Clear goals essence of leadership
Keeping teams properly informed prevents staff feeling disengaged
You arrive on the first day of your job full of enthusiasm and nervous anticipation. Turns out that your new boss isn’t there to welcome you as he’s ‘‘ tied up in meetings’’, and the onboarding process involves not much more than asking a colleague what you should be doing.
Enthusiasm turns to disappointment when your manager is always ‘‘too busy’’ to see you, and eventually disengagement when no clear guidelines or goals are ever given.
Poor leadership is the main factor negatively affecting individual performance, says specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, followed by not having clearly defined goals and objectives and not being adequately recognised for high performance.
James Dalrymple, director of Robert Walters in Auckland, says: ‘‘Poor leadership, team conflict, undefined goals and objectives and zero recognition for good work are key drivers of disengagement, dissatisfaction and underperforming teams.’’
To ensure that new hires are a good fit for the team, the Robert Walters report says it’s important for human resources teams and team leaders to work together to create a healthy balance between what will fit the team and what is best from an organisational perspective.
Robert Walters suggests team leaders then spend time developing very clear individual and team goals, by creating suitable job descriptions and complementary day-to-day responsibilities. They say it’s also important to define how the performance of a position is measured and to continually keep teams informed of these key performance indicators in order to prevent team members from becoming lost or disengaged.
While the survey found the most popular way of rewarding high performance was through monetary incentives, Robert Walters says simple recognition can go a long way to helping team members feel engaged and valued.
Praise for effective performance — whether through team meetings, internal communications or newsletters — can ensure team members maintain a high level of motivation and well-being. Equally, recognising where a team member is struggling or not achieving their target, and giving constructive feedback to help enhance their performance, will encourage respect within the team.
When asked about how their teams are led within the business, 43 per cent of respondents said the method was traditional, ‘‘ top-down’’ leadership where leaders make decisions without consulting team members. However, just 5 per cent felt that this leadership style engages and motivates them, with most preferring shared leadership and accountability.
The second most preferred leadership style was self-directing, with nearly a third of survey respondents believing they would be most engaged and motivated if leaders gave them a lot of freedom and let them set their own deadlines. The survey revealed that professionals rate ‘‘supports team members’’ as the most important quality in their team leaders. For those team leaders who have too many immediate reports and not enough time, Robert Walters recommends implementing a mentoring programme to ensure all staff are getting the support they need.
A mentor can be anyone who can share knowledge and advice to help another employee grow professionally. The benefits of mentoring include greater productivity, higher job satisfaction and a more positive working environment for the mentor and the person being mentored.
Most respondents chose varied and interesting work as the factor that keeps them most engaged in their roles. This was followed by salary and bonuses, a good work/life balance and opportunities for career progression. Nearly half the professionals surveyed believe their organisation doesn’t do enough to keep them engaged, and that turnover rates are too high.
Robert Walters says to keep work interesting, it is important to fully utilise the individual talents of team members, allowing them to play to their strengths and trade tasks they’re less suited to.
The report notes that in many organisations, engagement is seen purely as the remit of the human resources department, but in order to prevent poor leadership from infiltrating a business, it’s important for team leaders to take on some of the accountability and work with HR to ensure all is well.
Constructive ways for team leaders to address the issue include discussions with team members, setting goals and time for regular catchups.