Page 41 - MidJersey Business - May 2014
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Every leader claims to have an open-
Be Open to Others. door policy. But it’s not a leader’s door that needs to be open—it’s
Business ┃ Professional ┃ Medical
an open mind that matters. Openness encourages employee
engagement, and that is fundamental to business success. The
Gallup Organization’s study of employee engagement in 7,939
business units in 36 diferent companies found that employee
engagement was positively associated with performance.
Leaders are usually not solo inven-
Invest Time in Others. tors or lonely creative thinkers. They are called to assemble a
team of people and enable them to be more productive together
than any of them could be alone. Leaders can’t create time, but
when they invest their time to build proitable relationships
with their employees, they are multiplying the results they can
❶❷❸❹
achieve. Choosing to spend time with their employees daily is a
leader’s best return on time.
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Listen to Others. is built on a transparency that relects a freedom to speak and be
Move “up” or “down” in size Larger offices 2,500 sq.ft+
heard. Bad culture, where listening isn’t valued, impacts business www.ExpressOffices.com
every day across America. It’s been estimated that as much as
55 percent of a leader’s work time is spent listening. But most
leaders don’t know how to do that. They confuse listening with
hearing. When we are open to an employee’s ideas and we invest
the time to hear them, then we are more apt to understand what 3525 & 3535 ┃ Quakerbridge Road ┃ Hamilton ┃ NJ 08619
they are saying and, more importantly, what they are not saying.
GO LOCAL WITH
Employees can work for
Offer Encouragement to Others. hours without food or water. But they can’t do quality work for
more than a few minutes without hope—the hope that their work
matters, the hope that they can get the job done, and the hope
Every Friday,
that their efort will be appreciated. Show respect for employees
by surprising them with words that show you believe in them.
SHOP
LOCAL
When a
Express Appreciation for Others’ Abilities. leader ofers genuine appreciation, it is returned with improved
informs readers
attitudes, stronger commitment, and better performance. The
and consumers of gift of appreciation is not about altering your associates’ opinion
the benefits to a of the leader; it’s about changing their opinion of themselves. D
When a leader helps employees believe in their unique strengths, ISCOVER YOUR
INDEP
community where ENDENT
they build a work environment that ... works! Lasting leaders BUSINESSES
a robust know how to bring out the best in others.
Top Reasons EAT
to Buy DRINK
an
independent dBE Local, Eat LOCAL
You can be appointed someone’s boss, but not their leader. Had Local, Go Local
business presence By choosing local and independent
Roger developed these ive gifts, he might have still moved jobs businesses for your services, shopping,
exists, and why every three years but it wouldn’t have been because he could no dining and other needs, you not only get real val
ue and personal service, you’re helping:
we must
longer get results—it would be because he developed a reputation
for building a high-performance team that followed him even
“Think Local under tough conditions.
And that kind of leader is always in high demand.
First.”
Join the local movement.
Barry Banther is the founder and CEO of Banther Consulting. He has become a trusted advisor, leadership
Contact your Times Multi Media Specialist speaker, and trainer for Fortune 100 companies and midsize to large family-owned businesses. His new book,
today or call (609) 989-5457.
A Leader’s Gift: How to Earn the Right to be Followed, was released in April. For more, visit barrybanther.com.
may 2014 39
