideas and instructions
*Hyperboles*	Employing exaggerated language to make a point can distort the message and lead to misinterpretation.	Miscommunication, diminished credibility, and confusion about the actual situation
*Being Vague*	Providing unclear, imprecise instructions or expectations to the team leads to confusion and reduced productivity.	Confusion, lowered productivity, potential misunderstandings, and lack of direction

Create a positive working environment by avoiding these common communication mistakes!

Why Is the Use of Language Important for a Leader?

Your language if your primary tool in communicating with your team. — Your language is your primary tool in communicating with your team.

A leader’s main task is to provide the team with a goal and ensure the most effective way to get there. Misunderstanding is the main component of low productivity, creating team confusion, distrust, and frustration. This is why language is essential for leaders.

Communication is vital in a work environment, especially for leaders who manage and instruct different groups of people. Your language is the primary communication tool that allows you to convey your ideas, make decisions, and resolve issues. It may sound easy, but creating a common language to use is a challenge in itself.

In the military, this is emphasized on day one; we use commands such as “fire,” which are not to be given any other meaning other than to “pull the trigger of your gun.” This is for obvious reasons in an environment with such high risks.

But the same can be said in the corporate world; miscommunication can create severe implications and lead to people making career-ending decisions and putting people on the street. On average, small businesses lose $ 420,000 per year in revenue due to poor communication.

In your daily life as a leader, you have to deal with a large volume of information and different interactions in your relationships with multiple actors in your place of work, both internal and external. It takes a lot of work and talent to organize and filter all this information in a way that helps you communicate effectively with all the people involved.

The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to have clear and precise definitions of what words mean, “Fire” in the military context doesn’t mean starting a campfire or telling someone there is a fire; it solely means to fire your rifle.

Once you have built and trained your people to understand what the essential words in your business mean entirely, you have created a highly functioning internal language.

Once you have built and trained your people to understand what the essential words in your business mean entirely, you have created a highly functioning internal language.

This language will allow you to move faster since you won’t have to redo tasks that weren’t up to standard due to miscommunication, and you will avoid the biggest mistakes.

Why Different Word With the Same General Meaning Has Different Outcomes

Pay close attention to the words you choose when communicating.

In your daily life, you may need to pay more attention to the words you choose to use when communicating with your family or friends. Unless you’re dealing with a delicate situation, you probably say or write the words as they come to your mind.

However, when you become a leader, your words start to feel heavier and more impactful, making you realize that you must be thoughtful when addressing your team or colleagues. Language can be a powerful tool for a leader who knows how to use it. A crucial element of using your language to communicate in your workplace is your choice of words.

Language can be a powerful tool for a leader who knows how to use it. A crucial element of using your language to communicate in your workplace is your choice of words.

Words don’t exist in a vacuum; they are always associated with other situations and contexts that give them a certain connotation. For instance, studies have shown that even though cause and produce have similar meanings, cause seems to be perceived much more negatively than produce because it’s often used in a negative context (“causing an issue,” “cause of death,” etc.).

Words don’t exist in a vacuum; they are always associated with other situations and contexts that give them a certain connotation.

I love to describe things I find interesting with the word interesting (strange, I know…), but I have come to learn that when I work in the US and someone asks me, “What do you think?” then “It’s interesting” doesn’t fully express my genuine curiosity.

Instead, those words have an almost negative connotation, which I did not want to communicate. So, to communicate in a way that is received as I intended, I now usually speak in more descriptive terms, such as “It was complex, challenging, and I enjoyed doing it.”

It’s essential to consider the context and general perception of the words you will use while communicating. Different people may unconsciously pick up different meanings and implications from your words, so you must consciously decide which terms can better convey your message.

The Tangible Impact of Communication on Your Leadership

Reflecting on the benefits of communication and how important language is for every workplace becomes much easier when you can connect it to the actual effects it can have on your leadership and your team.

Your language directly affects several aspects of your work as a leader and manager of a team of people who aspire toward the same goal. Because communication is vital in every step, your language can make or break your leadership career. Let’s see some essential aspects that communication and language affect:

Performance and Discipline

When you lead, part of your assignment is to instruct your team and then assess their performance. The way you go about assessing performances has a direct impact on how fast your team improves and, consequently, how productive you all are.

Performance assessment is inherently an anxious, doubt-ridden moment for most team members. Hence, a good leader knows what language to use to point out issues and weaknesses without creating a hostile environment.

The same logic applies to enacting disciplinary policies. All team members are made aware of workplace conduct rules, but some may break these rules intentionally or unintentionally. This situation can be tricky for a leader who seeks to make the consequences of such actions clear while maintaining a friendly atmosphere in the workplace.

Motivation

Every leader should strive to motivate all team members to do their best. However, motivating a group of people with different personalities, dreams, and aspirations takes work. What works for some people doesn’t work for others, so you must find a way to motivate everyone.

The key is in the language you use. There are different types of motivational languages, and you may need to navigate several of them to find what works best for each team member. To find out what motivates your employees to do their best and work together toward a common goal, you should connect with them on a deeper level and go beyond business.

At Sancus Leadership, we spend much of our time trying to understand the why. Why do people show up for work? Why are they willing to endure the stress, and sometimes, why are they not?

If you can understand the why of your team, you can easily use that to build incredibly effective teams where everybody gives them all because it benefits the organization and themselves.

If you can understand the why of your team, you can easily use that to build incredibly effective teams where everybody gives them all because it benefits the organization and themselves.

As you connect with your team members, you realize what kind of language encourages more enthusiasm and positivity for each of them. As a result, you will have a roadmap to help you inspire every one of them in their own way.

When you are ready to build a team that truly connects with your leadership so you can stop wasting time on miscommunication and focus on income-generating activities, I invite you to book a free discovery call with me!

Employee Hiring and Retention

When interviewing people for positions on the team you’re managing, you’re looking for people who can impress you; however, you must remember that you, too, should impress your potential hire. You don’t want a great hire to pass on the opportunity based on a bad first impression.

As always, the language you use when communicating with potential hires is crucial for creating a good image in their eyes. Your language will tell them more about what your team is like, what you expect of them, and your company’s general environment.

Consequently, employee retention is also affected by this crucial element. If your language cannot convey precisely what the job you’re offering entails, your new hire may accept the position based on the wrong impression, which means they might leave sooner or later to find something that suits them better.

Tips About Communicating as a Leader

Communication and language usage are important. — As a leader, your communication and language usage is essential.

There’s much to be said about what not to do as a team leader. However, the experience can also tell you a lot about what may work for your leadership process and improve your team’s performance.

