Employee Empowerment
As organizations and companies become increasingly borderless, employee
empowerment becomes ever more important. This trend in
leadership has allowed employees to participate in the decision-making
processes. Employee empowerment is also a method for building employee
self-esteem and can also improve customer satisfaction. It also
ties them more closely to the company goals and will serve to increase
their pride in their work and loyalty to the organization.
Global Leadership
As corporations become increasingly international in scope, there is a
growing demand for global leaders. Although many of the qualities
that make a successful domestic leader will make a successful global
leader, the differences lie in the abilities of the leader to take on a
global perspective. Global leaders are often entrepreneurial; they will
have the ambition to take their ideas and strategies across borders.
They will also have to develop cultural understanding; global leaders
must be sensitive to the cultures of those working under them, no matter
where they are based. Global leaders must also be adaptable; this is
part of accepting the cultural norms of different countries in which
they are operating. They must know when to adapt the operational structure of the organization or adjust their leadership styles in order
to relate to those around them. However, as adaptable as they must be,
the global leader should not adapt his or her ethics or values to suit local
tastes. Global leaders must also serve as role models, fighting corruption,
not giving in to it.
Equitable Treatment
An important trend in leadership is the equitable treatment of employees.
This does not mean that each employee will be treated the same; it
means that every employee will be given the amount of individual attention
they require, and it will involve leadership knowing his or her
employees. A good leader will get to know employees well enough to
give them what they need in order to best perform. For some employees
that may mean more structure; for others it may mean more freedom.
Some employees may need to be monitored more carefully, while
others may work better independently. Leaders must know how to
bring out the best in employees and how to build solid relationships
with them; the most effective way of doing this is by getting to know
them individually.
Feedback
Employees thrive on feedback, and by providing feedback and communicating
effectively, managers can give employees the tools they need
to improve their performance.
Providing feedback will not dampen employee morale in most
cases, but will allow opportunities for employees to learn from their mistakes
and move on to performing their tasks better. Positive reinforcement
should be used to encourage employees’ positive behavior, but
when criticism is necessary, make sure it is constructive. Managers can
do this best by telling employees exactly what was observed and how
they interpreted it; this also will allow employees to better understand
what the manager saw in their performance and to explain if there has
been a misunderstanding. The 360-degree assessment tool discussed in
Chapter 1 provides an effective means of feedback. This type of open dialogue
between management and employees creates a more trusting atmosphere
and is more likely to generate positive performance results.