It’s a new year, which means it’s as good a time as any to figure out ways to energize your workers for the year ahead. After all, happy and inspired employees mean a successful organization. Unfortunately, however, many companies are ill-prepared to successfully manage the flexible and diverse workforce that will define 2020 and the years ahead.
So, the question becomes: What must you do as a leader at your organization to effectively manage your employees while inspiring and empowering them? To help, we’ve put together a list of things you can accomplish in order to help your employees thrive in the new year.
First, it’s crucial that you allow your workers to have few (but well-defined) boundaries, according to Forbes. “Contrary to conventional wisdom, boundaries don’t restrict team members; they empower them. Define the boundaries within which an employee can make his or her own decisions. In doing so, you give them freedom to act,” according to the publication.
By giving your workers the ability to act on their own accord, you’re emphasizing a culture of trust. In turn, you’ll allow the diversity of your workforce to thrive because you’ll allow ideas to organically grow and your employees to flourish without feeling micromanaged.
Another way to inspire your employees? Forgive mistakes, according to Forbes. “If your team isn’t making mistakes, then you aren’t reaching high enough,” the article notes. “But if you punish mistakes, you will encourage overly-conservative behavior.” Instead, it’s important that you establish a culture of differences between what defines mistakes that are okay to make and issues that are “mission-critical offenses.
Notably, Harvard Business Review also discusses the importance of empowering workers through inspirational leaders. “Leaders who were perceived as more empowering were more likely to delegate authority to their employees, ask for their input, and encourage autonomous decision-making,” according to the publication. “And they were more likely to have employees who were rated, by either their leader or colleagues, as being highly creative and good organizational citizens.”
By acting in a way that inspires other, you’ll make the most of your team’s efficiency and work ethic, which will help them hit goals more easily.
In addition to having few boundaries set around employees and taking initiative to be an inspiration leader, it’s critical that you’re approachable and seek engagement from your workers.
As noted by an article on Business, you should have an open-office culture to help manage your workforce. “You want your employees to know that their opinions are valued in order to truly empower them. A simple gesture such as leaving your office door open can do wonders to communicate this,” according to the article. “Adopting an open door policy shows employees that you care about what they think while enabling them to give their input and play an active role in your company.”
In conclusion, 2020 should be a year where you do your best to energize your workers by managing your employees to the best of your ability. Flexibility, creativity as a leader and approachability are three ways that will help you achieve success in the year ahead.