Here are some valuable tips that could help you improve your communication and language usage:

Find your voice. While figuring out your leadership style, you may need to communicate in more organic ways. Stick to it once you find out what kind of language suits your style. People appreciate authenticity and sincerity.
Be assertive. Finding a balance between being passive, assertive, and aggressive in communication is essential. As a leader, you should inspire and motivate but also seek discipline and tangible results.
Eye contact is vital. The most basic rule of communicating is maintaining eye contact. It’s a simple thing to do but essential in creating a connection while speaking to one another. The language you use can be lost without the proper body language.
Be the initiator of difficult conversations. Every project will have complex topics that should be carefully breached. You are responsible for initiating the most challenging and delicate conversations because you are the leader.
Speak with actions. There is no point in your communication and language tips and techniques if you don’t do what you say. If actions do not follow your words, you will no longer be a credible leader in the eyes of your team.

Productivity expert Adriana Girdler shares some valuable tips in this video on how to become a better leader by improving your communication skills at work.

Effective communication is vital for your team’s success.

Final Thoughts

Your leadership depends a lot on your communication and language skills, so you should carefully consider every word you use when speaking to the team you manage. Words can have different meanings and connotations in different circumstances, and choosing the wrong one can be detrimental in a workplace environment.

In order to communicate effectively, you should listen to your team and read the tone of every situation. Additionally, it would help if you were authentic and assertive as a leader.

New Leaders Guide To Bureaucratic Leadership: Is It You?

The bureaucratic leadership style is a controversial topic, especially in today’s modern world, where there is a premium on creativity, innovation, and adaptability to change. However, major organizations have benefited from this system wherein order, transparency, and rigid rules are fundamental. So how can you tell if bureaucracy is a good fit for your business?

Bureaucratic leadership is for you if you appreciate the benefits of professional ranking, established rules, and fixed roles. This unbending work atmosphere may be advantageous to a business eager to establish firm roots in its niche. It relies on a hierarchy of leaders and regulations to pave the way to success.

In this article, we will talk about what bureaucratic leadership is all about, how your business can benefit from it, what drawbacks you may encounter from such a setup, and what it takes to be an effective bureaucratic leader. We will also touch on a brief history of bureaucratic leadership, as well as some examples of how this system has worked for major organizations, before discussing some common misconceptions about this leadership style. Let’s start!

What Is Bureaucratic Leadership?

Bureaucratic leadership is a management style with a strict chain of command as its foundation. Rules and regulations are of higher importance than innovation and creativity. Bureaucratic leaders focus on processes and standards rather than employees.

Characteristics of a Bureaucratic Leadership Style

In the military, this type of leadership is often frowned upon by subordinates since it tends to make individuals feel superior and less important. This will attitude will sometimes change if the leader proves to be effective in solving tasks and keeping people safe.

A bureaucratic leadership style is a simple yet sometimes highly efficient method of leading and managing people within an organization. It distributes authority among the specific leaders, and employees follow the rules, guidelines, and strategies they set.

Here’s what bureaucratic leadership entails:

Levels of authority and leadership. There is a clear chain and hierarchy of command.
Specific responsibilities and designations. Leaders and employees have distinct, well-defined roles. Each position is occupied by the most proficient at the job. The division of labor within the organization is apparent.
Strict professional structure. The “corporate ladder” is always taken into consideration when it comes to promotions and movement. Leaders and employees can move up based on performance, experiences, and tenure.
Career opportunities. Leaders and employees have plenty of growth opportunities, considering the multi-level organizational structure.
Clear rules and regulations. Rules are clear-cut, and the processes involved in task completion are explicit. Standard operating procedures are always observed and respected.
Impersonality. In a bureaucratic setup, impersonality and professionalism are essential. This ensures that employees are always dealt with objectively and impartially. Their expertise and what they bring to the table are the main considerations, beginning from the hiring process and all throughout their careers in the organization.

Is a Bureaucratic Leadership Style for You?

A bureaucratic leadership style isn’t for every person or organization, but if you believe the mission requires structure and a rigid set of rules and procedures, then this leadership approach is for you.

You must have a strong regard for authority and hierarchy to thrive in this setup. Which I recently learned I don’t. (I just completed the “Big Five personality test” by Dr. Jordan Peterson and scored very low on politeness).

However, just like any other leadership style, it is best to study this approach closely and consider various aspects that may have significant effects on your employees and organization. Here are some of the pros and cons of bureaucratic leadership:

Pros of Bureaucratic Leadership

Roles are distinct. You can eliminate confusion concerning responsibilities and expectations because a bureaucratic leadership style clearly defines these for leaders and employees early on. There is usually no overlapping and shifting of roles. Uncertainty is one of the biggest predictors of unhappiness and disengagement, so this is a big deal!
Discrimination and partiality are avoided. Favoring a particular employee over another without adequate grounds is a common issue in many organizations. This can be avoided with the rigid organizational structure of a bureaucratic leadership style.
Smoother flow of operations. Thanks to clear rules and regulations, as well as well-defined procedures, everyone knows what to prioritize, when deadlines are, and how to accomplish tasks.

Cons of Bureaucratic Leadership

Discourages independence. A structured organization may suppress an individual’s resourcefulness. Employees are expected to adhere to a specific set of rules and execute tasks in a predetermined manner.
Discourages creative freedom. The rigid professional structure in a bureaucratic setup stops employees from being imaginative and original in executing tasks. This prerogative is reserved only for bureaucratic leaders.
Obstructs teamwork and collaboration. The emphasis on task delegation and distinct roles and responsibilities can prevent compatible employees from working together as a team.
Impaired efficiency. The team’s productivity may be affected since all matters, projects, and tasks have to pass through the chain of command.
Slow adaptation to change. Changes and adjustments may take time to implement because anything that contravenes the specified processes, standard guidelines, or routine has to go through the direct supervisors first, as well as each leader above them in the chain of command.
It may obstruct growth. The rigidity and strict adherence to protocols may not be the ideal setup for budding businesses. Small organizations generally need flexibility and ingenuity to adapt and thrive in various market scenarios.

History of Bureaucracy in Business

German sociologist Max Weber is the founder of the bureaucratic style of leadership. In the 19th century, he proposed that the most efficient way to lead and manage an organization is by establishing a strong leadership structure to handle the reins.

… he proposed that the most efficient way to lead and manage an organization is by establishing a strong leadership structure to handle the reins.

There must be a set of rules and regulations governing the entire organization so that everyone can always work synergistically, seamlessly, and systematically toward common goals.

In the late 1800s, mom-and-pop businesses took the spotlight in Weber’s books when he highlighted that the informal organizational setup in these types of businesses held them back from progress and success.

Weber argued that in this laid-back, unofficial setup, employees tend to mistakenly place their commitment on their leaders rather than on the company.

Weber asserted that a rigid leadership structure where competencies are the main focus for the division of tasks would help make a business more efficient and stable. He emphasized the value of impartiality and objectivity in leading an organization to success.

… a rigid leadership structure where competencies are the main focus for the division of tasks would help make a business more efficient and stable.

