Building Confidence in Your Employees

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Trust men, and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great." Building confidence in your employees is a critical part of being a leader. Trusting that they will do the right thing, whether by
serving a customer well or completing a project on time, will inevitably build your faith in them and their confidence in themselves.

If an employee brings you a problem or a conflict, your first reaction may be to solve it for them. After all, isn't that what managers do? Maybe, but it's not the actions of a leader! If you do that, what will happen the next time? You will have begun the pattern of solving every little issue that arises for your employees, which will not only take up your precious time, but will not allow your team members to grow in their own careers.
Your job is to build the self-esteem of your employees so they can do things on their own, with only guidance from you.

The next time one of your employees brings you an issue, consider this plan of action -

Listen. Don't immediately speak, or worse yet, stand up and act. Hear the underlying concerns. Ask your employee what his or her ideas are for solving the problem. Guide your employee through a set of action steps to address the issue. Allow him or her the
time to work on the problem by planning, involving others and creating next steps. Keep your promises; if you have said you will do something to help, do it. Be enthusiastic when the problem is solved, and be sure to recognize the employee who brought the issue to you and took the initiative to fix it.

By stepping back and not taking every issue on yourself, you will begin the process of building confidence in your employees. That will be good for you, your team members and your business. It will allow you the time, energy and flexibility to do what leaders are supposed to do - guide, coach and inspire.

Tom Peters, author of many great books on leadership and successful companies, including Re-Imagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, is quoted as saying, "Be enthusiastic about the success of others. Leaders don't create followers, they
create more leaders." If you allow your employees to be successful, you will be known, within your organization and beyond, as a true leader.and that's what all of us should aspire to be!

                                                                         Sincerely,
 

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