During this uncertain time of the pandemic, our lives have gone through a major upheaval. While organizations are struggling to sustain in the market, it is important to take care of and boost the confidence of your internal stakeholders and your employees.
For leaders, this is a testing time to utilize the best of your leadership skills and bring the best out of your team members. How to be self-confident and boost the confidence of your team is a major challenge for every leader. Here are some tips to smoothly sail through these unprecedented times.
Get rid of insecurities
The first thing to start with is to get rid of insecurities. To increase self-confidence, focus on solutions rather than problems. Yes, these times are difficult, but have faith in yourself to deliver the best possible performance. Keeping a positive mindset develops an unshakable self-confidence, providing strength to surpass any challenges. With a high self-esteem level, you become highly efficient and effective in every aspect of your life. So, believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place.
Communication is Key
With so many of us working from home, communication becomes the most important element for building high performing teams. These times have led to determining innovative ways for increasing employee engagement.
Have daily, weekly, or at least monthly, one-on-one time with your team members. Listen to their challenges, both personal and professional, they are going through. Try to resolve those challenges, if possible, or guide them through solutions. That is how you win people, earn their respect, and boost their confidence.
At Etech, our leaders follow the practice of having weekly one-on-one meetings with their team members.
Empower your teams
“Unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” –Mattie Stepanek
A leader is known by the team he has built and grown. These are times to practice social leadership and become closer to your team. Help your team members realize their potential, as well as the importance of their role in the organization. Train your team members using the most current and up to date processes and procedures. At Etech, our leaders often conduct team meetings to share knowledge and insights within teams. Share valid information with your team members. Tell them about your plans then open up the discussion by getting their feedback, inputs, or suggestions. Most importantly, be open to criticism and learnings from your team members. The best teams are built through collaboration and collective efforts.
Admit your shortcomings
We all are going through times that no one has ever witnessed or even imagined a year ago. The COVID-19 situation is causing us to continuously adapt to new business processes and it is possible that we may end up making a few wrong decisions.
As a leader, you should have the courage to admit mistakes or accept the failure of not meeting commitments that you have made to your team. If you are honest with your team and accept your shortcomings, your team will follow the same practice, creating a good team environment.
Don’t compromise on your values
Successful businesses are built on values. As a leader, it is important to stay committed to your values and ensure that your team follows the same guidelines. These challenging times will pass, but the commitment to your values is the thing that your customers, employees, and inner self will remember forever.
Making your values a priority will give you a clear vision on what is important and keep life consistent. A leader without values will be inconsistent and often makes haphazard decisions, leading to chaos among team members. Hence, whatever the situation may be, a leader should stick to the values they’ve committed to for themselves, as well as to their organization.
As you practice and adopt these things in your leadership style, you will notice that your team will start to become more productive and deliver consistent performances. Remember, the first responsibility of a leader is to be realistic. Last but not least is to always say thank you. In all things, a great leader is a servant leader, always putting a team’s needs in front of their own.
Until next time, may you continue to make a remarkable difference in the lives of the people you touch each day.
