Be Strong Leader! Follow these 10 Guidelines:

Tough projects, aggressive goals, limited resources and huge roadblocks are always getting in the way of your success. Plus you have to deal with managing the attitudes, actions, and behaviors of a team? Geez!

Over the years, I have developed the following guidelines that I have found to be successful while managing and coaching teams. If you are not already using these, go ahead and TRY them. I promise you will create a winning team!

1. Define roles and responsibilities. Not only do people want a clear understanding of where they fit in, but they also want others to know what they do and vice versa. Provide clarity when lines of responsibility become blurred.

2. Recognize strengths and capitalize on them. Allow and encourage rising stars to go above and beyond. Motivate employees by leveraging their strengths. Acknowledge accomplishments!

3. Provide focus, alignment and get buy-in. Employees who take part in creating a plan, own it. Ensure that goals are realistic and focus the team on the actions that will make the biggest difference to results. Above all else, make sure team is aligned under common goals.

4. Hold people accountable. People want to know that the leader will make tough decisions when others don’t play by the rules or uphold their commitments. Determine and enforce what is acceptable and what is not. Be fair and consistent.

5. Walk the talk. Provide clarity and understanding of your mission. Live it and get others excited and proud to be a part of it. Enthusiasm is contagious.

6. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Be open and honest in all communications. Prompt discussions and share information from the top down and the bottom up. And don’t forget to LISTEN!

7. Give opportunities to influence, impact and make a difference. In today's fast-paced world, to be effective, you need to know how to adapt to and drive change. Allow others to develop ideas to improve, evolve and innovate.

8. Set a good example. Strong leaders are good mentors and coaches to their teams. Employees want to learn and grow. Pass on your knowledge, learnings and always remember the golden rule “do to others what you would like to be done to you".

9. Be authentic no matter what your strengths or personality traits. Employees know when you are NOT being REAL. It’s okay to human, but also remember that a strong leader will always keep the best interest of the organization top of mind.

10. Trust and encourage your team. Empower your employees and give them the autonomy they need to achieve results.

Any other tips, suggestions, ideas you want to share with others? Let's help each other experience the rewards of being a strong and successful leader!

For additional help in developing a strong team and driving results, email donna.king@bestyearyet.com to learn about the Best Year Yet Programs.

Joe Torre’s rules for leading a team

Great tips on effective communication from leader, Joe Torre! Consider applying to your business team.

Baseball manager Joe Torre has led far more diverse and ego-driven teams than
most of us ever will. Yet, Torre’s teams have won repeatedly, thanks to these four
“rules of straight communication” he has developed over the years:

1. Remember that every player has a special need for one of these things:
motivation, reassurance or technical help. Determine what that need is and
meet it.

2. Deliver tightly focused, positive messages, such as a quick word of praise
for a good play. Simple words of appreciation are more powerful
motivators than many leaders expect.

3. Work hard to establish rapport with team members from backgrounds that
are different from your own. It does take extra work, but the results can be
extraordinary.

4. Let team members know that you accept the full range of their emotions,
including fear and uncertainty. Unless people admit their fear, they will
never be able to confront obstacles and grow.

—Adapted from Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners, Joe Torre and Henry
Dreher, Hyperion. From 2008 National Institute of Business "leadership Tips"

Mind the 3 Cs of Simplicity

Complexity is one of the largest problems plaguing organizations, and most leaders yearn for more simplicity. But don't confuse simple with easy. Ridding your organization, department, or process of unnecessary complexity requires careful attention. Remember these three Cs when trying to restore simplicity:

1. Collaboration. Silos are the enemy of simplicity. Work across the organization to identify where the complexity is and together improve the way business is done.

2. Coordination. Smooth coordination is critical to finding simple solutions to the problems you're trying to solve.

3. Communication. Once you've gotten rid of complexity, you can be sure it will try to find its way back in. Open and regular communication will allow you to identify it before it takes hold.