Bring in smart people who treat others with respect and who want to improve.

Train them to do the specific tasks. Build a “deep bench” of competence, so that, if one person has to leave suddenly for a family emergency, there are at least one or two other people who know the process, the software, the client, etc.

Mentoring is a great way to grow morale, motivation, and retention. Make sure that your top performers in particular have an effective mentor. It might not be you—the personality rapport should be the priority for pairing mentors and mentees. It’s better to have those mentoring partnerships outside of the chain-of-command, because the issue the person might need help with is “communicating with my boss,” and if their boss is also their mentor, they are in a bind.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September. Registration for some programs will close in the next few days.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/1094726622052320404/)

Make sure that impact is positive. Give frequent feedback, both positive and negative. When delivered correctly, that feedback will make the person more likely to want to do it even better next time.

That means building the person’s motivation with positive feedback by praising the things that matter to that person. If they are perfectionists, praise their accuracy and how you can trust their results because know they got it right. If they are goal-oriented, then praise their ability to get the win and get things done. If they are people-focused, thank them for the help they gave to you, the team, or the client.

When delivering negative feedback, DON’T demotivate them by stepping on those same motivational factors!

Don’t even imply that the perfectionist “did it wrong.” They will stop listening and start making a mental list of why they are right and YOU are wrong. Instead, let them know “the task is incomplete because it does not yet include X, Y, and Z.” Show them the path to making it perfect.

Don’t let that goal-oriented person feel like a loser. You can be direct with them, but vector them toward the win. “That didn’t work, but this will.”

Reassure that people-focused individual that the relationship is still okay. “This still needs these changes before it’s ready to go to the client, but we can make that happen today.”

Effective feedback builds knowledge, skill, and motivation, and it is essential for your people’s growth as professionals.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/832532681150950673/)

People want to follow someone they can trust. As effective leaders, we need to make sure that our actions are above reproach.

Do the right thing in all aspects of your life. Treat people with respect. Negotiate fairly. Be a good human being.

Your people will learn that this is who you are, and they don’t have to worry about your intentions or what you might do that could put them in a risky position. They know they can rely on you.

There are plenty of things that can create anxiety for our team members. Don’t be one of them.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/331577591339042246/)

Step up and do what needs doing—your team is watching.

Figure out what you need to feel comfortable enough to do the thing. Is it good planning for the process and reliable data? Is it having consensus from your team that it’s a good plan? Is it knowing someone has your back? Assess what you need to step up, and make sure you get that when you need it.

Be a role model for facing issues before they become crises.

Encourage your people to try new things—be a safety net for all of the tightrope-walkers in your life. They might fall, but don’t let them splat.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September. Registration for some of these courses will be closing this week, so don’t wait!
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.facebook.com/MelodyTheater/posts/we-are-trying-dolly-such-a-role-model-one-thing-you-can-say-about-her-she-never-/1544738630782917/)

We don’t need to see professional success as a zero-sum game. We do better and live better lives if we don’t.

Find ways to get a win-win scenario whenever you can. Write contacts that are fair to all parties. Reward high performance by giving everyone who hits the benchmark a bonus, rather than pitting your team members against each other to have the top-performer who gets the only bonus. Reward the team for team successes.

As the leader, you set the tone. If you keep the place from becoming a rat-race, you help your people avoid becoming rats.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.etsy.com/listing/221377015/i-hope-we-all-make-it-inspirational-art)

This might seem counterintuitive, but the most effective leadership will not make you stand out. If you can help all of your team members to shine, your glow will be one spot of brightness in a room full of lights.

And that’s a really good thing! Your team’s success does not take anything away from your own success—it’s a force multiplier.

Provide training, empowerment, feedback, and motivation. Helping them become the best versions of themselves as professionals and as leaders will build a team that can do far more than it ever could if you were the only engine moving things forward.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/1056446025098717065/)

For some people, the challenge of leadership is that they don’t feel as “productive” or “effective” as they do when they are working solo on a project.

However, if you can grow and inspire a whole team of people, that team can do SO MUCH MORE than any one of us can do individually.

Don’t undervalue your investment in your team members—if you bring out the best in each of them, everyone is better off.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/189784571778254614/)

Train them. Empower them. And especially make sure that you grow their self-efficacy.

Self-esteem is good, but self-esteem is “I’m good enough just the way I am.”

Self-efficacy is the “I think I can” that gives people the confidence that, “If I work hard at this, I can do it.”

Grow their understanding of their own potential, and help them map out the paths to the successes that they want. As they accomplish theses, they will begin to see that they have the ability to do the things they want to do. You are bringing out the best in them.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/500884789828205559/)

Do the right thing, even if it is not the easy thing. But listen to your people, so you understand their perspectives, issues, and insights, because they can improve your understanding of what the right thing to do IS.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/6544361954119088/)

Top performers should be praised, compensated, and fast-tracked for promotions. Find out what they want from their careers, and reward their efforts by making those things happen.

Underperformance should be addressed promptly. Diagnose the problem and, if possible, solve it. Motivate the person. Get them training. Create a PIP with simple metrics and have weekly check-ins to see that they are being met. Move them to a team that does not include that guy who annoys them. Move them to a position where their current skills are usable.

But if their performance still does not improve to an acceptable level, it might be time for them to let that under-performer “go work for the competition.” If you leave an under-performer in-place without consequences, the other team members will experience more work (fixing the problems or doing the extra work the under-performer is causing), while they both get the same paycheck. It’s incredibly demotivating, and they may lower their own performance (because “why bother”) or may choose to leave your company.

