Written by Erin Daniels, KNOW Women
Leadership Advice to Help You Be the Best Boss
Currently, women are underrepresented in leadership positions in nearly every industry-even in those in which they make up the majority of workers. Despite the increase in representation over recent years, only one in four C-Suite leaders is a woman and one in 20 is a woman of color. This gap remains as men continue to be promoted at a higher rate than women and women are leaving their companies more often due to discrimination, lack of promotion, being overworked, and starting their own businesses. In 2022, an average of 1,821 new businesses have been opened per day by women. This increase in entrepreneurship will create a great shift in the number of women in leadership positions.
As leaders in their respective industries, hear from these successful KNOW members as they share their advice on leadership throughout this four-part mini-series. Learn about leadership programs, scaling your leadership, motivating your team, and leading through change. Below they offer their advice to you on all things leadership
What advice would you give to those looking to scale their leadership?
I motivate my team by encouraging them to be creative, empowering them to make decisions, and holding themselves accountable, while still providing them feedback to help push them to be the best version of themselves they can be. My team is a unique set-up of marketing consultants and freelancers, so none “report” to me like a traditional marketing agency. At the end of the day, the work gets done and we get to collaborate on work we love to do!
Sincerity and a level of humbleness. Make certain your words, actions and reactions are genuine. I always inject fun into every group event, to relax the team and get them ready before “getting down to business”. People enjoy following leaders who are what they, themselves aspire to achieve.
Motivation is very personal. The key is to understand each individual’s personal motivations (what matters most to them) and help them achieve that. The performance and engagement will follow.
Our team is motivated by appreciation shown to them as individuals, transparency, vulnerability and a culture that lets them know we care. It’s also a culture where we can all learn from mistakes. It’s a culture where calculated risks are taken which means failures will occasionally happen. Get back up and show the team you mean this. It’s inspiring!
Through genuinely caring about them, listening to them, and taking action where it matters most to help them succeed. It all comes down to being a good human and a servant leader.
It’s important to understand that every person on every team is motivated by something different. Such there are similarities, but in order to be a great leader, you have to recognize that every single person is different. Ask each person what brings them fulfillment and understand what their definition of success is, then you can properly motivate them – whether that’s setting goals, financial rewards, titles, more time freedom, etc.
If there is a day or two when I see my crew down, I go up and ask them what is on their mind and if they feel comfortable telling me what’s going on with them. For the most part, they do and we talk through how we can improve their productivity and what is the best way for us to communicate better. They always feel refreshed once they feel like they’re being heard and as long as you’re being honest with them.
KNOW Global Membership is a collection of high-achiving and ambitious women. Interested in gaining quality connections and visibility for you and your buiness? Join today!