From average to exceptional: Eight strategies to leadership mastery! Create a happier & more productive team.
Luke Fenwick
Life & Leadership Coach | Guiding Game Changers Towards Their True Potential | Behaviour Strategist | Habits Specialist | Writer | Speaker | Ultramarathon Runner | Creator of Mindset Snacking
Did you know there are 8 actions you could begin taking today that will have a profound and positive impact on your team, their engagement and productivity? These 8 actions will be given to you soon…
Firstly I wanted to share an observation that has been formed over the last 6 months having conducted numerous workshops across Australia and that is many leaders are struggling to maximise their team's potential right now. It’s often a mix of factors such as: time and energy, lack of support from upper management and no clear strategy as to what to execute.
Post pandemic saw waves of new leaders stepping into leadership roles with little experience to flourish, compounded by the pressure to execute & no time to learn what to actually do to be effective.
Speaking with new leaders I often hear the same words,
“I’m afraid to say the wrong thing”
“I don’t really know what I should be doing, to be a great leader”
“What if I fail?”
Truth is, all the great leaders worked on their craft over time, sought feedback and were inspired by others around them to be all they could be.
We could all be better at what we do, if we just opened our minds to possibilities and different thinking.
Did you know that
I share these stats because it talks directly to something else I want to share with you today. It’s about what makes us tick, what is fundamental to humans.
We all want to
Because everyone we work with, even the frustrating ones, are human. And the more you can lean into these 3 principles the better the people will respond around you and the better results will be.
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." -Charles Darwin
Are you ready to respond to the changing dynamics in the workforce?
Yes? Read on…
On with the 8 actions you can take to have a massive impact and create a happier, more productive team.
Action 01: Bust the barriers down!
As a strong leader understanding the barriers and actively helping to remove them for the team might sound rather simple, but I continue to be surprised as to how many leaders aren’t seeking to understand what is in the way of their team being successful and even more surprised that often even if the barriers are known, not much is done to knock them down. Often citing that we don’t have resources or time to focus on this “problem” and then wondering why the team is ineffective.
It can start with the very simple questions of “To be the best version of you, what do we need to get out of your way right now?”
Hot tip: If you ask for feedback on what the team needs…be ready to respond and act not file it away until 2026, this will only create more issues downstream and create the label of “In-action Jackson”
Action 02: BAN MEETINGS!*
*Not really all of them just some of them
Do I have your attention now?
No I’m not that wild or inflammatory to suggest that meetings should be banned entirely, however it does feel as though there needs to be some deep dive thinking about the volume, cadence and length of meetings vs the output from them and the overall impact to teams that have to do the actual work. You know, the purpose why the meeting was created
If you as the leader look through your team's schedule and you’re the one placing most of the meetings in the diary and that diary is 80% full of meetings it’s time to ask; when and how is the work/execution really being done?
Plus, do we really need all of these meetings in the first place!?
Speaking with teams it seems clear to me that most of their time is spent in meetings with little time to do the deep work. My suggestion is a company-wide black-out on meetings 4 days per week between 10 and 11 and the other day has a black-out between 12 and 2. That is 6 hours in total per week at a minimum for everyone within your organisation to do deep and focused work or refocus their attention for upcoming meetings.
Now you might be thinking “Surely, we don’t need to be enforcing not having meetings!?”
Well I say you probably do. Because we might logically see the problem but humans often struggle with doing the thing that they really need to do!
The reason this also works is it allows everyone to know that no matter how crazy things are right now, and if all else fails there will be these black-out times coming up! This really helps people stress less and focus on the task at hand vs stressing about “when am I getting anytime to do some of this stuff!”
Also for each meeting it needs to have a few elements
Hot tip: Want to really go crazy with this concept?! Trying blacking out an entire day every 9 days for the organisation, see how that helps with strategic thinking & execution. My watchout is upper management, it’s often that level is the first to break the black-out strategy, thinking their meeting is above all else…then everybody starts to do it and it trickles down back to square one.
