One Ridiculously Simple Secret to Higher Team Productivity

While metrics and mantras are important tools in a team’s effort to meet objectives, research repeatedly shows that the most effective and endearing leaders are encouragers first and foremost.

Encouragement is a specific type of praise focused on behavior regardless of the outcome. It sees the person and the decisions made that are laudable and imports hope into any situation based on that which is praiseworthy or positive.

For example, you see a team member put effort into acquiring a new skill set that served the team well in the acquisition of a new account and say to her, “That skill took tremendous dedication to learn and it made a big difference in us landing that account, thank you for your hard work!”

Now imagine your team didn’t get the account, but you still praise her for the positive character she exhibited and bring hope into the situation based on her contribution by saying, “That took tremendous dedication to learn, and even though we didn’t land this particular account, your efforts have positioned us to gain other new accounts in the future, let’s stay focused!”

Why is encouragement such a game-changer?

1.)   Encouragement raises productivity.

Gallup research has found that 67% of employees whose managers communicated their strengths were fully engaged in their work, while only 31% of employees whose managers only communicated their weaknesses were engaged in their work. As leaders we frequently spend untold hours procuring trainings and seminars to improve metrics, but as the German poet and critic Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Instruction does much, but encouragement everything."

Great leaders inspire their people by injecting a picture of hope into every challenge. When the focus is on what is praiseworthy in the situation, not particular outcomes, the result is more of what is praiseworthy, which leads to outstanding outcomes overall.

2.)   Encouragement forms authentic human connection.

Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “Come friends, it's not too late to seek a newer world.”

The emphasis here is on the word “friends.” While a leader’s role is different from that of a friend, there nonetheless exists a measure of overlap between the two because authentic human connection is required for both types of relationship. Friends inspire hope by seeing the good in us and bringing it out. So do great leaders.

Do you want to reap the benefits of becoming a more consistent and creative encourager for your team? Our weekly Leadership Lessons are a fantastic tool for helping you up your encouragement game.

Controlling vs. Leading: Are You a Bottleneck?

I was new on a team one time and found myself partnering with a truly talented individual. Over time, she and I shared our thoughts on how the team had some inefficiencies. Soon after, I got curious and asked why she was not speaking up about the ineffectiveness. It turned out that she did not feel as though she could; she was never once asked for ideas and input, and additionally, her manager appeared to be very attached to the current process. Over time, this created a feeling for her that no one was interested in her opinion. Maybe you’ve felt that way before too? Perhaps you may have caused others to feel that way unintentionally?

Do you remember the last time you wanted to be controlled and monitored? Managing for results is an essential function, but managing by controlling can stifle creativity, the individual’s willingness to commit, and their drive to deliver exceptional results.

To lead is to focus on people first, mission always. Leaders who manage this way know that to deliver results, it’s about the people. Understanding their people’s motivation, heart (purpose and passion), and talent, they seek to drive a team’s motivation, knowing that at the end of the day, it’s a motivated team that accomplishes a mission.

At a basic level, people crave a sense of purpose and want to build trusting relationships; therefore, servant leaders focus on leading and inspiring. They know their responsibility is to take care of their people, and their people will then take care of the mission. When we lead, we should first engage the heart of those we’re leading, and then we can leverage the passions and talents of our people to get things done. This approach becomes empowering to all involved—our people deliver excellent outcomes, and the company thrives.

To quickly check and evaluate if you are managing or leading, download our free guide “Manager vs. Leader.” Join the Leader Momentum movement to learn more about servant leadership. Learn more at www.leader-momentum.com.