You are failing in your role as a leader if just one of your employees feels undervalued, says Glenn Llopis, writing for Forbes.com.
Today’s employees require leaders to step up their game, argues the author. They need to understand the specific needs of each and every employee and provide the resources they need to grow and succeed. So are you doing enough to nurture your workforce? Llopis describes six ways to make your employees feel valued:
1) Embrace their differences. “Diversity of thought is the new normal,” says Llopis – and leaders who do not embrace difference will soon find themselves extinct.
Be open to the different perspectives that a cross-generational, multicultural workforce affords. And ensure your employees feel safe enough to voice their views.
2) Discover their hidden strengths. An employee’s most valuable strengths are often overlooked, says Llopis. Look beyond the job descriptions to discover your employees’ hidden skills and encourage them to develop.
3) Seek their counsel. When ego or insecurity prevents leaders from listening to their employees, workers are left feeling undervalued and disrespected.
Seeking and valuing your employees’ counsel is the best way to earn their respect and benefit from their different perspectives and know-how.
4) Invest in the relationship. If you invest in the relationship with your employees, they will help you achieve success in your role as leader, says the author. The relationship should be reciprocal, with each side valuing the other for the benefit of all.
Listen and show genuine interest in your employees, and they will genuinely want your success to continue.
5) Provide adequate feedback. Employees want and need regular feedback from their leaders. Without it, they cannot grow or develop.
Leaders who make themselves inaccessible to their employees are missing a great opportunity to build trust, warns Llopis.
6) Don’t micromanage. Micromanagement undermines your employees’ confidence in their own abilities. Micromanaged workers tend to devote more energy to pleasing the boss than to doing their jobs well.
Give your employees room to grow and develop through experiencing both success and failure.
If you want to make your employees feel truly valued, Llopis concludes: “Play to their strengths and work with the differences – generational, cultural and otherwise – that make us all unique and valuable.”