Examples of a Bureaucratic Leadership Style

Many major companies and entities worldwide have adopted Mark Weber’s idea of bureaucratic leadership. It has proven to be a wise move for most, with most of the world’s leading organizations today thriving in such a professional and solid organizational setup.

Here are some examples of such institutions and how bureaucracy has helped them thrive and succeed amid changes, crises, and obstacles:

McDonald’s

A company as large as this global brand thrives on bureaucratic leadership. All decision-making is reserved for leaders, while employees are expected to adhere to and always perform their functions efficiently.

A bureaucratic leadership style was strictly enforced by Steve Easterbrook, the president and chief executive of McDonald’s from 2015-2019.

He ensured that the fast food company adopted a more formal approach to business by allowing upper management to make all important decisions.

This resulted in a streamlined and efficient system that has greatly benefited the company’s growth.

Japanese National Railways

Japan is known as a very organized and efficient country, which is highly apparent in its railway system, particularly its bullet trains. These technologically-advanced, high-performance trains have become a significant part of Japan’s transportation industry.

This industry owes part of its success to the bureaucratic leadership style spearheaded by the National Railway’s 4th president, Sinji Sogo. He focused on adopting a more modern approach to leading and managing the company.

Sinji devised rigid rules and guidelines and ensured everyone respected and followed them.

UK Army, World War II

Winston Churchill, UK’s Prime Minister during World War II, also served in the Army and used his training and expertise as a soldier to run the country during a crisis efficiently.

He was a very decisive leader who valued the benefits of structure, a solid chain of command, and clear-cut responsibilities.

He was known for not being easily swayed and practically impossible to persuade. These traits made him an authoritative and respected figure who, along with his delegated leaders, led the country through the crisis.

What It Takes To Be an Effective Bureaucratic Leader

A bureaucratic leadership style relies heavily on its leaders to understand and implement rules and processes.

So, leaders must be exceptionally adept in executing their duties and roles to ensure the whole team is up to standard. Leading and managing can be quite rigid, but with a good chain of command paired with suitable tasks, this leadership style can be highly effective.

Here are some of the essential attributes that an effective bureaucratic leader must possess:

Expertise in the Business

The leaders’ skills and knowledge in running the business are crucial to its success. After all, in a bureaucratic leadership style, they are the ones to decide on which path the organization will take and how the team can help it get there.

Being armed with the right skills, knowledge, and experiences will significantly boost chances for success.

A leader’s expertise also makes them feel more confident in leading and managing their team. Employees must see that their leader is knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced in their industry.

They must view their leaders as experts in their field. This makes it much easier for leaders to command respect from their employees.

Personally, I believe that a leader should be an expert in leading, not in the specific tasks to be executed. But to make a good bureaucratic leader, one must have excellent skills in the details of each process.

Strong Presence

Good bureaucratic leaders must be able to gain respect from their team, too. While having all the skills is important, carrying yourself like a leader is vital.

Many times gaining this respect is a challenge since bureaucratic leaders tend to have personality traits that are better suited to managing logistics and processes than people.

To that effect, good bureaucratic leaders must also lead and manage their teams with empathy. They must always utilize the strength of their style and remain non-discriminatory when making decisions and implementing plans.

Hardworking

Bureaucratic leaders tend to be hardworking and persistent (high in industriousness and orderliness), with their eyes always on the set goals. They focus on adhering to the established professional structure in the organization.

Even during critical times, because they believe that this is what works best.

The best leader is often one that can be emulated to success, so hard work is a must. Employees must see their leader working as hard as them. Not only does it give a good example, but it’s also a great motivator.

These leaders are capable of thinking on their feet and making smart decisions as long as it is within their mandate and rulebook. They are not daunted by the fact that their whole team relies on them to keep the organization always afloat and thriving.

Tips on Implementing a Bureaucratic Leadership Style

Science suggests, and I agree that a bureaucratic leadership style is best reserved for the military, big government agencies, or large companies where structure, stringent rules, and top-down management will be practicable and greatly beneficial.

However, some aspects of this leadership style can be applied to any organization, even smaller ones, especially if you recognize that the benefits will significantly influence the organization’s growth.

Here are some pointers on how to best implement a bureaucratic leadership style in your small team:

Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Put all important matters in writing — rules, procedures, job descriptions, organizational structure, and strategies. This helps ensure that everyone knows exactly how the company functions. It also ensures continuity when new people join the team, making it easier for leaders to introduce them to the system. I started implementing SOPs on day one of creating Sancus Leadership, and it has saved me hundreds of hours of questions and mistakes.
Specify job descriptions. Give clear and specific job descriptions for each team member and enforce them. This is one of the hallmarks of bureaucratic leadership since it helps ensure a streamlined workflow. It will create a sense of task ownership and minimizes the risk of “shared responsibility is no responsibility” issue.
Conduct regular feedback sessions. This helps you check in on each team member’s progress and ensures that they are all contributing to the team. Evaluations also help you make adjustments to maintain efficiency and kill annoyances before they become a problem.
Merit-based promotions. As a bureaucratic leader, you must not be biased when leading and managing the team. Ensure you use your standards to objectively award promotions only to deserving employees. Don’t allow inflation in your reward systems.
Be reasonable and reactive. Some areas in the business will not thrive in a bureaucratic setup (such as R&D) since they require creativity and innovation. Areas like finance, resources, and manufacturing may benefit from this leadership style’s structure and transparency.

Misconceptions About Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucracy is sometimes seen negatively, especially since it emphasizes formal structures and decision-making roles given solely to the organization’s leaders. However, although this leadership style may not be advantageous for all, it can be a major factor in helping certain businesses succeed. The key is to implement it correctly and judiciously.

Here are some common misconceptions about bureaucratic leadership:

The Formal Structure Is Too Rigid

Formal well-defined structures can often be very advantageous to a company, but this only holds true if the leaders that protocol and procedures are means to efficiency and productivity, not the other way around.

The main benefits of bureaucracy’s rigid system are it simplifies processes and helps maintain order within the organization.

In my experience, the top-down management style allows leaders to easily identify and react promptly and appropriately to crucial issues within the team.

Leaders as Sole Decision-Makers Slows Growth

This idea may hold true if the organization’s leaders aren’t critical thinkers who can make sound decisions on their feet. However, when leaders are truly effective in their job, they can help project the business forward by enforcing intelligent changes and moves.

Delegating the decision-making process to top management is actually a bold and wise move. It helps reduce conflicts and unnecessary input. It removes futile steps that may hinder fast action in times of crisis. Having a set of proficient and reliable decision-makers places the organization in a position where it is able to be agile when needed.

Final Thoughts

Bureaucratic leadership is all about rules and order. It highlights the value of strict protocols and a well-defined, systematic way of accomplishing tasks. It gives emphasis on the paramount roles that leaders play, specifically in terms of decision-making.

