The #1 Thing Your Team Wants From You

Jun 5, 2023 | Leadership Development

Thank you to those who participated in our last survey at inclineHR. We asked a question around which characteristic most described your favorite manager ever and provided four options to choose from: kind and empathic (14% of the vote); set a high bar (4% of the vote); gave critical feedback (17% of the vote); and lastly, someone who believed in you (a whopping 64% of the vote!).

Isn’t it interesting that the majority of respondents prized encouragement over so many other potential factors? In this globally competitive world of hurry up, trample over, eat or be eaten, slowing down to give your direct reports encouragement takes the prize. That should give us all some pause.

How do we become the chief encouragers of our teams? Our families? Our friend groups? It is safe to say that most have had direct reports, peers, cross-functional partners, children, neighbors, and friends who just needed a little encouragement. You were hopefully their rock when they needed you. You left a positive mark by sprinkling a little “Miracle Gro®” on their hopes and ambitions and now they would run through a brick wall for you. That’s called followership.

I recall when Rosina and I made the decision to start inclineHR. We had many respected friends and colleagues reach out to encourage us. We still remember those conversations. They meant a lot to us and frankly, helped us get through some of the early growing pains. To be clear, these were unsolicited offers of encouragement that were timely and very much needed. It wasn’t their job. It was about friendship, human connection, advocacy, and inspiration. They believed in us. They did business with us. They referred us. Without encouragement, we would have closed up shop after a couple of years like most of our competitors. We are eternally grateful.

How encouraging do your teams find you? How do you balance encouragement with performance management? How do you ensure you remain fully authentic? There is clearly so much merit in delivering timely behavioral feedback, but what would happen if you replaced harping on the negative solely with encouragement- playing to peoples’ strengths instead of always finding fault? What if you mixed the two- noting the progress that has been realized by them and your belief in their path forward to close any gaps? Once they have achieved their goal, chances are they will credit you for believing in them. Maybe you will even create a ripple effect with any future direct reports they have. To learn more about becoming the leader you are destined to be, check us out at www.inclineHR.com.

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