Leadership Essentials: Mistakes Leaders Make

Being a leader is no easy task, it requires an individual capable of handling the pressure to tend to the needs of a team with high emotional intelligence and strategy to succeed. Leaders have a vision for what they want to achieve, it is this vision that creates an environment for collaboration. As a leader, it is very easy to get caught up in assessing the performance of others that we don’t take the time to assess ourselves and our effectiveness.

If leaders do not seem open to feedback, employees won’t tell them their concerns about their effectiveness. This can lead to negative feelings from followers and even cause them to lose sight of what is expected of them. When this is the case, it creates a very negative environment for team members and will inhibit their performance. This is counterproductive to the duties of a leader which is to inspire and utilize team members' skills to accomplish something together. 

Leading teams of people are by no means an easy process, and it will test your communication as well as mental stamina. This position is meant for people who have confidence, grit and maintain respect for the people around them. Just like everyone else, leaders are not perfect, and there are a lot of common mistakes leaders make. Taking into account the general common mistakes leaders make, we can categorize them under two umbrellas:

Leadership Mistake - Not Receiving Feedback

Curiosity, asking questions, effective listening, the hunger to learn is what leads to success. Nobody knows everything, no matter who you are there are things you can learn. This same principle applies even to the highest-ranked leaders: learn what you can improve on and what impacts your team's ability to perform. Leaders often don’t look at themselves as the reason for underperformance, instead, they want to look at who is doing what is wrong on their team.

Before you can assess slacking team members, there must be an open discussion about how you as a leader are creating an environment for your team to do their best work.

Ask questions to your team such as:

1. What are our weak points as an organization?

2. What are our strengths?

3. Do you feel you are receiving adequate resources to perform to the best of your ability?

4. What is something you’d change about our approach?

5. What are the urgent problems we need to take care of?

There are numerous benefits to gain from asking questions like this to team members. It shows that you care about making your organization an effective workplace. This also allows you to get feedback from individuals working under your leadership. I suggest that leaders ask these questions fairly regularly, to make team members feel valued and learn what works/doesn’t work with your current strategies.

Leadership Mistake - Micromanaging

Commonly, leaders will want to oversee how their team members are executing their operations. However, not giving your team breathing room to do their work will be counterproductive in completing their task effectively. Micromanaging tendencies can stem from many places such as not trusting your team, being insecure about a loss of power in decision making, or simply being overly cautious.

It’s important to know that in cases where your team has access to all the necessary resources, micromanaging will only harm the team's ability to work. A common flaw associated with micromanagers is not delegating adequate tasks to team members, which essentially becomes a waste of resources. Your team is there to help. All members share a common vision of achieving a goal.

Advice to anyone who thinks they micromanage would be:

1. Build trust with employees 

2. Develop timelines of leaving the team alone

3. Periodic check-ins

4. Listen to the needs of team members

5. Accept that not everything is perfect

6. Communicate expectations clearly

Applying these will demonstrate your trust in your own decisions to delegate tasks to the right team members. They will also reflect your emotional intelligence as you aren’t getting your ego or lack of trust out of the way. Team members will thrive under a dynamic that allows them to complete tasks to the best of their ability. As the team starts to succeed, their motivation to take on more new challenges will increase and so will their quality of work.

Conclusion

Being a leader does not entail one person doing a job, it requires someone who can make the people who follow them better, to achieve as one. Leading people is not a linear process, it is not a one-size-fits-all and it will challenge you. Whatever endeavors you take on as a leader, always do your best to support your followers and learn as much as you can. 

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

5 Social Media Marketing Tips To Engage Your Audience

Social media has become a hub for advertising and marketing, brands are receiving mass amounts of engagement as well as being able to directly connect with their audience. The biggest attraction to social media marketing is the open environment that it offers. Brands can interact with their audience daily, on Instagram for example, posts and stories are direct attention grabbers.

Posting on your Instagram daily whether it be posts, reels, or stories, is a portion of their day that your audience dedicates to you every time you post. Think about that, your audience has a moment every day where they focus on you. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that? To get the best out of this opportunity, make sure it is something that will interest them and entice them to look more into what you offer. 

From the perspective of a consumer, brands with a strong social media presence are valuable and will receive the attention they deserve for the volume they produce. To put this statement in perspective, just over 70% of consumers agree that social media is a major driver of brand awareness. This statistic is just in America, social media gives outreach to countries all over the world, you can imagine how much higher this percentage is for that market.

If you want to make your organization appeal more to your audience, then I suggest you look at applying these 5 tips to improve your ability to do so.

Get Active With Responding

Brands always assume that the key to publicity is going viral and generating mass amounts of likes/views. While this is of course a great situation to be in if you’re fortunate, however, social media is a direct access point to engaging with your audience. This means brands tend to use social media as a megaphone when it’s meant to be a walkie-talkie. Get in the comments, respond to direct messages, this is a personal touch that shows the audience you care.

Develop a Personality

Brands engage in Twitter wars occasionally and it is incredibly entertaining. These reflect the personality of the brand, for example, you often see Wendy’s on Twitter being very sassy towards other brands. Or brands responding brutally honest to customer complaints in a funny way. These exchanges bring in a lot of traffic on Twitter and are yet another opportunity for your audience to focus on your brand for free. Now I’m not saying go on Twitter and start bashing other brands, but find a way to incorporate some witty comments that reflect characteristics for how you want to be perceived. 

Use Relevant and Trending Topics

Post about things going on (that are not political) for example if you are a catering service post on National Fettuccine Alfredo Day a picture of some Fettuccine Alfredo and a clever comment. Doing this not only draws attention to your services but also demonstrates that you are fun and in tune with the world. There's always something trending, use your creativity to find a way for these trends to work for you online. 

