We are officially in the holiday season, which means that the dude in the North Pole is hard at work making sure that people around the world are getting some awesome gifts.
Now, I’ve seen those claymation movies about that Santa Claus guy, and I can’t help to think that he has one or two good leadership skills that help the people around him like him a little better.
I wanted to mix it up this time around and a little holiday season flavor to something this is a serious topic within the HR community: Good leadership practices.
So after doing some research on people and organizations that promote (and even write books about) good leadership practices, we cooked up this awesome infographic about how Santa’s leadership practices:
Preach Selflessness
Good leaders will always put others ahead of themselves. They truly believe in the team concept and are aware of the fact that there’s strength in numbers, so they make sure that everyone is buying into the beliefs of the organization by building trust with one another.
The best leaders are the ones that know that they are nothing without the people around them. That’s why it’s vital to let other people know that you are a selfless leader that will do anything for anyone.
Whether it’s a sports, military or office perspective. The best leaders know that they will have to make the people around them by showing that they are just as important to them as anyone else. There are no weak-links, just tight bonds. So leaders, be selfless and make everyone better.
Invoke Reciprocity
It’s the Golden Rule! Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Good leaders know to be respectful and polite to all their colleagues. They keep their head down and listen before they begin to preach.
This isn’t just a good leadership practice, this is a good LIFE practice. People should always treat others the way that they expect to be treated. It’s even more important from a leadership perspective.
If a leader wants to be respected, they have to show equal or more respect than people would show for him or her. From a company standpoint, this will help with any employee retention issue, build a trust, and create friendly atmosphere within the office.
Inspire Colleagues
There will be tough times for every organization or team. It’s important to never freak out and lose it. A good leader will find the time to inspire colleagues when they hit lows and push them to new heights when they are doing good.
Employees are now more knowledgeable and educated than ever. People aren’t just looking to be taught, they want to be motivated to succeed. So a great leader (like Mr. Claus) will be knowledgeable about their staff and know what makes them click and work harder.
The real benefit of knowing your employees is that you’ll be able to inspire them easier, being that they trust and know you enough to break that mental gatekeeper and allow you to inspire.
Getting Everyone On The Same Page
It’s important to know what problems you’re trying to solve. A good leader will always remind people of the greater purpose of their work and why it’s important.
Getting everyone to believe the core values and mission of a company is a real tough task. Having them aligned with the companies goals is just as hard. I’m sure that even Santa loves to hear some feedback from his elves, so he probably uses some form of employee survey system in order to create happier employees and better the culture up there in the North Pole.
Getting everyone on the same page isn’t just about making sure that they’re doing their work in an organized fashion. It’s about giving people an understanding of the greater purpose of what they do and why it’s important. This will allow them to work a bit harder and bring more fulfillment and joy to what they do.
Challenge Everyone
A good leader will gain an understanding of their colleagues and be able to know what motivates them and what doesn’t. It’s important to challenge colleagues based on the knowledge that you have of them in order to motivate and challenge them.
As I alluded to earlier, it’s important to know how to motivate employees and be a leader that understands their employees. Once you’ve gained knowledge about your employees, it’s important that you challenge them.
I know here we all challenge each other to do bigger and better thing every single week. We are driven by the fact that we want to do better than what we did last week. Every single day, month, week, and hopefully, year, we get better. And we’re just going to keep on pushing each other till we all reach successful points in our career.
Lead With The Why
A good leader gets great results from colleagues helping them find the passion in what they do. Find the meaning and make the connection between the work you do and why it affects a lot of people.
Every company has a”why.” Why they exist. Why they do the things that they do. Why the want to keep on operating. It’s important that all of your colleagues understand the why behind what they do. Bad bosses or leaders tend to overlook this and just want to get to the outcome without explaining to people why they’re doing what they do.
Those rock star leaders are the ones that are constantly preaching the company’s mission and core values. Letting employees know that they’re important and that they bring a lot of value to the company, but, more importantly, they bring value to their other colleagues’ lives. Because the ultimate good leadership practice is making everyone in the office feel like one big family.
Focus On Outcomes
Good leaders always focus on the bigger picture. They also manage to get this message out to colleagues in a transparent fashion, allowing them to achieve goals with an understanding of why they do it.
Great leaders know what the endgame to every project is. More importantly, they are focused on the outcome of every task. It doesn’t matter how an employee gets to their result, all that matters is that it’s done.
That’s one of the beauties of result-oriented workplaces. They tend to care more about their employees and their abilities to complete tasks. Not going through every major process, or worry about having to get something approved, it’s just a matter of if it’s done or not.
Inform And Educate
A good leader will always inform and educate the people around them, allowing colleagues to ask more relevant questions that will benefit the organization, the team, and any projects that are being worked on.
Here’s to the best leadership practice of them all. Leaders need to inform and educate all their employees to make sure that they are becoming better employees and better people. I think one of the best things a great boss can do within their workspace is share any and all knowledge or insight as it’ll make people smarter and motivated to continue growing within the company.
I think one of the best things a great boss can do within their workspace is share any and all knowledge or insight as it’ll make people smarter and motivated to continue growing within the company.
So whether you’re working in the North Pole or in an epic workplace. Make sure that you gaining some leadership skills that will get you on Santa’s “nice” list this year. The last thing you want is a lump of coal for being a scrooge.
What Are Some Good Leadership Practices Within Your Office?
Read more: What the Month of December Can Teach Us About Culture