Every manager is different. Just like how we have a personality that distinguishes us from the next person, every manager tends to follow a different philosophy as well. Some focus on driving up the profits of their organization; others believe in sustaining growth and playing it safe.However, if you want to be a true leader, then you must learn to look beyond numbers. After all, the essence of leadership lies in the people working for you. Read on as we discuss how this influences your leadership style and what should be the goal of a leader.
Start by Engaging
Leadership starts with engagement. If you cannot engage a group of people to understand and believe in your vision for an organization, then you have failed as a leader. Engagement is directly linked to profitability as well. As per a study by Gallup, a highly engaged team can boost profitability by 21 percent. Therefore, if you want to see your organization thrive, you need to make sure your employees are actively involved and passionate about what they do.
Move Toward Empowering
It may sound like a cliché, but the ultimate goal of a leader is empowerment. As a leader, you need to empower your team so that they can make their own decisions. In other words, you need to make yourself unnecessary. Empowering employees begins with trust. You need to extend support to your employees and encourage them to trust their instincts. This also plays an essential role in their professional growth and can help them hone their skills in decision making, crisis management, and innovation.
Empowering your employees to think for themselves will leave a significant impact on the performance of your organization as well. Think about it. If every individual in your team can think outside the box and make great decisions, then instead of relying on one person for all the good ideas, you get to use multiple resources. This can lead your organization to success.
Create More Leaders
A true leader mentors others to assume a leadership role in the future. Developing new leaders is a natural extension of the empowerment principle. When you encourage people to believe in themselves, you are helping them rise from being a subordinate to being a manager. In the end, leadership cannot be about yourself. As a leader, you need to be the kind of person who makes a difference in the lives of the people working for you. You must help them confront their weaknesses and encourage them to work on their strengths. In doing so, you are helping them improve their performance and contribute more to the organization.
Wrapping It Up
The goal of a leader should be to empower others and help build the next generation of leaders who can take the company forward. A true leader needs to leave behind a legacy that continues to engage and inspire others in the organization. This will help sustain the organization even when it falls upon hard times and ensure that it moves towards profitability again.