Although bureaucratic leadership may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially since it has a tendency to stifle creativity and innovation, it can prove to be beneficial in businesses that will thrive with formal structures and rigid rules. This leadership system helps ensure transparency and efficiency in achieving goals.

10x Employee Motivation: How To Use the Power of Coaching

As a leader, one of my main struggles has been keeping my employees motivated; maybe you have also felt the team could be more engaged with work. One tool I have found to be highly effective when building motivated teams is coaching. Through effective coaching, leaders assist their employees in developing their knowledge and skills and provide them with opportunities to gain more relevant experience in their field.

You can use the power of coaching to motivate your employees by clearly identifying your objectives and discussing your action plans with them. Highlight that the goal is for their self-improvement and career advancement. Provide regular feedback so they’re aware of their progress and direction.

In this article, I’ll discuss how coaching can further motivate employees, help them advance in their careers, and achieve their full potential. I’ll also discuss other benefits linked to proper employee coaching and how to go about it so your team will always be aligned with the organization’s short and long-term goals.

How Should Coaching Be Used To Enhance Employee Motivation?

You can use coaching to enhance employee motivation by assuring your employees that you are on their side and want their careers to grow. Set high goals with them and expect them to succeed, and remain supportive when mistakes or failures occur. Be aligned with your values and allow them to develop their own.

Additional Benefits of Coaching Employees

Leading and managing a team in a highly dynamic environment can be challenging.

Innovative leaders know that their greatest assets are their teams — and they are valuable resources with significant economic value to the company.

Depending on how you treat them, they bring (or don’t) talents, skills, and experiences to the business, so they considerably affect the organization’s growth.

Aside from enhancing employee engagement and motivation, leaders who emphasize coaching their team can look forward to many other benefits. Here are some of them:

Improved performance. Employees who are motivated tend to be more productive. They are always inspired to put their best foot forward and can be counted on to deliver quality work consistently.
Higher job satisfaction. Having a leader who is effective at coaching can help employees feel happier with their job. They feel appreciated and valued. They know they will be given opportunities to grow their skills and know-how.
Encourages employees to take ownership of tasks. Motivated employees are more likely to always aim for excellence. Hence, they take pride in their work and are eager to take full responsibility for tasks. They rarely blame others when faced with failure, errors, or difficulties.
Identifies high performers. Coaching provides leaders with opportunities to monitor their team members’ progress closely. They can quickly identify high performers fit for more responsibilities and promotion.

How To Maximize the Power of Coaching in Your Team

There are no set guidelines for training, leading, and managing employees. Each person, circumstance, and purpose is different, and it is up to you as the leader to determine the best approach for each of your team members.

Consider the below tips to help you determine the best route to take so you can take full advantage of the benefits that good coaching offers:

Be Clear About Your Intentions

Most employees want opportunities to showcase and improve their skills and career development possibilities. If you’re considering these for your employees, let them know and be clear about your intentions. Generally, employees given growth opportunities feel grateful, seen, and valued, so they’re more engaged with the company and motivated to succeed.

Coaching is a great way to start their journey to career development. Use this critical time to hone your team members into highly-functional, driven, and efficient assets for the company. Address deficiencies in knowledge and skills. Work together on how to become better in their chosen field. The key is to be aligned and work together toward a common objective.

Discuss the Plan of Action

Discuss your plans and timelines with your employees. Ensure they are amenable to your schemes and the direction you want to take with them. Uncover their career goals so you can work together toward achieving them.

Remember that coaching will only work if your team members are primed and eager to work with you on their self-development.

Make sure to push your team members to go beyond their comfort zone. Motivated employees love being challenged, but see to it that the goals you set for them are realistic and attainable. Impractical and irrational targets might make your employees feel overwhelmed and disengaged.

Give Regular Feedback

Provide regular feedback to let your employees know you are tracking their progress and consider their development one of your priorities.

When leaders give feedback, employees feel validated and more intensely motivated to excel.

They will appreciate your views on what aspects they’ve been performing well in and which ones they need to develop.

Give recognition when you see improvements in your team members. Be constructive when offering tips and advice for areas they need to improve. Constantly remind your team that you are allies, not adversaries, so they can approach you if they need additional guidance, have questions, or harbor any misgivings about the coaching process.

Be Your Employees’ Number One Fan

Make sure your team members know that you are rooting for them. Tell them they’re part of your team for the skill set, know-how, and career experiences they bring to the table.

Employees need to feel that they’re invaluable assets to the team and perform a specific role that the team can’t do without.

However, coach when handling employee mistakes and failures. Remember that your team members are watching you when things don’t go as planned.

How you react will define the culture of your team. Do not crush their trust in you by responding with anger and resentment.

Leading and managing a team means being supportive when they encounter challenges and failure. Brainstorm what factors were handled incorrectly and how these mistakes could have been avoided. Most importantly, discuss how to address these pressing concerns so you can start moving forward again.

The key is to lead by example and remain relevant and solution-driven. Soon, your team members will adopt the same positive mindset and follow your lead.

Final Thoughts

Leaders are often viewed as overseers and managers of a team. In reality, it is also a critical part of their job to effectively coach and mentor their team members to help them achieve their full potential. Employee coaching is crucial for team growth and ensuring the organization’s success.

Coaching employees is tricky, but the key is consistency and knowing when to keep pushing and when to step back. Provide employees with plenty of opportunities to make their own decisions and own up to any mistakes. Let them know you’re on their side and rooting for their success.

3 Odd Ways Improving Your Writing Will Change Your Leadership!

One of the tools I use as a leader to help my team achieve goals is the written word. The quality of your written communication as a leader can make all the difference! Writing is a way to bring ideas to life in a helpful manner that others can understand; it forces us to be clear and precise.

Improving your writing ensures your messages are clear, concise, and persuasive, making you a professional, credible, and accountable leader or manager. This changes your leadership by supporting employee performance, improving brand image, and increasing business productivity.

In this post, leaders and managers will find a brief but detailed account of the importance of written communication and practical writing skills in leadership.

What is really the importance of language in small team leadership?

Consequences of Ineffective Writing

One of the worst mistakes leaders can make in written communication is being vague and unconvincing. As Kara Blackburn (managerial communication lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management) writes in the Harvard Business Review, no one will hear your ideas if you can’t communicate them, regardless of the quality of those ideas.

In addition, ineffective writing can cause you to lose your credibility. If you make simple grammatical mistakes, for example, it may indicate a lack of skill/unwillingness to improve your weaknesses. You cannot effectively lead your team if you don’t have credibility.

My spelling sucks, and my native language is Swedish, so if someone wishes we don’t judge others by their spelling and grammar, it is me. But I understand these are the game’s rules, so I learn to adapt.

