For many businesspeople, the last thing you want to worry about (or do) is managing people. You want to get out, meet customers, create awesome products, bring exciting new opportunities through the front door. But unless you've got others managing your employees, then you're still on the hook. The good news is you can make the task a little easier for yourself by remembering 7 essential leadership keys that will benefit your organization as a direct result:
Delegate wisely—both the responsibility for completing assignments and the authority required to get things done. You don't need to control every little thing your employees do. Multiply the amount of work you can accomplish while you develop your employees' confidence, leadership and work skills.
Set goals—they give employees direction and purpose and ensure that your employees are working towards the overall organizational goals. Set specific and measurable goals and regularly monitor employees' progress toward achieving them.
Communicate—you must make every effort to get employees the must up-to-date organizational information they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently.
Make time for employees—when an employee needs to talk with you—whatever the reason—make sure that you set aside the time to do so.
Recognize achievements—employees want recognition from their bosses when they do a good job. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen often. The good news is there are many things bosses can do to recognize employees that cost little or no money and are quick and easy to implement.
Think about lasting solutions—in our zeal to fix things quickly and move on to the next fire, we often overlook the lasting solution that may take longer to develop. Although it's more fun to be a firefighter, the next time you have a problem to solve in your organization, deal with the cause of the problem instead of simply treating the symptoms.
Don't take It all too seriously—despite the gravity of many responsibilities, successful leaders make their organizations fun places to work hard and play hard, and end up with a more loyal, energized workforce.
Read the full article on inc.com.