Action 03: Roll your sleeves up to build a collaborative team!
Recently I was talking with senior leader in an organisation just below General Management and their leader had challenged them to collaborate
Best definition of collaboration? “To work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor” If you Google “what is collaboration,” you get a similar result: “The action of working with someone to produce or create something.”
The team weren't lazy, they weren’t avoiding it. They simply didn’t have a strategy to be more collaborative because of the environment they were in.
The problem was the leader didn’t get involved to grease the wheels and just left the team stuck, spinning wheels and going nowhere fast.
The team were under such pressure to deliver a goal, which wasn’t clearly defined that they didn’t have any sign posts telling them that the collaboration was on-track and moving them forward…which then led to a breakdown in communication.
Collaboration can take time, it takes skill and its not going to happen just by throwing people in a room and saying “get to it”
Hot tip: Self reflection - It’s not a collaboration if you are right 95% of the time and it’s always your idea. You want the team to power up together, give them your thoughts on the desired destination, clear non-negotiables that must make up final success, broad roles and then get the heck out of the way and let the team do what you pay them for. And get onto one of your other priorities.
Action 04: Amplify outstanding performance.
“Yeah yeah, I always tell people about the great job they do”
Are you really? As good and frequent as you could or should?!
A common hurdle experienced when trying to highlight good performance is people struggle to understand when is the right time and exactly what is worthy of highlighting.
God forbid we shout out something positive that really doesn’t deserve it! And we look fake in the process.
If you aren't sure then try using the 3 buckets approach. Anything that exceeds standards in relation to clients, organisations or teams gets a shout-out.
Make sure the team is aware of these buckets and ask for them to contribute information and wins along the way. This can help with gratitude amongst the team and build connections. You might even take it a step further and award a prize at your quarterly gathering for the top performers.
Hot tip: If you feel like you never get around to it and keep forgetting, set a reminder in your diary or phone for a few times during the week where you highlight performance, it might be in person, over the phone or email but the point is, don’t rely on remembering, create the prompt to ensure its not achieved by chance but by via plan.
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Action 05: Frequent feedback about performance is a must.
Team members want to hear from their leaders, they want to be given feedback on their progress because people want to feel like they are progressing. But what teams don’t want is long winded hour(s) long sessions, so book in a 20 min sprint every 10 days or so to talk about performance, highlight the awesome stuff and provide guidance on what needs to be sharpened up or looked at in a different way.
It’s ok to have difficult and constructive feedback but ensure the positive factual stuff is flowing along the way. Have money in the bank that you can withdraw when things aren't’ going to plan. 6 good for 1 bad is a great benchmark
When giving constructive or difficult feedback stick with the facts, share why this matters and how it impacts the team, organisation, client or themselves and their career or growth and contribution.
We all learn from challenges in life, the things we overcome. Use these events as tools for evolution.
Hot tip: Get out of the habit of bad feedback being given only in a coffee shop away from the office on a Friday where you say “hey, can we have a quick catch up?” if this is your routine chances are the person you are speaking with is already in flight, fright or freeze mode because they know what’s coming. Make sure the coffee shop has good times involved also! Mix it up.
“Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work." -Seth Godin
Action 06: You create your own goals.
Ask your team to be part of and a driving force in the process to set their goals for the upcoming 6 month period…The idea of this seems to scare the life out of people and really doesn't need to, you aren’t conceding all authority to the team and certainly not allowing them to work independently from the organisation, create a side hustle, never come to the office and…never mind! What you’re saying is “I’d value your input into creating goals that you are excited about this year, I’d like us together to create a number objectives that support your ambitions individually and assist what we are trying to do as a group”
Another reason I love this idea as it opens the floor to authentic conversations. This frequently leads to the team member really opening up about where they are at and at times has highlighted that a change needs to happen. It might mean a new role, new hour structure or the realisation that this job and organisation has run it’s course and it’s time to move on before performance drops away.
