In an ever-evolving world where individuals are striving to improve themselves and increase their productivity at work, leadership is a highly sought after quality in most employees these days.
Workplace issues arise at work every now and then, and leadership and its associated skills are required to solve these problems. Miscommunication, lack of transparency and even micro-managing are some examples of issues at workplaces. With a myriad of conflicts that can possibly arise between colleagues, how can you better handle workplace issues as a leader within your organisation?
Here are just some practical strategies you can adopt.
Compassion makes better leaders and companies.
Where individuals with the quality of leadership are looking to improve themselves and achieve maximum productivity at their workplace, some could get so wrapped up in the technicalities of work that they forget to practice kindness in reality. Studies highlight that it is especially important for employers to find their balance between being a boss and being a friend. The values of trust, loyalty, happiness and communication can be easily established as a result of choosing to practice kindness across the different roles one can take on while at work.
They may not realise that they themselves or others around them are struggling in their routines while they work to perfect their multiple skills. To ensure that everyone is kept jovial at work, the simple act of practising kindness could go a long way as studies have shown that compassionate leaders have a significant impact on their employees.
Leaders can practice compassion in their work lives by initiating simple changes in their day-to-day habits. According to an article published by Forbes.com, listening, empathising, and helping your colleagues are some ways to achieve this goal.
Engaging in these practices will demonstrate compassion to your colleagues, who will better appreciate you as a leader. As such, expressing kindness is one possible way to handle workplace issues as leaders within your company.
Recognise and appreciate employees’ efforts.
Recognitions and rewards for a job well done are excellent motivators for employees everywhere. An article published by an Idea Management Software Company, Ideadrop, says that “even the most steadfast employee requires acknowledgement that their hard work is paying off.”
While “all employees should be treated in a consistent manner under the same circumstances, superior performance, however, should still be recognised and rewarded”. By maintaining fairness in respectful treatment of all employees but appreciating individuals who work harder to achieve organisational goals, setting up a recognition and rewards system could aid leaders to handle workplace issues within their companies.
Trust your colleagues.
A research conducted by Gallup has found that one of the four needs of followers is ‘trust’. Trusting your colleagues to make the call, even and especially when you can’t be there, is a key way to express your trust in employees. Statistically, when a trustworthy relationship between employers and employees is not established, only 1 in 12 are engaged at work. However, when trust is properly established, 1 in 2 employees are engaged at work.
The above numbers alone highlight the power that establishing trust among colleagues can have at a workplace. As such, entrusting your employees with tasks and responsibilities is a great way to demonstrate your belief in them too.
Trust can also be showcased by reconsidering the standard policies that many firms still have put in place today. Instead of dictating when exactly employees should come to and leave from the office, minute details about dress codes and what needs to go into email signatures, perhaps looking into Netflix’s work policies can shine light on how they establish trust.
Trusting employees with a certain amount of freedom could help leaders to handle workplace issues including misunderstandings and lack of cooperation within your company. When colleagues understand that they are being trusted and their needs get appropriately addressed, they will be better motivated to contribute to the success of your organisation as well.
With that, you have now learned 3 ways to handle workplace issues as leaders within your organisation. Remember to practice compassion, recognise and praise employees’ efforts as well as trust your colleagues with goals and responsibilities to ensure a conducive work environment for everyone at your company. After all, good leaders become great when they can successfully handle workplace issues that may come their way.
StrengthsAsia has helped many individual and corporate clients all throughout the region in empowering leaders by enabling breakthrough experiences for both leaders and followers. If you want to learn more about the Strengths Leadership Program, feel free to reach out to us here.
Reshma is StrengthsAsia’s content writer and research contributor. She enjoys spending her time writing anything from poems to screenplays, and everything in between. She also finds joy in reading novels, baking and catching movies with her family. Participating in creative activities helps her find inspiration and new ideas for her work.
Aly is StrengthsAsia’s marketing and communications guru and lead editor. She's over the top inquisitive and everyone in the company knows her as “The Googler” as she practically googles everything. Honestly, we all worry for her… She is also the Principal Trainer for our one of a kind ice cream team building workshops in Asia.