Finally, ineffective business writing can threaten your company’s bottom line. A Grammarly “State of Business Communication” report found that poor communication costs the US $1.2 trillion in losses annually.

Ways Improving Your Writing Will Change Your Leadership

Emails, agendas, circulars, reports, manuals, memos, and bulletins are all communication mediums that managers deliver through writing. If all of these are well-crafted, they can have the following benefits.

1. Increased Employee Performance and Business Productivity

Why Are Writing Skills Important for Managers?

Effective writing skills are essential for managers because they facilitate clear and concise communication about company goals, strategies, vision, and mission. Their team members will be less likely to misinterpret the message, so they can perform their roles accordingly.

For example, if a memo is easy-to-understand and concise, employees can save time that they would otherwise waste trying to decode unclear messages or seeking clarification. Additionally, good writing skills convey a sense of security, professionalism, and excellence if the manager is in a customer-facing role.

Strong writing skills are synonymous with effective business communication and lead to increased employee performance and productivity.

It is also worth noting that skilled writers can choose words to engage their readers emotionally; this is an awe-inspiring skill that I would like to master!

2. Improved Brand Image and Leadership Credibility

The strength of a brand is directly related to how stakeholders perceive it, often via the written word. If, for example, an executive marketing manager cannot articulate what makes a brand special, the people under them won’t be able to do so either.

Similarly, consumers will need clarification about what sets a brand apart from its competitors if messages about it are poorly delivered. Consequently, they’ll hesitate to purchase or recommend products under that brand to others.

Confused prospects don’t hit the buy button!

Confused prospects don’t hit the buy button!

If done well, written communication about a brand can strengthen and affirm the quality of your leadership by:

Creating an excellent and consistent image of a brand.
Increasing customer loyalty.
Reducing employee turnover.
Attracting bright talent to your company.

3. Enhance Leaders’ Accountability and Performance

Studies have shown that there’s a direct link between accountability and performance. Leaders and managers with high levels of responsibility are more likely to perform better.

Effective writing can support accountability and performance among managers and leaders because it creates detailed, accurate documentation that can be consulted in the future to support decisions, strategies, and outcomes.

For example, a paper about a proposed marketing strategy can guide employees when executing campaigns about a brand over a long period.

Likewise, managers and leaders can use written communication as evidence to support arguments favoring promotion, salary increases, or legal defenses.

Why Is Written Communication Important in Leadership?

Written communication is essential in leadership because it is the best tool for a leader to articulate their ideas clearly. This allows for constructive critique, which in turn, further improves the vision.

As such, good written communication can inspire trust in the leader and facilitate the effective execution of company goals.

Good written communication can inspire trust in the leader and facilitate the effective execution of company goals.

3 Ways on improving your writing will change your leadership — 3 Ways improving your writing will change your leadership

How To Improve Your Writing Skills as a Leader

Fortunately, leaders and managers can improve their writing skills by adopting certain practices. These include:

Think before you write. Clear writing follows clear thinking. Thinking through ideas separates the clear from the vague and the important from the unnecessary. You don’t have to get your written message right the first time, but you should know enough to edit out any fluff from your content before you let others read it.
Read a lot. A good reader makes a good writer. Reading exposes you to many paragraph and sentence structures, vocabulary, writing tone, and grammar rules such as punctuation. You can incorporate sound writing principles into your written communication by understanding what good writing looks like.
Listen to feedback. Listening to feedback from your team can help you address communication missteps. If your team members often ask, “What did you mean?” and follow that with, “I thought you meant…” it indicates you need to improve your writing skills.
Think of the receiver when writing. Good leaders don’t only write for themselves. They pay attention to the diverse communication styles of their team or audience and tailor their message accordingly.
Stick to the point. You’re not required to write like a Nobel Prize for Literature awardee in business writing. You only need to ensure that your writing is clear and that every word you put down is essential.
Practice, practice, practice. Writing is a skill that takes time to develop. Practice writing whenever you can. The more you practice, the more likely you can improve your skills. Of course, you should always be mindful of how you write so you’ll know exactly your areas of improvement.
Enroll in a writing course. The philosopher Socrates once said: “I know nothing.” Good leaders adopt the attitude of perpetual learners who know that there’s still something they can learn beyond what they already know. Enrolling in a writing course can significantly improve the weakest aspect of your written communication.

Improving Business Writing	Short Description
*Think before you write*	Clear writing follows clear thinking. Consider your ideas before you start writing to separate the important from the unnecessary.
*Read a lot*	Reading exposes you to different writing styles, vocabulary, and grammar rules. You can incorporate sound writing principles into your communication by understanding what good writing looks like.
*Listen to feedback*	Take feedback from your team to address communication missteps. If team members often ask for clarification or misunderstand your messages, it may indicate a need to improve your writing skills.
Think of the receiver when writing	Good leaders tailor their messages to the communication style of their team or audience. Consider who will be receiving your message and how to best deliver it.
Stick to the point	Clarity is more important than eloquence. Focus on essential points and ensure that every word is necessary for your message.
*Practice, practice, practice*	Writing is a skill that takes time to develop. Practice regularly to improve your skills, and be mindful of areas where you can improve.
*Enroll in a writing course*	Lifelong learning is essential for growth. Enrolling in a writing course can significantly improve the weakest aspect of your written communication.

How to Improve Your Business Writing

Here’s a quick video discussing tips on how you can improve your writing and how it plays an important role in business communication.

Four Keys to Effective Business Writing

Why Are Public Speaking Skills So Important as a Manager? (7 Reasons)

Public speaking is an important part of organizational leadership, regardless of the institution’s size. And as a leader, it’s crucial to keep working on your public speaking skills, especially since you’ll be heading meetings with staff members, partners, and prospective clients. So what exactly do you gain by improving your public speaking?

Improving your public speaking skills as a leader helps you gain the confidence to express yourself clearly and confidently, develop your unique style that resonates with your audience, and create a powerful presence. You’ll engage better with your team, build relationships, and earn their trust.

Leaders who can articulate their ideas with precision and confidence can shape the direction of their organization, inspire others to take action and be more influential in creating positive change. Read on to learn why public speaking is critical for developing your leadership skills and how you can become a better public speaker.

Why Is Public Speaking Important for a Manager?

Public speaking is important for managers because it allows them to communicate effectively with the entire team. When a leader communicates effectively, team members will have a clear picture of what is expected of them both in the short and long term.

The top benefits of public speaking include:

1. Improves Communication Skills

Public speaking helps to hone your communication skills – from ensuring you get your point across clearly, managing the flow of conversations, and responding quickly to questions and feedback. Clear, concise, and confident communication will lead to more successful projects and better organizational outcomes.

Confident communication will lead to more successful projects and better organizational outcomes.

2. Builds Credibility

Engaging, inspiring, and persuasive public speaking will help establish you as a credible leader. People are more likely to listen and be persuaded by someone with strong public speaking skills. Staff members will view you as an authority, especially if you communicate effectively and motivate the entire team.

