Excellent leadership qualities come from years of experience, but what happens if you have to act earlier? These 5 simple steps are simple, but the application may require some changes in your leadership style. But if you stick to them, they can help you manage your workforce more efficiently and make your employees happier and more productive.

1. Get to know your team

Before you can manage your employees and suppliers, you should understand them. Get to know them and their needs. Motivation means something different for everyone. What are their reasons to work for you? What is the best way to communicate with them?

Do you know why your employees work for you? Is it because what they do makes sense to them, or is it more about spending time with their colleagues? Whatever it is, understanding their individual ambitions will help you assign them work that best fits their educational and career goals. This in turn leads to more performance, credibility and self-confidence.

Feedback is critical to ensuring that your team works efficiently. The way you give feedback is a key part of managing a successful workforce. Some people break from criticism, while others take it with them and do better next time. They need to understand that they need to be sensitive in their approach to different people. Above all, always be respectful and make sure you always give constructive criticism.

2. You get what you expect

As a manager, you can define the expectations. Think about what “the norm” should be in your organization. If you expect your colleagues to be lazy, then they most likely are. However, if you position yourself and your employees so that they are always outstanding in what you do as a standard, then they will be more motivated to live up to that reputation. Assign tasks to your employees according to their strengths and interests. Success in these areas will strengthen self-confidence and more challenging tasks will appear more accessible.

3. Communicate with a “The-glass-is-half-full” setting

Is your glass half full or half empty? And more importantly: Is your glass crystal clear? Positive communication is essential, but you must also have absolute clarity about what you are saying. Do you set clear goals for your employees on a daily or weekly basis? Make sure that your employees always know what their tasks are and for what exactly they are held responsible. Do your employees know what good results look like? Sometimes this is a fixed quota and other times it could mean receiving a business award.

Give performance reviews to consistently manage expectations. As I said, be constructive and express criticism in a sensitive way, but never forget to let your employees know what they are doing right. Recognizing their strengths will increase productivity, morale and commitment to the company.

4. Who is responsible?

When managing a workforce, it is important to set realistic goals together. Encourage employees to set their own goals and then take responsibility for achieving them. With this strategy, your employees learn firstly to be responsible for themselves and secondly to be responsible for the company. Achieving their own goals means inspiring them to achieve more while developing a sense of pride in their work. Successful leadership of a workforce requires building a positive work ethic. Encourage the development of skills and ensure that your employees are offered training.

5. Encourage! Encourage! Encourage!

There will be many days when your co-workers will feel demoralized and discouraged. You may have a terrible experience with a customer that makes you want to quit. You will perform poorly in an assessment or receive negative feedback in a performance assessment. A successful manager also acts as the team’s cheerleader – he needs to be able to make an encouraging speech and show them how to learn from mistakes. Developing your employees means empowering them to expand their skills. In return, you develop a sense of achievement and can clearly see how your business is flourishing.