Be The Example

You must reward the same behaviors every time they appear, discourage the same behaviors when they appear and treat every member of your team with an equal, level-headed view.

Have your team work for something together.

Setting goals just for the department or one individual breeds isolation and a limited mentality. Instead, give staffers a unified focus and purpose, to inspire them together.

Your team is comprised of individuals with unique personalities and capabilities, so individualized approaches work better. Never use the exact same approach to motivate, encourage or mold all of them. 

• The more people you have actively participating in discussions and attempting to make improvements to the organization, the better.
• Never chastise a team member for voicing an opinion respectfully -- even if it goes against your original vision or isn’t well thought out. 
• Don’t cut someone down for voicing an opinion, it builds resentment and discourages people from sharing their own new thoughts.

You don’t need a pool table or dress code abolition to make work fun. You can make the workday more enjoyable with things like surprise lunch outings, a dedicated break room or even just casual conversations with your workers.

Help your people enjoy coming to work, and they’ll do their best work for you.

Transparency shows your integrity as a leader and builds trust with the members of your team. Lying or withholding information, could jeopardize your relationships and the respect you command as a leader.

Reward members of your team that do something exceptional, even if it’s just a vocal recognition. Do this publicly so the recipient feels good and the rest of the team knows that hard work is rewarded.

Just be careful to be consistent in your rewards so you won't be seen as playing favorites.

Don’t silence those who disagree with your management style or don’t like the direction of the company. Listen. And ask questions of your entire team.

Open dialogue makes it easier to proactively identify problems and work together to create a mutually beneficial environment. It will also make your employees feel appreciated and acknowledged.

How you communicate with your team can dictate your eventual success. To avoid miscommunication and to keep your team updated, always strive for clarity, accuracy, and thoroughness on your communication.