Hot tip: Set the boundary in place the individual goals still must feed into the organisational goals, this process shouldn't feel like a tradeoff or negotiation on goals, however it can be really impactful for you to be open on some things in order to get something in return.
But be careful, don’t open yourself up to having all kinds of different rules for different people, this just creates confusion and at times chaos, agitation and jealousy.
Get buy-in increases engagement, higher engagement often delivers better results.
Action 07: Don’t stand for toxic BS.
Not a week goes by where I don’t hear from a senior leader of an organisation or head of HR saying “We’ve allowed them to get away with this behaviour for too long, we kinda looked the other way as they’re great at their job and deliver the projects on time”
“Now, things have gotten out of hand”
“The good is far outweighed by the bad”
And I always say “If something had been done upstream many months ago” “then would these issues have been festering and now bursting to the surface here today, downstream?”
8 out of 10 times the response is “things wouldn’t have gotten to this point”
We have amazing people in our teams and just like our kids we don’t want to see and acknowledge the poor behaviour that’s common but turning a blind eye is never the solution if the poor behaviour is becoming a habit. Be clear in your mind if this is a once off that really doesn’t warrant raising or the early stages of a trend.
If you aren’t sure, try saying “I can see that you are behaving in a way unlike you, is there something you want to talk about?”
Hot tip: Talk often about values and culture of the organisation. The values exist for a reason and chances are lots of money was invested into a project to create them…so live and breathe them, encourage the team to say “this is how we do things around here”!
Action 08: Get real with your boss
Much of this article has been focused on what you can do for your team and rightly so, this is important, as the leader we are driving progress with the team.
But all the strategy and actions in the world won't have the full desired impact if you are operating with chains attached to your feet! Sharing with your boss critical information about what’s hindering you can be a game changer.
I recognise and understand it can be uncomfortable for many people however honest conversations about what you are missing right now, to help you be the best you, enabling you to be more effective and efficient needs to be a non-negotiable.
Why?
Because your opinion matters
Because you having needs and wants matters
Because you need to respect yourself
Because you need to set boundaries
Because you need the right environment to be the best you and it’s your job to share this and your leader's role to engage with you to make changes or manage expectations but they cannot read your mind and won’t just do this for you.
Hot tip: If you are pointing out to the boss what they need to do or how they are holding you back, be clear, be factual and be prepared to be questioned. It’s 100% ok to say “I need things to evolve” but don’t expect your boss to take every word as law and do exactly what you say without question.
Be strong and engage with conviction.
But ultimately do what’s best for your long term growth and fulfilment in your craft.
Conclusion:
As with anything in life, action drives progress, sitting and contemplating with no action will only deliver the same results. You might be an experienced leader or a leader forging a path each and everyday towards the best version of you but remember you learning should never stop, it should never rest.
Workers all over the world right now are screaming to be engaged with and are asking leaders to step up and lead.
I hope these 8 strategies to leadership mastery help you to drive outcomes, create change or even do both in your organisation.
I know this will give you the spark to break free from the current state of play.
As always, I’m here to help.
💥Mood follows action…your habits craft your life!
Luke
This article was inspired by a recent Gallup report “The Strengths, Weaknesses and Blind Spots of Managers” by Ben Wigert. Statistics by HRM and the Australian Workplace index.
More on the author
If you want to learn more about how to give effective feedback, please contact me for a free exploratory call
I’m a Life & leadership Coach - Behaviour Strategist with over 25 years of real world experience in organisations such as Myer, Jeanswest, LVMH and Melbourne United. I combine these experiences and knowledge to support organisations, people leaders and teams to pursue their potential. I specifically work with the next generation of leaders to ensure my experience and knowledge can support their progress in new roles, whilst navigating unnecessary pitfalls.
If you would like me to work with your teams or present to them on the below topics please reach out.