Work is more than a source of a paycheck. It is a source of belonging too. That said, work can equally be a source of frustration and exploitation depending on the leadership style and ability of those in charge.

And in today’s labour market where young, informed and exposed employees are the majority, a business leader must be equal to the task to meet their different expectations and aspirations.

From our experience, modern business leaders face many dilemmas in keeping their quest to maintain team cohesion in their organizations.

Here are three such dilemmas that stand out. How, then, do you address them? We provide answers in this article.

Motivating and keeping the team engaged

One of the most important preoccupations of business leaders should be how to maintain a well-motivated and engaged team. If you are able to achieve this, you get higher productivity and improved creativity from your team. Some leaders motivate their teams through promotions, hefty paychecks and other perks.

But, as a KPMG study has found out, motivation based on position and pay is no longer the drivers of team motivation. Instead, “an increasing number of talented workers are driven by a desire for new skills and experiences than by the traditional definitions of success based on salary and position”.

In businesses, currently battered by the effects of COVID-19, a strategic and skillful leader finds a way to engage teams even without a pay rise.  And the solution may lay in how a leader communicates the business’ purpose, mission, vision and values to team members. The ability to articulate and connect work with the purpose of why your team report to work, is a skill that comes with experience. Your team will know that beyond a paycheck lies a much nobler mission of impacting a generation with lasting values beyond wealth and fame. To be able to maintain a solid and well-motivated team at your workplace in today’s fast paced economy, a leader must strive to master how to communicate the values, mission and long-term aspirations of business and ensure team buy-in and commitment.

Owning mistakes and never blaming others 

Leadership is a very painful and sometimes lonely journey. There are times that your team will fail on their deliverables. They will make mistakes, some costing the business a fortune. Will you blame others for the mistakes, which is the easiest option that many leaders adopt? If this has been you, then you need to look into the mirror and assume responsibility for the errors instead blaming the person you see first.

Recommended article: Be A Super Woman – Your Own Way!

When a leader takes responsibility for the collective actions of the team (business), it means you will listen to your members and effectively provide coaching, tools or any assistance to execute a given task. it is a sign of maturity. But according to an article in Forbes magazine, “unfortunately, too many leaders allow their egos and hidden agendas to stand in the way of doing what is best for the people and organizations they serve”. If you want to be an effective leader, never allow ego to stop you from owning the mistakes of the team. When you are a leader who accepts mistakes, you make those around you freely point them out and share their fears openly with you. That way, you get better in your people management skills.

Favouritism 

One of the biggest mistakes immature leaders make is rewarding or recruiting employees on the basis of ethnicity or friendship while ignoring competence and skills.

Recruiting the right people carries supreme standing for the success and continuance of an organization. In most cases, however, immature leaders who get excited with perks and power, tend to misuse these privileges and instead surround themselves with clowns and sycophants.  As an entrepreneur and a training consultant, I have seen so many leaders allow their personal favourites to control or literally dismantles a team’s culture for their own whims. At the end of the day, when a business crumbles, it is the leader who takes the blame. Never employ your relatives or clansmen simply because they are unemployed. Rather, employ them on merit.

As one article states, “When you hire on the basis of tribe or friendship, you’re limited to the number of unique ideas and skills from your employees”. Diversity is needed in the workplace to help the organization have wide approaches and viewpoints on any given subject.  Every leader who wants to leave a legacy would want to surround him or herself with people with fresh, new talents and ideas.

Leadership is a tough journey. As you execute your mandate, consider whether you need to address any of these shortfalls in your leadership when you desire to see a turnaround in your teams.

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