Ken Teegardin — Flickr Creative Commons
Many times the issues I work on with clients are quite complex. Sometimes they are very simple.
One of the most simple things that leaders can (and must) do is stay visible. Visibility (versus invisibility) is like a super-power for leaders.
Our teams are constantly evaluating the health and opportunities within the organization by what leadership is doing. In the absence of being visible to the team, imaginations and rumors can start to run wild.
Even saying nothing can mean something to the team. They start to wonder: is my performance ok, is the company ok, why have there been so many leaders huddling together, is my leader staying… The list of worries and interpretations can be exhausting.
Nip these concerns in the bud by staying visible. One executive I know has an organization spread over a large campus. This leader schedules fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the afternoon for some “management by walking around.” The advantages are clear: more engagement from the team, up to date information on what is really going on, stronger relationships…and less grist for the negative rumor mill.
Stay visible, it is what top performers do.
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