Become a better leader 5 Unusual Tips On How To Become A Better Leader

Tons of books and articles have been written about the topic of leadership. They have identified, among others, situational, servant, or transformational leadership styles and strategies.

But what I often see is missing, is the deeper, very human, side of it. People call it emotional intelligence or empathy, but all in all, what is it, really?

I thought I would share with you some of the practical findings from my own experience. Here are 5 approaches I believe every leader should take when working with people.

1. Treat everyone with fairness

Let’s start with something many might consider rather obvious – fairness. It’s not quite about rewarding people equally regardless of their contribution. Sure, some have more influence over company performance than others, and for that, they’re paid a salary and given incentives.

This connection between performance and reward is an important part of the fairness attitude. The important thing to remember, however, is that it doesn’t make anyone greater or lesser than those around them.

To me, fairness means that since I do what I’m best at the best I can, I expect everybody else to do the same. So, in that sense, I make a contribution that’s equal to my capability – and this deserves fair treatment.

How does fairness make you a better leader?

You should know that everyone’s work is needed for the success of the whole. You might be leading a team, but the coffee machine cleaner makes sure they have the energy to work! In other words, respect everyone around you and the work they do, as it is important.

To that, fairness is treating a person as you would want to be treated. Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This will give you a new perspective which could greatly help you understand their standpoint.

How do we ensure fair treatment at Predica?

The fairness attitude boils down to treating people as individuals, not as job positions. Out there, this approach is usually found under what is called “servant leadership”. Here’s what it means for us in practice:

• no separate rooms for managers/heads or similar – everyone sits together
• your opinion is always heard (even if sometimes, upon evaluation, it’s not acted upon)
• promotions from the inside first (if possible)
• decisions made based on facts and data, not on “power” or “authority”
• we have frequent, quarterly reviews and feedback sessions – it’s an expensive process but valuable for personal development
• when designing changes to systems, policies or ways of working, we always look at them through a fairness lens and adjust if they don’t meet that test.

But beware, as there is an important challenge with fairness. It is subjective, so you can find people disagreeing with your judgment even if you’re acting in everyone’s best interest.

This is actually a good sign. If people aren’t afraid to say what they think, it means you created a culture of trust. It is essential for meaningful disputes, which in turn can drive good changes. So, in difficult cases, all you should do is have a factual discussion to understand others’ points of view without judgment.

2. Find people’s strengths and weaknesses

Not everyone is suitable for any position, regardless of the will or effort they put into it. There is nothing wrong with that. To achieve the best outcome, ambition must be balanced with capabilities. It is therefore essential to know and acknowledge yours. A good leader should be able to help you with this.

But how to determine your strengths and weaknesses? It’s not easy. Simply taking a moment to write them down won’t usually work as we’re all subjective and prone to bias.

A better way to do it is either to ask your HR Team or a professional coach for help, or take a good(!) online test like Gallup CliftonStrengths which we use at Predica.

Ok, so now you know, what’s next?

Some strengths work better in certain situations than others. For example, leading people, working with customers, or working in the back office, all require different skills.

Just see which ones you believe are needed for a given position and focus on them when selecting the job you want to do (or develop into) or people who could suit it (if you’re a leader).

We had situations at Predica when people moved to other teams or positions even “down the org chart”, which by many could be considered a demotion. However, in those cases it made sense.

People felt better either because they were better suited for those roles, or it took the pressure off their shoulders. So, always consider the best strengths-to-position match. Perhaps poor performance is just a bad fit for the role?