In last week’s blog post we looked at the role of positivity throughout the corporate structure and the importance of linking your work to the company’s higher goals and values. We also looked at the language of positive conversations, as well as the ideal negative to positive feedback ratio.
In this week’s post we’ll be talking about the best practices for implementing positive leadership within your corporation.
In Search of Best Practices
If we want to staff our organizations with executives who can deliver results and demonstrate superior social skills, we need to start identifying them during the hiring and promotion processes.
Hard-driving, results–oriented executives can learn to improve their social skills by retaining an experienced executive coach. Additionally, organizations can improve their effectiveness by:
- Hiring for both technical and social skills,
- Training equally for social skills and technical savvy,
- Rewarding goal attainment and displays of social skill, and
- Promoting those who demonstrate social prowess.
CEO’s and upper management must realize that rewarding achievement alone has its limits. Organizations must provide incentives for behaviours, even when people take risks and “fail up.”
Leaders are most effective when they demonstrate social intelligence. Luckily, they can be trained, coached, and rewarded for improving their facility in this arena. Specific areas of emphasis should include:
- Day-to–day conversations,
- Performance reviews and feedback,
- Incentives, rewards, and pay, and
- Connecting mission to values.
Identify and implement action steps on multiple fronts – from the seemingly simple communication efforts to the more complex ones. Changes at the individual level will begin to transform your working environment into a finely oiled machine that values both results and social relationships.
Employing positive leadership practices will allow employees at all levels to flourish at work, sustain energy, and reach peak performance. Conversations that highlight people’s strengths, desires, and dreams generate emotions and energy that drive us to work harder. The more positive the discussion, the more positive the outcome.
If you would like personal guidance in honing your positive leadership skills, Unbridling Your Brilliance can help guide you. As always, I’d love to hear about your experiences. You can reach me here or on LinkedIn.
