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Being a boss is easy- all you need is to hire someone. But becoming a manager that employees willingly follow and respect can be challenging. Fortunately, managing is a skill you can learn. 

Transformational leaders are inspiring, positive, and empowering. Some of the qualities associated with great leaders include intelligence, adaptability, and assertiveness. For some people, these traits are acquired naturally, while others have to learn. 

Use these tips to learn how to be a great leader that employees would emulate. 

Treat Employees Fairly

Treating workers fairly and equally in the workplace is necessary to ensure optimal company growth. Maltreating employees decreases employee morale, resulting in low productivity. Workers may also file a lawsuit against your organization for discrimination and unfair treatment. 

Avoid “lording” and showing prejudice towards certain employees over others. What applies to one worker should apply to others. Avoid discrimination based on age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion. 

When it comes to promotion, do so based on performance and qualification, not on personal relationships. Ensure job postings are open for all employees instead of verbally telling some workers about an opening. 

Provide all employees with an employee rule book or handbook to help them understand rules. It would be unfair to discipline a worker who’s unaware of the rules. Remember, if it were not for the workers, you would not have that job. 

Your managing title should inspire and not be a symbol of harassment. 

Motivate Employees

The best manager understands that motivating employees is a holy grail of any business. Giving your staff a peaceful working environment inspires them to work harder. The break room, the outdoor space, and even bathrooms can affect your worker’s motivation. 

You should, therefore, design the working space thoughtfully and curate it to inspire. The color scheme has a profound impact on the productivity and mood of the company. You can get an instant feel of a room as you enter. 

According to color psychology, blue is among the productive colors to choose from. It can be soothing or vibrant with a calming effect on a hectic working environment. Green represents nature, plant life, or fresh air. 

Green is also associated with creativity and broader thinking. A softer shade has a calming effect. Red is a vibrant, energizing color that boosts brain wave activity, heart rate, and blood flow. 

Understand the color that will bring out the best in your workers. You may also involve them when choosing the office colors.

Maintain a positive attitude to have a profound effect on employees’ motivation. Positivity can help you view problems as grand opportunities to get creative and innovative. 

Encourage Career Development

An employee with developed and advanced knowledge is a great asset to the company. That’s why you should value their career advancement. Making talented workers feel undervalued kills their morale and can affect productivity negatively. 

Know how to communicate effectively with employees. Interacting with workers on a one-to-one basis helps you stay attuned to their career expectations and aspirations. Help workers outline a potential career path to visualize their future. 

Consistent, direct, and clear communication from a manager makes the employee feel valued. Ensure you establish a formal mentoring program for workers’ professional and personal growth. For instance, you can encourage the engineering team to get more training from reliable engineering recruiters for advanced knowledge. At the very least, you should have programs like construction safety training in place, depending on the sector you work in. When employees know you’re keen to keep them safe, they’re a lot happier.

More so, assign smaller side tasks that are not aligned with workers’ careers to boost their skills. Give your team members a chance to work in different departments for a day to enhance their skill set. 

Be a Role Model 

Remember, you’re a role model to your workers. In short, you’re the magnifying glass. Have the model behaviors, which can be termed the big three- integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness. 

• Integrity- As a leader, you need to do the right thing all the time. No taking advantage of others or playing favoritism. 
• Honesty – Being straightforward is out of the question. You must be honest with all the decisions you make in the company. Let employees know why the decision was made and how it can affect the company’s going concern. 
• Trustworthiness– As a manager, learn to live up to your commitments, respect confidential information, and keep all promises. 

Correct Problems 

No one is perfect, so learn to correct mistakes. In the business world, you cannot progress without fixing problems. Learn to give feedback- both positive and negative- and resolve issues as soon as they happen. 

Having empathy doesn’t mean you hold back making decisions. Correct a worker who’s doing a task wrongly, but give them a chance to rectify their deeds. Even a minor error can cost your business big time. 

Ensure you gather your professionals and personal courage and speak up. Letting the problem continue is a recipe for disaster. It can ruin your company’s reputation and ruin the morale of other employees. 

Be a Good Communicator

Your subordinates are not your slaves. You only happen to be slightly elevated above them. Although being a manager gives you power, you should never be rude to employees. 

Communicate your vision and let your workers understand what you want. You can enhance your communication skills through practice. And to be a good communicator, you must practice active listening. 

Pay attention to what employees are asking or sayings. Through active listening, you’ll understand what the person wants and respond appropriately. Your eye contact, tone of voice, and hand gestures can also convey your message. 

When communicating to workers, just say enough- not too little or too much. Be short and precise. Whether you’re communicating via email, phone, or in person, be clear and direct. 

As you communicate, be friendly to encourage your employees to open up. It’s important to be polite and courteous. 

The Bottom Line 

Great leaders are inspirations to employees. And you can also become one of the leaders’ workers would love to emulate. These traits and priorities will set you apart from other leaders. 

And you’re not only limited to these qualities. As a leader, set the pace, behave ethically, and practice adaptive leadership. Communicate with positive mental health and compassion.