Want to make your mark as a great leader this year? You have to work at it every day. The good news is that you don’t need a ton of time to make a significant impact. You can develop your team members, build relationships and navigate the way forward in just minutes a day. 

Suzi McAlpine, an international speaker and award-winning author, says many of the most effective leadership practices take just five minutes. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share her ideas on quick leadership wins that can help you lead your team better.

Generously give praise. When someone does a nice job, tell them – and be specific. McAlpine says you can write them an email, send them a text or simply thank them for a job well done. When giving feedback, she recommends sticking to the SBI method: situation, behavior and impact. In other words, outline the situation you saw, the employee’s behavior and the impact it had.

Support your team through tough times. When your team faces challenges this year, take a few minutes at a team meeting to acknowledge the challenges and let your team know you’re in it with them. Then, McAlpine recommends thanking them for their ongoing efforts and resilience.

Define your top three priorities for the next workday. You may have many priorities, but McAlpine says it’s important to list only three. When you’re clear on a maximum of three must-dos for the next workday, you can better prioritize what really matters – and not just what’s urgent. Schedule those items for as early in the day as possible.

Clarify every leadership meeting’s takeaways. When you gather with your leadership team, make sure you’re on the same page with other leaders. Is there anything that shouldn’t be shared just quite yet? What items should be shared now? McAlpine says this is a quick way to get clear on the key messages from every leadership meeting.

Connect and listen. This is a simple and quick way to be a better leader this year. Instead of immediately jumping into task mode with your team members, ask them how they’re doing and genuinely listen. Don’t interrupt or try to provide a solution – just be present to the person as they answer, McAlpine says.

How will you commit to being a better leader this year? Even the smallest actions can have a big impact. Employees who report to great leaders are often more productive and happier, which leads to a positive ripple effect throughout the entire organization.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Suzi McAlpine is an international speaker, author of award-winning blog “The Leaders Digest” and creator of The Leaders Map, an online leadership program.