Spring is a time of high energy and high enthusiasm at most dealerships. Without being aware of it, however, your leadership style, or that of your managers, could be crushing that enthusiasm.
An article posted on BusinessJournals.com outlines those styles based on data from Shawn Murphy, author of The Optimistic Workplace. Check out the leadership styles and see if any might be having a negative impact at your dealership.
Symptom 1: Blind Impact.
This is when a leader is unaware of how his actions, attitudes, and words impact others.
Symptom 2: Antisocial Leadership.
An antisocial leader lacks the ability or drive to encourage, build, and evolve a community of people united by a shared purpose.
Symptom 3: Chronic Change Resistance.
This is a leader’s unwillingness to initiate change to help a team and organization remain relevant.
Symptom 4: Profit Myopia.
Leaders with this symptom cling to the outdated belief that profit is the best success measure. Leaders are unable to define success beyond making money. Short-term thinking dominates the leader’s actions to generate profit for the business.
Symptom 5: Constipated Inspiration.
This symptom infects a leader’s style and prevents him from learning what and how to inspire his team.
Symptom 6: Silo Syndrome.
A leader afflicted with silo syndrome cannot see beyond his immediate responsibilities and has no awareness of the impacts his decisions have on others.
How to Fix It
The good news is that these symptoms can be overcome by shifting the way you lead. The following actions can reverse the effects of destructive management that crush work environments and help create the optimistic workplace.
1. Know and show your values.
Your presence and leadership style has the greatest impact on employees’ performance.
2. Define your team’s purpose.
Spend time with your team to identify the reason they exist. Spend time uncovering why the team’s efforts are important.
3. Create clarity.
Too often, employees are unaware of their goals, or don’t know which work is a priority. This type of ambiguity can be overcome by spending time talking with employees about what success looks like and what the team’s priorities are.
4. Network across the company.
It’s not uncommon for leaders to spend 80% of their time in meetings, preventing them from developing or deepening relationships across the company.
5. Implement one-on-ones.
The best way to learn what your employees’ needs are is to spend time in one-on-ones with them.
Today’s workplaces don’t need to be a negative influence. They can be energizing. Take action now to create an optimistic environment at your dealership.
