How to Lead Happier Teams with 6 Simple Rules
Having worked at several large companies (UBS, Accenture, Uber), a few smaller ones, and a couple of my own startups, I have worked with some amazing and some awful managers and I have seen employees love their jobs and others hate them. Now at BEAT (part of the FREE NOW Group backed by the BMW Group and Daimler), I have had the opportunity to grow my team from 16 people to 35 over the past few months. This has made me put a lot of thought on what we need to be doing to make sure we keep the same amazing atmosphere I experienced at my latest startup while we are growing in this larger organisation and I came up with the following 6 rules that I think apply to companies of any size. I hope that these principles can help you be great leaders and can help you and your teams live happier lives.
Hire Only Great People
Hire only humble, ethical and sincere people that show a solid combination of determination and raw ability. Experience is much less important than the above. A mix of different characters is also important to have. Some people are going to be introverts others extroverts, some are going to be more like you and others completely different but all of them can do great work in their own way as long as they are down to earth, open to feedback and nice to others. Don’t compromise character and company culture for an impressive CV or an urgent staffing need.
Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.
— Warren Buffet
Lots of Laughs
Create a fun, friendly, and open environment where people can be themselves. If people don’t laugh a lot around the office your company is in trouble. We spend way too much time at work for it not to be fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously. For example, when we say something that reminds us any silly or horribly cheesy song, we play the “Crappy Song of the Day” that is both funny and it reminds people that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. Respect is not just about how we act and the way we talk to each other, it is about accepting the other person for who they are and about celebrating our differences.
Laughter connects you with people. It’s almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you’re just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.
— John Cleese
Trust Your People
Trust people in advance without waiting for them to win your trust. Showing people that you trust them will allow them to be the best they can be. At the same time, make them feel at ease with making mistakes and taking appropriate risks. In order to move quickly, you need to take risks that are comparable to the marginal gain of moving quickly. Explain to them that the goal is to move on average on a positive direction with maximum speed. You are not aiming for perfection you are aiming for speed and best effort.
Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn — and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
— Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Above All a Mentor — Not Just a Manager
Develop people and help them grow even outside of your company or team. Even if in the worst case, your team or company cannot support the growth of an individual or even if there is a mismatch between their preferences and company needs, make sure you guide them to a role that will allow them to continue growing even if that means leaving the company. They will surely deliver 100% of their abilities until their last day and others in the team will step up to cover the gap. Your number one goal as a people manager should be to hire great people and help them grow professionally. You should measure churn as someone getting fired or quitting without you having helped them get their next great role. Maybe in a few years you will get the opportunity to work with them again or even collaborate in a client — vendor relationship. If you care more about your employees’ success than you do about your short term business goals, you will end up maximising your company’s value in the long term.
A good manager is a man who isn’t worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him.
— H.S.M. Burns
Growing other leaders from the ranks isn’t just the duty of the leader, it’s an obligation.
— Warren Bennis
Do Not Judge But Make Sure You Praise
Do not judge people. Instead, see each failure as an opportunity for learning. When someone makes a mistake or something goes wrong, focus on finding out what the team and the individual can learn from that experience and how your processes can improve in the future. Make sure you call out your own mistakes so that people feel comfortable with making mistakes and being open with them. At the same time, never miss the opportunity to praise people, celebrate successes and reinforce positive behaviours and actions.
Don’t find fault, find a remedy.
— Henry Ford
Don’t Be a Boss, Be a Leader
Don’t give orders, give a vision and listen. Always communicate the big picture and why you do things as a company or manager. If people understand the WHY they will follow the HOW, or even better, they will come up with even better ways to reach your vision. For that to happen, make sure you listen what they have to say by organising regular one on ones.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
— John Quincy Adams
