While it’s ultimately up to an owner or store manager to steer the overall direction of a business, individual staff must also play their part -- and step in as leaders when and where it’s appropriate. Let’s face it, running a business is hard work -- especially in today’s difficult climate -- and even the most skilled leader can burn out and need others to lend a hand.
In “How to Lead When You’re Not the Boss,” Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay shares ideas from the book Lateral Leadership: Getting Things Done When You’re Not the Boss, written by Harvard negotiation specialist Roger Fisher and coauthor Alan Sharp.
They provide this five-step method for leading when you’re not formally in charge:
- Help Establish Goals: In order to accomplish anything, you need to have clear goals. When you ask for clarification on goals, you automatically take a leadership role.
- Think Systematically: When working out a problem during a staff meeting, think about it systematically. Gather and lay out information, analyze the causes of the situation and propose actions based on this analysis.
- Learn from Experience: Encourage “mini-reviews,” so that if something isn’t working you and other staff can suggest changes.
- Engage Others: High-performing teams engage the efforts of every member, and effective team leaders seek out the best fit between members’ interests and skills and the tasks that need doing.
- Provide Feedback: Even if you’re not the boss, you can provide something as simple (and valued) as appreciation for a job well done. In some cases, you can be in the position to improve another employee’s performance through coaching.
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