Staff organization, development, and supervision are often the most daunting tasks facing a new manager. Building an effective team requires practical strategies drawn from experience, research, and proven management models. While you may not have a lot of time to read extensive management literature, implementing core leadership practices can immediately transform your workplace environment. Whether you are leading a team within higher education, a corporate setting, or an informal context, focusing on staff development and care is essential for long-term organizational success.
1. Prioritize Work/Life Balance
Professional and personal lives both matter, and maintaining a healthy work/life balance is crucial for sustaining team morale. True leadership involves making sure that your team works realistic hours. When evening or weekend work engagements are required, ensure team members receive counterbalancing time off during the week.
Supervisors should regularly check in with team members regarding their well-being. Leaders must model this behavior by maintaining a life outside of work themselves, signaling to the staff that they should do the same. This includes being as flexible as possible when staff decide to grow and expand their families. Practicing the platinum rule—”do unto others as they would like done unto them”—creates a supportive and sustainable workplace culture.
2. Address Conflict and Hard Decisions Immediately
Do not postpone hard decisions. Instead, focus on them first, and your team will appreciate your decisiveness. Conflict is a natural part of any work environment, and a leader is expected to address it directly rather than acting like it does not exist.
- Managing Underperformance: When a team member underperforms, walk their manager through the performance improvement process or handle the conversation directly. Clearly communicate observations, identify missing skills, and work together to help them succeed.
- Handling Separations: If a performance improvement plan fails, initiate the transition or recommend finding a better fit outside the organization.
- Maintaining Team Morale: When a team member leaves, communicate transparently with the remaining staff to avoid a drop in morale. Silence can damage workplace trust. Work with the team to temporarily fill gaps, restructure if necessary, and inform stakeholders that high-quality support will continue.
3. Invest in the Professional Careers of Your Team
Your team is your team, and you have an incredible opportunity to help them grow, advance, and develop into stronger professionals. Create an open environment where employees at any level can speak with supervisors and directors about their future career paths.
Even if their career progression eventually takes them outside your current organization, investing heavily in their skills and professional development is a hallmark of great leadership. Leadership is defined by actions and investment in others, regardless of the official title you hold.
4. Understand the Four Basic Needs of Followers
According to leadership research (Rath & Conchie, 2008), followers have four basic needs that leaders must fulfill: trust, compassion, stability, and hope.
Building Trust
Trust is built through transparency and open communication. Make your calendar accessible to your staff and clearly communicate the reasons when you are out of the office. Involve team members in your projects and let them know exactly where you need their assistance.
Leading with Compassion
Take time to step away from your tasks and connect personally with your team. When a team member experiences personal hardships or grief, show genuine compassion and give them space to process. Furthermore, when someone takes a risk and makes a minor mistake, assure them immediately by focusing on improvement and moving forward together.
Providing Stability
Stability helps people build trust and feel secure in the organization’s mission. Approaching leadership in longer-term segments helps retain historical knowledge within the office. When employees see leaders invested for the long haul, they feel more secure doing the same.
Expressing Hope
A leader must consistently share and encourage others to express hope for the organization’s vision, clients, and future outcomes. Inspiring a positive outlook keeps the team motivated through challenging periods.
5. Continuously Encourage High Performers
When you have the right team members in place, your primary job is to encourage them repeatedly. This does not mean halting management or feedback; rather, it means recognizing them as talented individuals with unique gifts that advance the organizational mission.
When performance is high, provide consistent encouragement, support, and the necessary resources. Creating an environment that allows high-performing individuals to excel, thrive, and flourish is key to sustaining peak operational efficiency.
Level 5 Leadership: Combining Humility and Professional Will
In the leadership classic Good to Great (2001), Jim Collins identifies “Level 5 Leadership” as a critical component for turning good organizations into great ones. A Level 5 leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.
“Level 5 leaders are timid and ferocious, shy and fearless, and modest with a fierce, unwavering commitment to high standards.”
These leaders do not rely on inspiring charisma to motivate; instead, they instill inspired standards and build a culture of discipline. By hiring self-disciplined people who take full responsibility for their roles, Level 5 leaders deliver exactly what they promise. They establish realistic expectations without hype, spin, or excuses, allowing staff care and high performance to coexist seamlessly.
References
- Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap … and others don’t. New York, NY: Harper Business.
- Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow. New York: Gallup Press.