How to be a Good Leader / Manager & Help Your Company Scale New Heights

by | Last updated Oct 17, 2022 | Published on Oct 4, 2019 | Business Transcription

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As a provider of business transcription services, we know that conferences and meetings play a crucial role in the growth of the business but the effectiveness of these meetings depends upon a strong leader. A good leader or manager plays a crucial role in the growth of any business. The duty of a manger or leader is to motivate the team, be creative and responsible, and provide support to and encourage the team. We often get confused between the role of a leader and manager. Although the role of both manager and leader is to lead the team to new heights, they have very different traits and behaviours.

Good Leader / Manager

A manager identifies the person who is authorized to lead a team and make decisions for them. The manger may be qualified but may lack the right set of skills that are required to lead the team. A leader may not have an authorization to lead the team or take decisions on behalf of the team. But a true leader will have the ideal behaviors, characteristics, temperament, and mindset required to motivate a team and persuade them to perform optimally. In simple terms, a manger appoints the leader and is focused on completion of various tasks, while a leader motivates and monitors the team and their performance. Consider the following points to be a good team leader or manager.

  • Don’t be a boss, be a servant leader: A good leader will be a “servant leader” rather than a boss. Robert K. Greenleaf who coined the term “servant leader” says such a leader is a servant first and has the natural feeling that one wants to serve. An efficient leader will work with the team, when required. He/she will consider their own needs subsidiary to that of the team and the company as a whole. A leader must also be able to mentor the team, provide support to them and facilitate them well. Once a month meetings with the team can be scheduled wherein the team members can explain what they expect from the jobs they are assigned.
  • Understand your employees well: Some managers believe that they should not have a close interaction with their employees. They think that it is important to maintain a certain distance from the team. Moreover, getting to know more about their employees’ personal and family lives could make them vulnerable to be taken advantage of. However, an effective leader or manager should understand their employees, what impacts them and what motivates them. This helps to build a rapport within the team and thus work efficiently.
  • Trust in your employees’ skills, knowledge and decision making capacity: A manager or leader hires skilled workers who are capable of doing the job. So knowing that you have a good team, let them do their job and trust in their capabilities. Avoid micro management and allow them to grow and make decisions. But if their performance falls short at any point then make sure that you help them.
  • Admit your mistakes: It may be difficult to admit your mistakes but remember that your employees tend to respect you more if you allow yourself to be seen as making mistakes from time to time, and allow your employees also to confess their mistakes. Do not be afraid of humility, instead applaud it.
  • Promote opportunities for growth and career development: Holding back any opportunities for your employees to grow and develop is unfair. To help your team members learn more, you could host lunch-and-learns with them whereby you can share your best tips or knowledge to help everyone learn new skills.

All the above-mentioned tips would help a team leader or manager to run the team efficiently. Remember that it is important to know your team members well and trust them so as to improve employee contribution as well as ensure the growth of the company.

Starbucks Believes Leadership Is Important to Bring the Store Together

Starbucks recently held a three day leadership experience event for 12,000 of its store managers and field leaders from the U.S. and Canada. The event was held in Chicago, and was the largest employee conference in the company’s history.

CEO Kevin Johnson had said earlier that they would use their time together to have honest communication about those aspects that would support leaders showing up as the leader their partners and customers actually need. He said the company would deliver on a set of major commitments that would help employees on their Starbucks journey.

The speakers at the event addressed the following key areas of importance for the company’s culture and operations:

  • Empowering store managers: The focus would be to create more time and space so that store managers can lead their business to higher levels of excellence.
  • Strengthening their communities: Store managers will be given an opportunity to nominate a local non-profit organization to receive a grant from the Starbucks Foundation.
  • Lead in sustainability: The company shared their latest environmental sustainability efforts with their 12,000 invited store managers and field leaders.
  • Break the stigma around mental health: A Mental Health Matters session with a clinical psychologist held during the event focused on introducing emotional first aid. This was followed by a discussion on what it means to thrive and develop self awareness.

Starbucks is a huge company that depends on growing a strong group of talented leaders to run its more than 30,000 stores in 80 markets around the world. In the U.S. and Canada alone, Starbucks serves more than 11 million customers a day. Bringing leaders together is an effective model that all businesses can adopt because it helps improve the engagement and performance of company leaders while helping them better understand and connect with the brand.

By interacting efficiently with their team and colleagues, managers can increase their potential and will be able to get any work done by members of the team. Good leaders also understand the importance of scheduling regular meetings with the team members and having the proceedings transcribed by a business transcription company for any further reference.

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