3. Increases Confidence

Public speaking is one of the most intimidating activities for many people. Most people struggle with glossophobia – the fear of public speaking, but with practice and adequate preparation, you can become more confident in your public speaking abilities.

As people applaud your speech and thank you for your ideas, it will boost your self-esteem, allowing you to take on the challenge of managing a team more easily.

4. Improves Creativity and Problem-Solving

Leading a team requires creativity and problem-solving skills.

Public speaking helps to enhance your critical thinking and brainstorming skills, allowing you to develop innovative solutions for managing complex situations.

Public speaking helps to enhance your critical thinking and brainstorming skills, allowing you to develop innovative solutions for managing complex situations.

You’ll learn a lot as you prepare for your presentation, which improves your creativity and allows you to know more about the topic at hand.

5. Inspires Change and Motivates Team Members

Articulating your ideas and compellingly engaging with your team can help to inspire change and motivate others.

You can influence the direction of your organization, challenge people to think differently, and bring new ideas to the table.

A motivated team has higher productivity, better collaboration, and more successful projects.

6. Builds Your Reputation

Your presence, confidence, and success when speaking publicly can help to build your reputation.

As you share insights, ideas, and stories with a broader audience, you will become well-known as a leader who can engage, inspire, and motivate others.

You’ll gradually become an industry expert and build trust with stakeholders, colleagues, and other audiences.

7. Career Growth

Public speaking offers an excellent opportunity to enhance your career. It helps you demonstrate the skills and qualities necessary to lead a team. It can also propel your career forward, placing you in the spotlight, providing additional visibility, and, thus, more opportunities.

Organizations constantly seek leaders who can articulate their ideas and inspire others, so public speaking is a great way to stand out.

Organizations constantly seek leaders who can articulate their ideas and inspire others, so public speaking is a great way to stand out.

You’ll climb the career ladder faster and have more chances of success if you constantly improve your public speaking skills.

Public speaking allows you to gain the confidence to communicate ideas effectively, build credibility, inspire change, and motivate team members.

So, how do you improve your public speaking skills?

Tips To Improve Your Public Speaking as a Leader

Not everyone is born a gifted public speaker, but you can improve at managing and leading with practice. Follow these tips to hone your public speaking skills:

1. Prepare and Practice

The most crucial step to becoming a successful public speaker is preparation. Research the topic and use appropriate sources. Outline the key points, structure your arguments, and practice presenting them in front of a mirror or with a friend. Listen to feedback and adjust your presentation accordingly.

2. Make Eye Contact

Eye contact is essential for connecting with your audience. It establishes confidence, reliability, and trust in your message. Meet the team members’ eyes as you speak, look around the room, and pause to ensure everyone is engaged. Looking down or away from the audience can make you appear uncomfortable or disengaged.

3. Use Simple Language

Your message should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Refrain from bombarding your audience with complex jargon and long-winded words. Use simple language and break down complex ideas into more straightforward concepts. This will also help to keep your audience’s attention and ensure they stay energized and focused.

4. Utilize Visuals

Visuals like graphs, charts, or images can powerfully impact the audience. You can use them to explain complex topics, clarify arguments, and emphasize key points. They help make your presentation more engaging, memorable, and easily comprehended.

5. Use Body Language Aligned With Your Communication Goals

Tips to improve your public speaking as a leader

Your body language speaks louder than words. Stand up straight, maintain an open and confident posture, and look more engaging. Kedon’tur hands engaged but didn’t overdo it. Use appropriate facial expressions and gestures to emphasize your points.

Here’s a masterful talk by Richard Greene where he delivers a brilliant presentation and outlines the 7 secrets utilized by renowned speakers throughout history. He emphasizes that by adopting these secrets and shifting from giving a mere “speech” to creating heartfelt “conversations,” anyone can attain greatness in public speaking.

The 7 Secrets of the greatest speakers in History

Final Thoughts

Public speaking is an invaluable skill for managing and leading a team. It helps you build credibility, demonstrate knowledge, articulate ideas effectively, and inspire team members.

You can hone your public speaking skills and become a better leader with practice and preparation.

Surprising Ways That Adversity Impacts You As a Leader!

It would help if you put metal through intense heat and hammering to make hardened steel. This arduous process is called forging, and done correctly will 10x the strength of the steel! You strengthen steel by pushing it to its limits, not by wrapping it in bubble wrap; the same goes for you as a leader. Accept adversity as the way to forge your leadership and become a part of the next generation of great leaders!

Forging leadership through adversity means accepting difficulties and challenges as both inevitable and essential to developing as a leader. The greater the challenge, the quicker the growth. Facing adversity head-on, will build rapport with employees and guide them through difficult times.

In this article, I’ll elaborate on the importance of great leadership when facing adversity and how it can affect those around you.

How Does Adversity Affect Leadership?

Adversity strengthens leadership qualities by teaching managers how to solve problems, manage emotions, and deal with stressful situations. This hardship allows them to learn and grow in their leadership role and gain the trust and respect of their employees.

When discussing how adversity can affect anyone in a leadership role, we should first define it. Adversity is a time of difficulty or misfortune. This expansive definition means you can face many different types of adversity.

In my career, most of the big leaps of leadership development have come from preparing for or during international deployments. When the stakes are high, and you have things to lose, sometimes even lives, you also have the most significant opportunity to learn and improve your leadership.

When the stakes are high, and you have things to lose, sometimes even lives, then you also have the biggest opportunity of learning and improving your leadership.

In the workplace, lives are rarely in danger, but adversity can be as enormous as an entire company struggling financially or as small as a disagreement among fellow employees. The severity of adversity is less important than how a manager deals with it.

For example, a workplace disagreement may seem like a minor issue to those uninvolved. However, it can quickly escalate into psychological warfare between opposing factions, especially in smaller teams where employees are likely to form close bonds with their colleagues.

In such a situation, the manager must resolve the issue without belittling either party. Thus, the manager must practice a different set of skills than what is needed for running everyday tasks.

What sets average and great managers apart is their ability to tackle adversity without fear and move toward a resolution that benefits the team, the mission, and themselves.

Adversity will not only allow you to learn new skills but also shows your employees exactly who you are as a leader (and, therefore, also as a person).

Adversity will not only allow you to learn new skills but also shows your employees exactly who you are as a leader (and, therefore, also as a person).

Here are a few skills that leaders can learn through adversity.

Patience when waiting for a resolution
Empathy in understanding how your employee’s personal lives affect your team
Self-awareness to understand your weak spots and your strengths
Effective support, identifying necessities, and providing the support your team needs to maintain forward momentum on the task
Appreciation for the situation and your employees. A crisis will put things into perspective.
The ability to Adapt in a fast way without being overly anxious
Understanding of employee expectations of you, your team, the task, and the company
The importance of your leadership as well as others in the company

8 skills that leaders can learn through adversity

Leaders who deal with adversity in the workplace learn how to switch between multiple tasks quickly and effectively. For example, the manager must handle the following if the company is in dire financial straits.

