Unleash your employees’ super powers

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to work under several managers and I observed the different styles of leadership each of them brought to the position. Some of them demonstrated to be textbook examples of how not to lead a team while others were just average. But nonetheless competent in the managerial role. Then there were those rare few who were helpful in teaching you how one should approach the role of leadership.

Unfortunately, a good number of leaders manage their teams by focusing on their employees' weaknesses, instead of looking more at those areas that their employees need to work on or improve, in order to better their job performance.

Employees can't shoot spider webs from their wrists or leap tall buildings in a single bound. What they do have, though, are exclusive talent and skills that can prove to be vital to your company's future growth and stability. Aren’t you a little curious as to which leadership category you fall into? Put yourself to the test!

Write a list of your eight go-getter employees. Not the superstars and not the foot-draggers, but people who come in every day, do what they are supposed to do, meet deadlines, and constantly give you great results. Now take a look at that list, and take a minute to think about each of those eight people. What percent of their potential do you think they are delivering at work? Can you imagine them taking their performance up a notch or two? What would that mean for your organization’s end results?

It would mean a lot! So why not rethink retaining your employee’s talent that shows up every day? Let us give you a hand with that!

Unleashing career potential matters
Great leaders inspire people and find ways to unleash their hidden power. And from that success, satisfaction, energy, innovation follows not forgetting profits and better workplace culture.

The key to unleashing their potential is to reach people on an emotional level. To find their passion, what they love, what excites them, what turns work into something closer to having fun.

Discover ‘employee power’
Select one of those eight employees on your list. Schedule a talk with this individual. It should be more of a casual chat than a formal thing but keep it professional of course. Find out what this person likes about their job and what they like least. Some people, for example, love social media and are able to use it as an amazing work tool. Other people consider it a task or a disruption from the work they enjoy and would prefer spending more time on.

Knotting in skills and strengths
After the meeting, if at all possible tweak the job so that the focus is firmly on what your employees love and where their passions lay. Cut out anything irrelevant. Make it clear that your employees own this new job description. This means if they fail maybe they are not truly cut out for this particular role choice. Just try it.

Surely, no job can be all exciting and fun all the time, and all employees’ even stars that walk into work with the biggest smile on their faces every day - have to spend at least some time on stuff that’s a drag or boring. We’re not going to create a perfect world of work. But we can get a whole lot closer. This is about unleashing that extra percentage that will cause employees and your company’s happiness and performance to go through the ceiling.

Seeing power takeoff
Watch what happens with that first employee. I’ll bet you anything you will see this person reach new heights of performance, and quickly also. Why? Because you have made this person a partner in their own work life. You tapped into what they like to do. And you’ve made solid changes to a job that shows your respect and commitment to your employee’s business success and career future.

One more thing is that you’ve unleashed some of your own untapped power as a leader.

We understand how difficult it can be to find ideal individuals with top skills that will grow your organization. But we are masters at sourcing that person and matching them to your company culture. Get in contact with one of our consultants for more information.

We also specialize in Finance jobs, IT jobs, Engineering jobs, Freight jobs, and Supply Chain jobs. Visit our vacancy page and apply today!