As a manager, you have a load of responsibility on your plate. Not only do you need to keep a business afloat, but you’re also at the helm of a team that will inevitably look to you for guidance.
While it isn’t always easy to do, remaining as positive as possible even during stressful times is key to leading your team by example.
In this article, we’ll consider how exactly you can present a positive management outlook that will inspire your employees to do the same.
1. Practise Self-Compassion
In modern business, many managers aren’t kind to themselves or their employees. This can result in various risk factors, including workplace perfectionism, long working hours, and a significant lack of workplace confidence.
By instead practising a visible degree of self-compassion to yourself and your team, you encourage every single employee to do the same thing. Removing any sources of fear or stress is an important part of enhancing employee mental health. It’s the right thing to do, and will pay off in terms of task success and workflow.
What’s more, this couldn’t be an easier goal to achieve. In fact, you can pass on this vital leadership lesson from flowers by simply going home at a good time, or rewarding yourself with something like an afternoon off after a busy period.
These are small tokens, but they clearly reveal the importance of self-care and the ultimate productivity boosts possible.
2. Approach Challenges With a Can-Do Attitude
Business life is rife with challenges, especially once your company begins to grow. Suddenly, you’ll need to manage things like international affairs and global markets.
And that isn’t always easy. It’s understandably tempting to throw up your hands in the face of these setbacks, but it’s never a good idea to do so.
In truth, even international issues tend to have easier fixes than you think, including simply adjusting your marketing approach or working with a 3PL provider who can smooth over international operations for you.
Taking the time to brainstorm these big challenges with your entire team also reveals that you’re human but willing to work hard.
And, when your team members face their daily work challenges after the fact, they’re far more likely to approach them with the same can-do outlook as a result.
So, from an operational standpoint, your can-do attitude is key to ongoing company success.
3. Celebrate Success Rather Than Failure
Many managers get caught in a loop of overlooking good work and punishing mistakes, but this is always a mistake. After all, no one does their best work when they’re ruled by fear.
That doesn’t mean you should overlook employee errors, but it does mean you should prioritise rewarding good work via schemes like Employee of the Month.
This more positive outlook, which could include simply giving away a meal voucher for the employee with the most new client accounts each month, can help boost workplace productivity.
It can also encourage your employees to look at their successes, rather than their failures.
It’s not always easy to think positively when you’re in charge but, as you can see from these points, it is always worth making that effort.