Prioritize tasks that can help get the company back on track
Manage job insecurity and keep employees focused on the task
Deal with the emotions of stressful situations

However, if the manager is not adequately prepared, which I have seen far too many times in the Army, they become stressed, make poor decisions, and lose their front-sight focus.

How To Learn From Adversity as a Leader

Adversity is always difficult to overcome (otherwise, it wouldn’t be adversity 😉). However, there are a few tips you can employ to get some benefits out of these challenging times.

1. Make an “Objective” Assessment of the Situation

The first step to overcoming adversity as a leader is objectively assessing the situation. This process involves stepping back from your understanding and looking at it differently.

I say “objective” because, in some real sense, that’s what we want to reach, but it can also be argued that true objectivity cannot be found. Instead, we should find counterarguments to our prior perception of the situation.

For example, if you think Donald Trump is the worst president the US has ever had, then instead of googling “Why Trump sucks” and further strengthening your preconceived beliefs. To find a counter perspective, you might search for, “What great things did Donald Trump achieve.”

You ask different questions, forcing you to step out of your comfort zone and accept that every situation has more than one viewpoint. The ability to understand and aggregate the collected data will determine the success of your leadership and your team in the long run.

You ask different questions, forcing you to step out of your comfort zone and accept that every situation has more than one viewpoint.

The first step in effective problem-solving is thoroughly understanding the issue/task. Once you know what the problem is or what specifically a business without this problem will look like. Then you can start thinking about routes to get there.

Ask yourself the following questions to understand the situation.

What is the difference between the situation we are in and the situation we want to be in?
What are the most likely, the least likely, and the most threatening consequences if I do nothing?
What do my manager and the company want to achieve?
What additional information would make me completely change my mind about the situation? Where could that information be found if it existed?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you have the foundation from which you can build a plan.

This objective assessment allows you to calmly figure out where you need to go without emotions coming.

An overly emotional leader is prone to making mistakes, especially during a crisis. While empathy and kindness are strengths, you should learn when to use your emotions to help your team and when to use logic to solve an issue.

90% of my job as an Army officer has been to asses situations and build simple plans that my team can quickly understand and autonomously execute. When you want to lead your team effectively and spend less time on misunderstandings, I invite you to book a FREE discovery call with me!

2. Focus on Strengths

It would be best to consider how your strengths can help you through it. As a manager, you should also consider how your employees’ strengths can help the team.

For example, If you are great at motivating and inspiring your people into action, use that skill to your advantage; times of challenge or crisis are not the moment to improve your weaknesses. Instead, you should exploit what you already have!

Times of challenge or crisis are not the moment to improve your weaknesses. Instead, you should exploit what you already have!

If your strength is working hard, take this time of adversity to do just that. Employees often look to their leaders as an example. So, when they see you working hard, they are more likely to follow in your footsteps.

There is a difficulty, though; in the Army, we often struggled with new soldiers thinking some officers didn’t do anything other than sit inside and hide from the rain (which, in part, is, of course, through 😉). This was because logistical officers were rarely seen in the field by the soldiers. And the soldiers had not yet understood that the only reason why they had food, water, and diesel was because of the “hiding officers.”

Here you as a manager have two directions you can go, either you appeal to the reasoning part of their brain and explain to the employees/soldiers that “hiding officers” actually do critical work. In my experience, this rarely has any more significant impact, and you will soon hear the same old complaints.

You do something that is more complex and takes additional time, you show the employees that they can trust your judgment, and you let them know that you have complete confidence that “hiding officers” are doing a vital job, and if they didn’t you’d be all over it.

This means employees are handing over the “assessment” to you, someone with better insight into what is happening. Building trust is a powerful performance tool; it works as a shortcut, avoiding noise and unnecessary conflict.

When you want to know how to forge unbreakable trust in your team so you can spend less time on HR issues and 10x KPI, I invite you to book a FREE discovery call with me!

3. Talk With Your Employees

Communication between managers and employees is essential in any business but becomes even more vital during adversity. During difficult times, your employees need to hear from you. Communication can help them with morale, productivity, and satisfaction.

Not all adversity is company-wide or job-threatening. However, that doesn’t mean your employees can’t tell when something isn’t right. It can be challenging as a manager when you can’t tell your employees exactly what is happening, but you still need to be as transparent as possible.

Don’t just “communicate” to your team; listen, talk, and engage with them on a deeper level. Don’t simply send an email; at least give them a call, or preferably have a one-on-one where you have a genuine and valuable chat.

For example, if you, as a manager, face issues at work due to a hostile colleague, you may be tempted to keep it under wraps. As a leader, your first instinct is to deal with it yourself instead of “burdening” your employees. However, your employees can most likely tell that something is bothering you.

Clear communication will allow your employees to focus on their work without worrying. In this case, it’s best to let your employees know what you’re dealing with. You could tell them that another manager is causing a few issues and leave it at that.

In my 12 years of leadership experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is that your team will be your greatest asset if you let them. Instead of hiding your problems and struggles, you allow them to help you figure it out, you let them understand that you also are a human, and they will cut you some slack when you screw up, which you will because we all do.

Your team is your most valuable asset!

4. Value Constructive Criticism

Not only is open communication vital during adversity, but you also need to listen to your employees; they know things that you don’t; that’s just a fact.

Even if they don’t know what you’re facing, your employees can help you through difficult times. Ensure you listen when they take the time to give advice or criticism. My old teammate explained it to me in this way:

I understand why you don’t implement every idea I present, which differs from what I want. But I respect you because you always assume my ideas are worth listening to.

“I understand why you don’t implement every idea that I present, and that’s not what I want. But I respect you because you always assume that my ideas are worth listening to.”

If your employees provide honest criticism or feedback, you should be receptive because maybe, you are in a position where you can learn something new and grow as a leader.

Shifting blame onto others is never acceptable and will alienate your employees. It will also affect their trust in you as their leader. How do they know you won’t blame them when times get tough again?

You must take extreme ownership of your team and your tasks.

If you honestly own your faults and work to improve them, it will build confidence in your leadership and management skills.

5. Gather “Enough” Information

As a manager, your employees often look to you for an answer. While they may have suggestions, they will look to you for a final decision on how to proceed.

Forming a plan can mean sitting alone in your office when inspiration strikes. Organizing a creative session is the best way to get new, innovative ideas.

This session can include other managers, senior administrators, or anyone you consider a mentor. Most people in higher management have experienced similar situations before, so it is exceptionally educational to learn how they overcame adversity in their careers.

You should also organize a creative session with your employees. Bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to develop new ideas or solutions.

