There isn’t a business owner out there who doesn’t want a high-performing team. After all, a high-performing team leads to a high-performing business, and that leads to success, growth and a loyal customer base. But, these impressive teams don’t happen by chance. You can’t build a team, sit back and leave everyone to their own devices, assuming they’ll exceed your expectations and drive the business forward. If you want a high-performing team, you need to be proactive.
High-performing teams are shaped by leaders who understand the importance of inspiring others. Your behaviour, mindset and habits as a leader have a ripple effect on the wider business, showing employees what it means to be dedicated, passionate and productive. If you fail to foster these habits within your team, even the most talented individuals can struggle to perform, collaborate and stay committed to the business.
Do You Have These Inspiring Leadership Habits?
You might be an effective, experienced leader. But, do you – and the other leaders within your leadership team – have the habits needed to inspire a high-performing team?
Consistent, Open and Honest Communication
Everyone within a team needs to work together, and that includes leaders. With effective communication, you can set expectations, share priorities and make sure everyone understands why their work matters. Things such as regular team updates, one-to-one reviews and addressing employee concerns make a big difference, as does sharing a clear vision, context and reasoning for your leadership decisions.
Leaders who communicate inconsistently or vaguely leave teams guessing, which can lead to anxiety and uncertainty within the team. Make sure your team knows what you’re doing and why.
Active Listening and Empathy
If you want to inspire a high-performing team, you need to do more than talk, talk and talk some more. You need to listen, really listen. Ask your team questions and be interested in what they have to say. This makes individuals feel seen, valued and safe to share their ideas. Leaders who are ‘hit and miss’ with listening tend to lose sight of the real employee experience. People stop raising issues because they assume nothing will change, or they’re worried about being judged.
If you don’t have active listening skills and empathy, you’re likely to find employees feeling ignored, unappreciated, scared of sharing ideas and at risk of completely burning out.
Accountability and Ownership
If you want your team to have accountability and ownership, you need to have accountability and ownership. When you admit to your own mistakes, follow through on commitments and hold yourself to the same standards you expect from others, your team will be more willing to mirror that behaviour.
If you deflect blame, hide errors or change your expectations without explanation, accountability disappears. This can lead to team members becoming defensive and hesitant to take risks.
High-performing teams embrace challenges, but poorly led teams avoid them.
Prioritising Growth
If you want a high-performing team, you need to prioritise your growth, along with the growth of your team. Leaders who stay curious and committed to growth inspire others to do the same. Continuous self-development, offering training and mentorship, and encouraging employees to learn from their mistakes are all ways to prioritise the growth of everyone within the business.
Leaders who don’t pay attention to growth run the risk of holding their team back, which puts them far away from the type of high-performance you’re hoping for. Skills become outdated, innovation stalls and motivated employees go elsewhere in search of professional progress. When people don’t grow, the business doesn’t grow.
Recognition and Appreciation
People are more likely to go above and beyond for their employer when their strengths are recognised, appreciated and celebrated. This means you need to celebrate progress, not just results, and recognise when your team shows effort, growth and initiative. Leaders who only point out mistakes or rarely acknowledge contributions are at risk of low team morale. If excellence isn’t shouted about, people eventually stop striving for it.
What Happens When Leaders Fail to Inspire
Without the right leadership habits, even the most promising teams and strategies can come to a grinding halt. If you fail to inspire your team as a leader, you run the risk of:
Employees having low morale and not taking ownership or accountability seriously.
Reduced creativity, a lack of innovation and fewer risks being taken.
Micromanagement and mistrust, making employees feel as though you don’t trust them.
Burnout and emotional fatigue within the team, but also for you as a leader.
Individuals no longer want to go above and beyond to benefit the business.
Employees not taking initiative because they’re scared of getting things wrong.
High employee turnover and the loss of talent, as people look elsewhere for inspiration.
Inspiring high-performing teams as a leader is no longer optional, it isn’t a competitive advantage that helps your business to stay ahead.
Make Leadership Inspiration Part of Your Day-to-Day
Showcasing the leadership habits that inspire high-performing teams isn’t something you do once or twice, it needs to be part of the day-to-day running of your business. High-performing teams thrive when leaders lead with clarity, empathy, accountability, recognition and with a focus on growth, not when they make bold claims and don’t follow through. By modelling the behaviour you want to see, you can create a team that not only performs, but performs well.
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There isn’t a business owner out there who doesn’t want a high-performing team. After all, a high-performing team leads to a high-performing business, and that leads to success, growth and a loyal customer base. But, these impressive teams don’t happen by chance. You can’t build a team, sit back and leave everyone to their own devices, assuming they’ll exceed your expectations and drive the business forward. If you want a high-performing team, you need to be proactive.
High-performing teams are shaped by leaders who understand the importance of inspiring others. Your behaviour, mindset and habits as a leader have a ripple effect on the wider business, showing employees what it means to be dedicated, passionate and productive. If you fail to foster these habits within your team, even the most talented individuals can struggle to perform, collaborate and stay committed to the business.