Use Appropriate Visuals

While you’re keeping up with relevant trends, using images that capture the message you are trying to send drives engagement through the roof. If you utilize your creativity and develop something that gets lots of shares, likes, or retweets, you are putting your brand in the spotlight. Develop something eye-catching or funny, something that will entice someone to say “oh my friends have to see this”. The same rule goes for promotions your brand may be having, if you are a shoe business and you’re having a back-to-school sale, incorporate something on campus. It is the little things that make a big difference, again it’s not about going viral, you simply want to communicate with your audience.

Ask For Feedback 

A sometimes overlooked aspect for brands on social media is being able to ask your audience for reviews and responding to them directly. Believe it or not, you can respond to the negative comments with positivity to show your audience that you care. Furthermore, this will benefit your brand's image by demonstrating that you engage with your audience and value feedback. Getting feedback will allow you to adjust your marketing strategies. You can find new perspectives from your audience and then tailor your approach as you go. 

Conclusion

Social media entails the same principle as the genuine relationships you have day-to-day. You are directly communicating with your audience, engaging in exchanges, and sharing a moment in your day with that individual. From a brand perspective, it is in your best interest to make as much of your audience satisfied as possible. It’s impossible to please everyone and there will be negativity, but you are still representing the brand, respond to situations with that in mind. Social media today creates opportunities that we never had 10-15 years ago. This form of communication and ability to connect with audiences is going to grow more over the coming years. Is your brand prepared to capitalize in this market?

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Hiring in 2022: Overcoming The Virtual Shift

The past two years have imposed many obstacles for businesses adapting to the online shift of the pandemic. While this has become our new reality, companies are embracing this opportunity of being able to work from different locations. While some have been able to work from home, others have not been as fortunate.

Canada had a spike in unemployment rates at the start of the pandemic, and the country being shut down provided challenges for people to find work. These rates have dropped over recent times, but the shift to remote work may be something that is here to stay, making it worthwhile to learn about the trends of hiring remotely.

With millions of Canadians and over 70% of U.S workers doing their jobs from home, the majority of the North American market is now virtual. For a business to keep up with this shift, they need to ensure they are hiring individuals capable of operating in this new norm. Being unable to operate at the level expected will be detrimental to someone looking for a job in these times. Remote work requires the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively in an online setting. As a leader, you must be able to trust that your employees will be able to do so.

With so many people looking for jobs and some employees leaving their position for opportunities elsewhere or retiring because of the pandemic, your company will inevitably undergo online interviews. Online interviewing is not as formal as an in-person interview, yet remote hiring still requires you to look for all the qualities you would look for in an in-person interview.

Remember that even once you’ve hired someone, the online onboarding process will take time. It is important to use your emotional intelligence to assess the areas in which your employee will need the most coverage and attention. This major shift leads us to a point where we need to consider the hiring trends for this year. What can make your business stand apart in your talent acquisition?

Embrace Working Remotely

To get a sense of just how popular remote work is becoming, statistics show that almost 85% of employees find it extremely beneficial. This same study found more than half to admit they were more productive while working remotely. No matter what industry you’re in, competing this year will require your business to have a strong system for remote work. To operate this effectively, your company must have policies and training for employees to use these online platforms. Again, the onboarding process in this manner will be challenging. This is a major reason to have systems in place which relay the methods of operations to all employees.

When meeting with candidates, ask them their background with remote platforms or if they have any experience with the ones your organization uses. Another important focus point, you should pay attention to candidates' comfort being on camera. Working remotely will require individuals to be on camera for meetings, calls, presentations, whatever it may be, to ensure they can handle themselves on camera. While employees may be working in the comfort of their own domestic spaces, they are still representing the company with how they conduct themselves in the remote workplace.

DEI Initiatives

A workplace that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will not only benefit their public image but also stand out to those looking for jobs. It will be worthwhile to bring this up in an interview to see how the candidate understands DEI in the modern workplace. Someone who shares this support will boost morale in the online environment, making it easier for team members to collaborate.

Keep in mind, even though you may be operating your business online, employee satisfaction needs to be standard practice. Also, while you may be in the power seat of offering someone a job, there needs to be an attraction for candidates to want to join your team. This should entice any company to have DEI efforts, especially considering almost 80% of workers say it is important for them to work in an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion. High-quality employees come for a position that will make them feel comfortable and able to express themselves.

Hybrid Work Opportunities

One method to consider looking into is a hybrid work model, which combines a balance of office days and remote workdays. The benefit to this model is the flexibility it allows employees, contrary to the phrase being “cooped up in the office”. Hybrid work gives freedom to employees to increase their overall well-being which is important in a time when mental health is so commonly talked about.

As an employer, you want to make sure you are offering a position that will make employees feel excited about their jobs and not trapped in a position of discomfort. Many candidates today are looking for positions that promote work-life balance, if this is something your organization can provide, it will be a big driver in applicants. Employers will notice improvements in their teams' productivity as well, this model has shown benefits in employee engagement. 

Conclusion

As we are emerging from times of COVID-19, we are not leaving without changes that the pandemic left us with. Remote work is something that saved our economy, as well as the mental well-being for some. This put in perspective that employees don’t need to commute to an office to do work, they can be just as efficient from home. As a result, organizations can bring in talent from just about anywhere.

People are becoming more creative with what they can accomplish in this digitalized world. With the availability of being able to hire from just about anywhere, job candidates are becoming more in demand. The creativity we’ve seen accompanied by the digital shift is bringing out talent never seen before. If you are looking to hire someone like this, what can you offer?

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!