I want to present you with two beneficial thoughts that helped me overcome problems in my career.

Make sure you need a new idea; often, new problems can be solved with old solutions. This is far more effective since everyone knows the procedure and its limitations.

Recycle and adapt as much as possible; every new way of doing things has a “startup cost” before it pays off or even works.

Recycle and adapt as much as possible; every new way of doing things has a “startup cost” before it pays off or even works.

The following valuable tip is to understand when you have enough information to move on; you have probably been in brainstorming sessions or meetings, which continue without any end in sight.

What information do you need to take the next step? Not to necessarily solve the problem right away but to keep you moving. It would help if you avoided these situations since they tend to kill creativity, motivation, and engagement.

The final decision lies with you. Your employees will come up with fantastic ideas; it’s your responsibility to select and implement them.

6. Focus on What You Own

There are going to be many situations that managers have no control over. The company may struggle financially, or your branch is at risk of a layoff. Whatever the adversity in front of us, we should always focus on what we can control. Don’t let decisions out of your control demotivate you or your team.

I have fallen into this trap many times; when I should have focused on the team, I was busy solving strategic problems for upper management. Not only did I have minimal impact, but I also wasted a lot of energy and put myself in a bad mood.

Be as honest with your team as possible, given the situation, then focus on what you and your team own and can control. Sometimes the only thing you can control is simply showing up to work and doing your job that day. So, encourage your team to do just that.

Consistency is the key to most big achievements.

You can control how much work you get done and how productive you are. You can also manage your reaction to the situation.
How you react to adversity will become the model that your employees follow.

How you react to adversity will become the model that your employees follow.

Read more about how self-management makes you a better leader here.

7. Grab a Shovel and Start digging

One of the best things you can do as a manager is to join your team in tedious tasks.

There is a saying in the Swedish Army that goes something like this: “Dela dina soldaters börda.” This means you should join them in the most complex and challenging tasks so you can fully understand their struggles and better support them.

If you want your employees to respect and trust you, you must do more than delegate tasks and lock yourself in your office. It’s time to get your hands dirty and show your employees you will help them through difficult times.

An excellent example of this is working during a busy time. If your employees work through a staff shortage with record sales, you will get little from them by asking them to work faster or do better. Instead, show them what to do. Your employees will be more loyal to you and the company if they think you respect them and what they do.

As a leader, sometimes we forget that the best thing we can do for overwhelmed employees is to help them. So, open a register in a retail setting and take some customers. Hop on the phone to help clear the enormous queue. Show your employees that you are not above what they do. They will respect you more as a boss if you lend a helping hand.

How To Learn From Adversity as a Leader	Description
Make an “Objective” Assessment of the Situation	The first step to overcoming adversity as a leader is objectively assessing the situation. This process involves stepping back from your understanding and looking at it differently.
Focus on Strengths	It would be best to consider how your strengths can help you through it. As a manager, you should also consider how your employees’ strengths can help the team.
Talk With Your Employees	Communication between managers and employees is essential in any business but becomes even more vital during adversity. During difficult times, your employees need to hear from you.
Value Constructive Criticism	Not only is open communication vital during adversity, but you also need to listen to your employees; they know things that you don’t; that’s just a fact.
Gather “Enough” Information	As a manager, your employees often look to you for an answer. While they may have suggestions, they will look to you for a final decision on how to proceed.
Focus on What You Own	Whatever the adversity in front of us, we should always focus on what we can control. Don’t let decisions out of your control demotivate you or your team.
Grab a Shovel and Start digging	If you want your employees to respect and trust you, you must do more than delegate tasks and lock yourself in your office.

How to learn from adversity as a leader

Here is a talk on how we can shift to the proper mindset in order to overcome adversity and become better individuals and leaders.

Cultivating our minds to overcome adversity

What To Do After The Challenge

One key factor that leaders sometimes forget is what they can do when adversity ends. There is more to your job as a manager than just getting your employees through tough times. It is essential to reflect on the situation and learn from it.

Learn The Lesson

First, you should communicate with your employees regarding the situation. Even if the problem is in the past, your employees will learn from reflecting on the situation.

During this conversation, allow your employees to ask questions and give honest feedback. This process can help you continue to grow as a leader. Positive feedback is easy to take and important to understand what you are doing right. Negative feedback may be challenging, but it can help you grow as a leader.

In the military, we call this a debrief; we run through the mission and summarize it so everyone has the same idea of what happened. Then we look for learning opportunities and ways to improve and prepare for the following similar situation.

The key to a successful debrief is to focus on actions, not people, what happened, and not who made it happen.

Learning from previous events is the best way to avoid repeating mistakes; at Sancus Leadership, we specialize in practical debriefs so you can focus on KPIs. When you are ready, book a FREE discovery call here!

Implement Lessons Learned

Another important step in the post-adversity process is ensuring the same situation doesn’t happen again. While some problems are unavoidable, there may be steps you can take to mitigate them or prevent future issues.

A properly executed debrief should leave you with many action steps to improve the “defense” of your business. Each step should also be prioritized by its importance and Urgency. I recommend using the Eisenhower Matrix to aid you in this process.

Scenario-test the actions with your team and implement procedures to ensure a smooth workflow and prevent future issues. This preparation will make your employees trust that you’ll be able to handle whatever comes next.

Reinforce The Wanted Behaviors

Finally, once you and your team have made it through the challenging situation, don’t forget to enjoy your win and take the time to speak clearly about the reason why you were successful.

After a tough stretch of constantly being busy or allowing your team to help you resolve the problem, show them what that means to you.

Take the time to thank your employees. I understand you can’t just give everyone a raise (I have never been in a situation where I can do that), but there are still things you can do. Fight for your team to get a bonus for good performance, or even have a Friday pizza party to show your appreciation.

One of my most valuable lessons as a team leader has been that; whatever behavior I focus on, I will get more of. That means if you identify an employee doing something you find highly beneficial and you let them know about it, they are very likely to repeat that behavior.

After a tough stretch of constantly being busy or allowing your team to help you resolve the problem, show them what that means to you.

One of my most valuable lessons as a team leader has been that; whatever behavior I focus on, I will get more of. That means if you identify an employee doing something highly beneficial and tell them about it, they are very likely to repeat that behavior.

Final Thoughts

The best managers transcend into leaders when dealing with adversity. It takes a good leader to get your employees through tough times, but it takes a great leader to come out of it with more respect and trust from your employees.

While adversity can be nerve-wracking, it can also be an opportunity for growth.

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How To Learn From Adversity as a Leader

1. Make an “Objective” Assessment of the Situation

2. Focus on Strengths

3. Talk With Your Employees

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5. Gather “Enough” Information

6. Focus on What You Own

7. Grab a Shovel and Start digging

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Learn The Lesson

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Reinforce The Wanted Behaviors