Is Your Leadership Style Detached From Results?

Whether you are a team leader, head of a department, or own the company, your success depends on the people you manage. Your leadership style impacts the company culture and, ultimately, productivity.

But many leaders out there consider themselves people-pleasers, and sometimes, people-pleasing leaders can negatively impact results. In this post, we’ll review how people-pleasing behaviors may halt productivity and what you can do to take a more results-oriented approach.

Let’s get started.

Are You a People-Pleasing Leader?

Leadership is about people, which means how you relate is important. If a leader is too detached emotionally from their team, they may drag down morale and negatively impact productivity.

On the other hand, people-pleasing leaders are often afraid of conflict and confrontation. They may avoid making tough decisions or taking risks to avoid upsetting others. This can lead to several problems, including:

Indecision—People-pleasers may have difficulty making decisions because they are afraid of making the wrong one. This can lead to missed opportunities and delays in decision-making.
Lack of focus—People leasers may not have a clear vision for their team or organization. This can lead to confusion.
Low morale—People-pleasers may foster a work environment where employees feel like their opinions don’t matter. This can lead to low morale and decreased productivity.

The Best Leaders Are Results-Oriented

Luckily, there’s a happy medium between detached and people-pleasing leadership: results-oriented leadership.
Naturally, results-oriented leaders are comfortable taking charge and making tough decisions. These leaders are strategic but still personable and empathetic; they recognize the importance of both relationships and tough decision-making as key components in driving productivity and results.

6 Essential Elements of Results-Oriented Leadership

Results-oriented leadership is characterized by setting specific goals to focus a team or department’s efforts. It aims to have everyone working toward the same objective, creating a feeling of accomplishing something bigger.

A results-oriented leader is empathetic, but they keep their team motivated and on track with clear targets, measurable progress markers, accountability, and ownership. When challenges and roadblocks arise, the leader is proactive, willing to listen and problem-solve, and oriented toward an effective solution, even if it’s outside the box.

Want to know more? Here are six components of results-oriented leadership that you start working towards today.

Measure Goals

Measurable goals orient everyone in the same direction. You can track your progress and assess how effective your strategies are. If progress is not moving as expected, clear goals provide an opportunity to implement new strategies or try a new approach.

Inspire and Motivate Your Team to Achieve the Goals

Depending on the company culture and your leadership style, you may motivate your team with rewards that everyone enjoys (like a party, a trip, or a bonus), or you may set up competitions to drive individual success. You can experiment with the most effective way to motivate your team.

Stay Focused and Adapt

When setbacks happen, it’s important to be proactive and take a problem-solving approach. Few roads are flat and straight. Achieving goals often requires developing new strategies. The vital thing is to keep trying until you find what works.

Keep Your Team Informed

If you want your team to stay motivated, you need to clearly and consistently communicate what is expected of them. This includes sharing your strategy and your reasons for making decisions that might otherwise seem confusing.

Transparency can be challenging for leaders because it opens them up to potential criticism. However, effective and consistent communication builds trust and confidence in your leadership that will far outweigh the discomfort of a few difficult conversations.

Your Actions Reveal Your Priorities

Leading by example is perhaps the most essential element of a results-oriented leadership style. If you ask everything from your team but give 60% yourself, you are not demonstrating what you want to see.

While setting clear goals is empowering for the business and the team, it’s important to have realistic expectations of your team. One of the benefits of working hard yourself is you understand how much can be accomplished in a day. It’s okay to push and challenge them, but leaders who make unrealistic demands can burn out their talent.

Instead, make sure your team has the tools, support, and time they need to succeed. It’s also important to give them space to make mistakes and learn from them.

Acknowledge and Reward Your Team

When your employees work hard and achieved results, recognize and reward them! If your team gives their all to a project and you move on to the next one without showing your appreciate, you’ve missed an opportunity to motivate and foster a team spirit.

Lead with Empathy, Drive Results

You don’t have to sacrifice your relationships to be an effective leader. You can make strategic decisions, promote productivity, and drive results, all while leading with empathy. Incorporate these six elements into your leadership style and watch your team soar.