Depending on who you ask, “leadership” can be defined in several ways. In the past, a “good leader” knew how to command authority, using their position and title to get what they needed from the organization. But while positions and titles certainly mean something in the military, in the workplace, times have changed.
This isn’t to say that employees don’t or shouldn’t respect the chain of command. Rather, considering how the modern workplace is structured – more remote teams, major shifts in technology and its use, and the wide diversity of staff – employees now expect more from company leadership teams.
Redefining Leadership From an Authority-Driven to Collaborative Approach
Most people who have been working in a professional setting for a few years are well aware of an organizational chart (“org chart”). An organizational chart helps to identify each person’s role within the company and visualize the existing hierarchy.
For many years, these graphs were used to help employees visualize a clear line of authority between different groups of people. An unfortunate side effect of this top-down model is that it can quickly lead many people to view themselves as part of a lower class of employees, especially when given harsh directives from employees above their authority line.
While org charts are still very much in use today, modern leaders focus on taking a more collaborative approach to how they interact with or manage their employees.
The term “shared leadership” is now in full effect in many companies. Rather than viewing employees as direct subordinates or “do as you’re told” members of an organization, shared leadership encourages each employee to have a certain amount of ownership over projects and objectives.
This environment leads to higher levels of collaboration across the group and brings more balance to the manager-employee relationship. Company leaders are still able to help direct their employees in alignment with business objectives while giving them the ability to drive many of their own decisions and contribute in various ways.
Building Trust and Establishing a Safe Working Space
As a company leader, there are few things you can do that are as effective as building trust with your team. Trust is earned and isn’t something that can be demanded because of a title on a business card.
When employees trust and rely on their leadership, they naturally become more motivated in the work they do. Because they know their managers have their best interests in mind, they’re able to more freely express their ideas or even take certain risks that could pay off highly for themselves and the company.
Trust goes hand-in-hand with being able to establish a safe working environment. This sense of safety isn’t necessarily a physical one, although no employee should ever feel like they’re in danger in an office.
Rather, there is more of a psychological type of safety that can only come when employees can do their best work without feeling like they’re being judged and belittled by their leaders. This can only be developed with time as a manager-employee relationship develops. However, dedicating time to nurturing this safe space can be incredibly beneficial for the company and its leaders.
Knowing How to Effectively Delegate Tasks
No company leaders are the same. However, one of the common denominators for many companies is an inability to effectively delegate. While the concept of “taking work off my plate” may seem like a no-brainer for executives and managers may seem like a no brainer, in practice, it’s never quite that easy.
The truth, though, is that for a company to continuously move forward, there needs to be a healthy amount of task delegation to a broad range of employees and roles. Mastering this ability is actually what helps to establish that important quality of trust and creates opportunities for employee advancement.
A few ways leaders can start delegating their tasks more effectively include:
- Collaborating closely with employees to identify strengths and weaknesses so that assigned tasks are more in alignment with their abilities.
- Taking the time to communicate their needs and how they support the company’s overarching objectives.
- Providing enough resources – including their own leadership support – to handle their tasks more effectively.
- Spending time with each employee to provide valuable feedback.
Staying Adaptable to Workplace Changes
Most businesses change over time – it’s a natural part of growth. However, those changes don’t come so easily to leadership teams or their staff. Change is intimidating and forces people out of their comfort zones. Still, without it, there is no way to improve or further develop your career.
The way that leaders show their adaptability to change can be an incredibly motivational force for other employees. This isn’t just confined to new company objectives, or market strategy shifts – it also includes approaches to leadership and how an organization adapts to the needs of its customers and staff. This could include changes to an event production structure or even the tools and solutions that a company uses or abandons.
Company leaders should quickly embrace change as an opportunity to improve themselves and their teams. Consciously or unconsciously associating a negative tone with various changes can quickly rub off on other employees and cause a dip in morale or increased turnover.
Instead, leaders should work closely with employees to make sure they understand the “how” and “why” behind the changes. This helps to build a more cohesive environment of learning and development when attending tradeshows or conferences, creating new opportunities for all employees to grow.
Keep Your Leadership Team Effective
Company leadership shouldn’t be defined by a title. Effective leadership takes time to develop and can always be improved. However, by creating a solid foundation built on trust and empowerment with team members, you’ll be able to achieve more for the business now and in the future.
Author Name: Cameron Magee
Author Bio: Cameron Magee, the owner of avad3 Event Production, is a passionate and dedicated professional who began his journey in event production as a curious 12-year-old at his childhood church. Today, he leads a team of hard-working production professionals, having built avad3 from his college dorm room into a national production company, committed to both client success and the well-being of his team.
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