When you are in a position of leadership, you first must understand that you are leading both people and processes. The way in which you manage your team will affect how your process segment is controlled.

Your staff is your biggest asset. You don’t have to understand the entire process if you surround yourself with the right people. Building strong relationships with them, fostering loyalty to you as a leader and to the process as a whole will bring the desired results.

Being open to their feedback is a critical piece of the puzzle. They have the understanding of the process, and in many cases, they actually control the process. They know what works, what they have tried, what they would like to try. Most of them have had thoughts at one time or another concerning a step they routinely take. They have seen something that would make a great improvement. They may or may not have spoken of it or presented it to management. For some reason, they were not heard.

As the leader, your willingness to foster these ideas is a critical piece of the puzzle. Your reassurance that they will be heard and considered is often enough to bring these unseen stars to the table. However, you should remember that some of them have been turned away. They must feel respected. They must know that their ideas are valuable. And, most of all, they must be confident that they won’t be shoved in a corner as a leader takes credit for their ideas. This is where your integrity shines, and you can set a leadership example for all of them to mimic.

Be willing to acknowledge the skills and talents of your team. Their efforts will make you stand out as a leader. Always turn the attention to those who have done the critical process management and improvement. Whether a reward is financial, academic, or some other form, be sure that it is noted.

Committees, think tanks, and small groups are other areas where ideas are born. In each of these, the plan is to put people together to solve a problem creatively. As a leader, you know the skills and talents of your staff. Being able to bring them together so that they function as a whole is tricky, but when it works, it can be magical. Putting right and left brain team members together often causes strife if not managed, but when the mission is clear and the team is committed to a solution, the ideas will flow. Giving the credit where it is due is your last task on the checklist.

Every leader wants only the best for their organization. Leadership does not mean having all the answers or holding all the information close. The best leaders not only delegate work to the team, but the team is fostered as a two-way exchange of information and ideas for the benefit of everyone involved.

There is a big difference between a group of people who work together and a team who function as one unit. Leadership is the difference, and bringing new ideas and innovations into the process is one way to promote teamwork. Take the time to start working on ways you can listen and communicate better with your staff today!

MG (Retired) Mike Diamond is CEO and founder of Diamond Strategy Group. Diamond Strategy Group is a leadership development and consulting company. We focus on improving the quality of leadership within organizations by utilizing the same methods Mike and his consultants have used in both military and civilian sectors. We invite you to stay connected! Visit us online at www.DiamondStrategyGroup.com and connect with Mike Diamond Strategy Group on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail us at [email protected]!

To request Mike as the keynote speaker for your next event, e-mail [email protected].

 Order Mike Diamond’s book, The Diamond Process, now at www.diamondstrategygroup.com/book/

Every company has a different gap between executive management and junior employees. The leadership in between is often the rope that binds them together and gets ideas turned into accomplishments and innovations. Appeasing both sides of the business structure is a daunting task that requires skill and flexibility not everyone possesses. For the mid-level managers who don’t have the ultimate authority on decisions but need to be authoritative over lower-level employees, support from upper-management is vital for their success.

Here are a few ways you can encourage and motivate your MLMs:

1.       Prioritize Their Actions

If you’re waiting on a specific task to be handled by your employees, let them know you value their time and effort by giving it the attention necessary for them to feel appreciated. By setting a MLM’s task as a priority, they will understand their contributions are vital to the company and their subordinates will see the pride of a job well done.

 2.       Separate the Individual from the Group

While individuals are elements of The Diamond Process, they must be independent from the group to manage their functionality. Their knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) must also be must also be examined to point out overages and shortfalls throughout the completion of tasks.

 3.       Foster Competition

MLMs will be wanting promotions, but so do junior employees. Let everyone know that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed and reward staff members for overachieving. Demote people are necessary or replace them with skilled workers outside the company if truly necessary. Don’t keep someone around just because they’ve been with the company for years unless their knowledge management and creative thinking skills are an important element to your prosperity.

 4.       Establish Expectations

A job description may not cut it when your MLMs start to take initiative to get things done faster and more efficiently. Some studies show that supervisors have a significant influence on their staff, so it’s important to clarify specifics to individuals. Groups interacting with and under MLMs with adverse tasks should also understand the level of endorsement from executive management.

If you’ve served in the military and have made it through the enlisted threshold of becoming a staff non-commissioned officer, or the officer side, earning your first star, this is how some middle-level managers feel: Proud of their promotion, but still the new kid on the block who is taking orders from higher ups.

If you’re a civilian, think of it as your freshman year in high school when you’re in the big leagues, but the low man on the totem pole. Sure, you get the prime seats on the school bus, but it’s the upperclassmen that can drive themselves. Be the senior that gives your underclassman a ride and lift them up to achieve greater victories. This basic mindset is something all leaders need to remember when they want to acknowledge their middle-level managers.

MG (Retired) Mike Diamond is CEO and founder of Diamond Strategy Group. Diamond Strategy Group is a leadership development and consulting company. We focus on improving the quality of leadership within organizations by utilizing the same methods Mike and his consultants have used in both military and civilian sectors. We invite you to stay connected! Visit us online at www.DiamondStrategyGroup.com and connect with Mike Diamond Strategy Group on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail us at [email protected]!

To request Mike as the keynote speaker for your next event, e-mail [email protected].

Pre-Order Mike Diamond’s book, The Diamond Process, now at diamondstrategygroup.com/book/