The “Do as I say and don’t question me” model of leadership, thankfully, is gone.

Your employees will react and respond positively if you can create an “ownership” as opposed to “compliance” culture

In Cracking the Leadership Code, by Alain Hunkins, He identified several strategies that effective leaders incorporated in their organizations:

1. Improve your listening skills

I had read somewhere that the person doing the talking, is the person doing the learning. A Stephen R. Covey quote states, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”  You don’t have all the answers, someone in your organization has the answer to something you are contemplating

2. Be more open to new ideas, feelings, and experiences.

How do you solicit ideas? Would your subordinates describe you as someone that is open to new ideas? Is there a protocol where you solicit ideas from not just your immediate team but also from others at the other end of the organization?

3. Cultivate curiosity as a means of getting more engaged.

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room”-Confucius

Combine numbers 1 and 2

4. Empathize

Do you know what your subordinates do or the challenges they encounter on a daily basis? They want to know that you are aware, that you care and that you acknowledge their contributions to the organization. Spend some time with them both individually and within departments. Something as simple as buying pizza for lunch just to get to know them goes a long way toward building relationships, but it can’t be a “one and done.” There must be followup.