Leading People
Is All About Leading People
I’ve met and dealt with many leaders of both small and large organizations over the years. Those that stood out to me and were seeing real results were leaders who kept in touch with their people.
Lachlan Murdoch, elder son of media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, once said, “Some of our line employees have developed innovations, in their own time, that have saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars. These were things that our senior management would never have thought of.”
Australian businessman Gerry Harvey said, “I have not seen any business that really uses their staff well. Employees are a large resource so why limit yourself to your own ideas?”
People want to contribute
Your team actually wants to be part of a company going places. They want to come to work every day and feel good about their job. They want to be proud of the company they work for, the products and services they produce and their contribution to the community. When they achieve success and are recognized for their efforts, they thrive. That’s human nature.
Know your people
Take time to:
- Find out their ideas
- Learn their strengths (& note their weaknesses)
- Appreciate their contributions
- Hear their frustrations
- Ask for their solutions
Cut through the red tape
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone giant, experienced a dramatic downturn in its market share largely because its organizational structure squashed critical decision-making processes. For a company in the fast-changing field of IT and telecommunications, this spelled death. Nokia’s competitors, like Apple, began releasing leading-edge products before Nokia because they were getting critical decisions made by leadership far more quickly than Nokia.
You can see real innovation and motivation coming from your people by clearing away unnecessary obstacles.
- Simplifying communications within your business
- Encouraging people to contribute positive ideas
- Allowing basic decision-making rather than stifling it
Peter Irvine
www.peterirvine.com
Peter is Co-Founder of Gloria Jean’s Coffees, author of ‘Win In Business’ and ‘Building your Business, your People, your Life’ and keynote speaker.
'Failing Forward' is available for order at www.peterirvine.com.au
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