Be proactive when dealing with your lowest performers, or you may end up losing your top performers.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/3940718421368784/)

Make sure you have people who will tell you the cold, hard truth—if you surround yourself with sycophants, you will make bad decisions. Let them help you get things “more right” than just your own ideas alone might.

Don’t be afraid to have people disagree with you—listen to find out what they know that you don’t, or why they have a different perspective or perception. Preferring different solutions does not mean either one of you is necessarily wrong.

Don’t be afraid that someone will demonstrate that your intended plan of action is wrong. If you are open to revising and course-correcting when it makes sense to do so, you’ll get better outcomes, and it will actually enhance your leadership with your people than stubbornly continuing with a bad plan.

Give credit when people come to you with good ideas. “I thought we’d be okay doing X, but then Ann pointed out these issues, so we made these changes, and we’re going to end up in much better shape now! Thanks, Ann!”

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/526569381409358097)

Be the best version of yourself.

You know right from wrong—act accordingly.

You know your people need to be motivated, trained, empowered, and mentored. Be the kind of leader who does that.

Figure out what strengths you bring to the team, and bring those strengths.

There are a lot of things in life that are beyond our control. Our own behavior IS under our control. Make good choices.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.etsy.com/listing/1758911875/sdcc-geeky-laptop-sticker-choose-to-be. Please support artist Karen Hallion)

Find what works to motivate you to continue to learn and grow.

• Do you want to make sure you are still credible and competent? Keep learning.

• Do you want to make sure you still understand the situation, even as markets, technology, politics, etc. change? Keep learning.

• Do you want to still be able to help and inspire your people? Keep learning.

• Do you want to keep being successful? Keep learning.

Your team members are a great source of knowledge. Have more junior staff members do lunch-and-learns for the tech, software, and methods they use. They may be more comfortable using things like drones, AI, social media, etc. and be able to teach you about things that did not even exist when you entered the workforce. Don’t assume that “the old way is the right way,” or you and your team might lose relevance and market share. You don’t have to adopt every new trend (and it’s not a good idea to jump aboard every fad), but you should know enough about new developments to see which ones will impact your company’s future.

Stay curious. It’s more than a My Little Pony song—it’s a great mantra for life.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/972918325762673643/)

When you do the right thing, and it is reassuring to your team members and clients. They learn that they will be able to trust you when they need you, even if doing nothing or throwing them “under the bus” would be easier.

Be worthy of trust and respect, and you will receive both.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/491033165623814183/)

Be a role model; follow-through on your own commitments.

Communicate your expectations, so your people know what standards to meet.

Set your people up for success. Make sure they have the training and resources they need. Give them a way to trouble-shoot if things are not working, e.g., “if X happens, come talk to me and we will figure you how to pivot.” or “If the data starts showing Y, talk to Ann, since she knows how to fix that.”

Trust, but verify. Don’t delegate and abandon; follow-up to make sure.

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/22236591904122026/)

If you do not treat them well, they may choose to explore those options.

People stay with a company if they are treated with fairness and respect, and if they see a path to the success and fulfillment THEY want with your organization.

So, you know, do that.

I mean, it just makes sense.

Want to learn more? TJG has several leadership classes starting in September.
Find out more at: https://thejenningsgroup.com/leadership-classes

(image source: www.workchronicles.com/p/comic-retention-strategy-bfc)

As younger people enter the workforce, they will either adapt to the corporate culture, or they will change the corporate culture. But if after a few years they are not largely aligned with that company’s culture, they will leave… or be asked to leave.

If you are the established professional, you can set the tone for how these new norms will be set. If there are compelling reasons for certain practices—such as in-person work—then explain the reasons why it’s done that way. If there are good reasons to make changes, though, be open to making things better. For example, remote and hybrid work make sense in many industries. Don’t enforce obsolete practices just because “it’s the way we’ve always done it.”

That being said, people can find an effective balance. For example, if you have a younger direct report, explain how you prefer to receive communications—email, phone, text, Slack, Teams, etc. For example, short and time-sensitive info can be in a text; details can be in an email, and meetings can be by phone, Zoom, Teams, or in-person. Find out how they prefer to communicate, as well, and use those methods, when appropriate.

Give them the insight that, when they are communicating with an established professional from an older generational cohort, they will have an advantage if they communicate in a method that was in use when that person started their career—they are more likely to be taken seriously. And let them know that they will be able to share that insight in couple of decades when they are the established professionals dealing with their own direct reports.

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/387450374206174669/)

We have a mantra we teach in our leadership training: adopt a “No failure, only learning experiences” mindset.

If your people know that you are not going to punish them for mistakes, they will focus on making things right, rather than on “CYA” activities.

If you emphasize the “Okay, how do we get everything back on track?” instead of “Whose fault is this?” then your people continue to trust you. They will continue to communicate with you. They will put extra effort into helping the team move forward.

Getting to a place where your people can say “Got it—we’ll make sure it won’t happen again!” builds a more capable and effective team.

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/1759287349130021/)

Communicate the task and the deadline.

Provide the metrics for successful completion.

Confirm their understanding and give them a chance to ask questions.

Give them a heads-up on potential problems, and give them a course of action to deal with those problems, e.g., “If the output on this part is wonky, come back and talk to me, so we can troubleshoot.”

Communicate your respect for the person and their abilities. “I think you could be awesome at this!”

(image source: www.pinterest.com/pin/954974296000490849/)