Tips To Recharge Your Team Regularly

By DAN ROCKWELL

Lousy leaders drain people; successful leaders energise. Do eyes light up when you’re around? Those who make the biggest difference, energise others.

The law of energy is: put more in than you take out.

Any person or system that takes out more than it puts in, is dying. Reserves last for a while, but death is imminent. Successful leaders replenish energy in others. Energy looks like hope, optimism, and confidence.

Recharging people

Leaders who over-emphasise deliverables and projects, suck life out of people. Leaders who energise, on the other hand, focus on projects and people.

Foolish leaders forget people come first because people complete projects. Leaders who prioritise people are energisers. Successful leaders monitor energy. Always check what’s the mood of your team before planning or acting.

Surprising sources of energy

Doing things that you love. Rest is helpful, but doing what you love energises. Help your team do things they love. Just ask, what do you love doing?

Challenges energise when they’re just out of reach. Too far and they drain.

Finishing energises. Successful leaders create and celebrate finishing points. Great finishing points energise the journey.

Developing new skills infuses energy. What are you doing to develop those around you?

Encouragement energises

Leaders who withhold encouragement, discourage.

Ask people how they like to be encouraged. “What can I do to encourage you?”

Validation encourages. Don’t explain away people’s perspective or feelings. Go with them, even when they aren’t yours. Going with isn’t agreement, it’s understanding. People feel validated when they feel understood.

Use questions rather than directions. “Can we solve this?” is better than “Go fix this.” Once a person says, “Yes, we can solve this” their brain rises to the challenge. They find courage to take the next step.

Systematise encouragement by putting your team members’ names on a calendar. Monday is your day to encourage Bob and so on.

How can leaders energise others?

Dan Rockwell is a coach, speaker and is freakishly interested in leadership. He is an author of a world-renowned most socially shared leadership blog, Leadership Freak.

Reposted with permission on Leaderonomics.com