Fostering effective leadership is no easy feat. Balancing business needs with employees’ feelings is an ongoing challenge, but it’s worthwhile to pause every so often and reflect on how you’re doing.
By understanding your leadership team’s effectiveness, you’ll be better able to mentor new leaders and ultimately help cultivate a positive, productive office atmosphere.
While you can always solicit feedback from your employees, observing their behavior or responses in these situations could be a better indicator of how they’re really feeling. These are the metrics to watch in order to gauge your leadership’s performance — and how to work on areas for improvement.
Employee Retention
Is turnover high at your company? Does it feel like just as soon as you introduce someone new, you’re having a good-bye party for someone else? While there are a lot of factors that impact employee retention, leadership is often the biggest indicator. Without effective management in place, employees won’t have that incentive to stay at the company long-term.
There’s no quick fix, but there are ways to move the needle. Think about what makes a good leader, and make sure everyone on your leadership team fits the bill. Good leaders are transparent with their employees. They recognize and reward outstanding behavior, and they offer constructive feedback when contributors fall short. But managers shouldn’t micromanage; instead, they must empower their teams to take responsibility for their own duties. And most importantly, they should treat their teams like they’re people, which brings us to our second KPI…
Percent of Employees Who Say Their Manager Shows Empathy
Of all the qualities that good managers have, empathy might actually be the most important. No one wants to be treated like a worker drone and feel like an easily replaceable cog in a machine. People want to know that they’re being heard and understood, so an empathetic manager sets the stage for a strong relationship.
If this metric isn’t delivering the results you expected, it’s time to coach your leaders on how to build trust with their teams. Developing interpersonal skills like active listening and body language goes a long way towards making people feel appreciated. Remember, empathy isn’t just about being nice; it’s about being able to truly understand a situation from a different point of view and examine why someone might be feeling the way they do, even if you can’t personally relate to the situation. You don’t have to agree with everyone all the time, but making an effort to understand employees’ perspectives goes a long way towards making them feel appreciated.
Percent of Employees Who Say Their Manager is Effective at Communicating
Sure, your leadership team has a clear vision for success — but do your employees understand that bigger picture? Most people don’t want to feel like they’re simply collecting a paycheck; they want to contribute to something larger than themselves. Without clear communication from leadership about what they’re supposed to be accomplishing, some may feel like they’re just running up a hamster wheel rather than coming closer to achieving something extraordinary.
Improving this requires coaching your leaders on their communication skills. Have them regularly reiterate the company’s goals and provide clear direction on how to get there. Let employees on different teams know how their specific work contributes to the overall vision. Once everyone’s on the same page and working towards the same goal, employees become more motivated and productivity rises.
How Many Employees Say They Feel Respected By Co-Workers
This last KPI doesn’t directly involve leader-employee communication, but it’s still a critical piece of the leadership puzzle. The way employees talk to each other speaks to the kind of culture that leadership has fostered in the workplace. Do people feel like they’re part of a team, or is it every person for themselves? Do they feel respected in their roles or like they’re constantly coming under fire from colleagues?
If your office isn’t nurturing an environment of collaboration and respect, it’s time for your managers to start encouraging collaboration. Having teams who usually don’t interact work together can give each an idea of how the other operates and fits into the larger organization. Group people together in a way that lets each employee bring their individual strengths to the table while complementing everyone else’s talents.
Getting the most out of your leadership team isn’t always easy, but the results are always worth it. For more ways to help your managers meet their goals and create a high-performance culture, contact the leadership coaching experts at Sounding Board.
