Are You Making This Lethal Leadership Mistake?

What do you want from your team? You want the team to excel at their job. You want the team to destroy sales records. You want them to be all-stars.

There’s a problem. You may be making this lethal leadership mistake.

Image by Zach Klein

What is this lethal leadership mistake, you ask. It’s a mistake I’ve seen destroy many great companies and yet leaders continue to make the same mistake over and over again.

This mistake is failing to value each individual team member.

The Lethal Leadership Mistake

When you fail to value each team member, they begin to notice. Team members begin to feel left out and unappreciated.

What this leads to is a sense that their hard work isn’t enough.

Why might they think this? Look at the way you speak to team members. Do you:

Criticize their performance?
Fail to recognize their pursuit of excellence?
Take away incentives to perform well?

These are but three actions that show you don’t value a team member. And they catch on quick. Just look in any retail store. You’re almost certain to run across team members who feel their value is overlooked.

Why You Must Show Team Members They Have Value

Many leaders fail to see the reason to show they value their team. They don’t realize the hard work each team member puts forth for the good of the company.

Team members often give up time with family, skip special events, and even work holidays. They’re at the company office or retail store working hard to not only make money for themselves but to make money for you.

As they’re working, they frequently interact with the company’s customers, effectively becoming the face of the company.

Think about the receptionist. She’s the first person a customer contacting the company has. Does she give off a pleasant attitude or is it rude and abrasive? Her attitude can direct the rest of the interactions this customer has with the company.

Or what about the salesman on the sales floor? His willingness or unwillingness to help a customer impacts the way a customer will think about the store.

Do you see where I’m going here? If an team member is unhappy and feels they lack value to their leader, they can heavily influence the way a customer feels. They can make or break the company.

This is why you MUST value your employees.

What You Can Do To Show Your Team They Are Valued

There’s multiple ways you can show your team you value them. I’ve shared ways you can express the value you feel for your team in the past. Here’s a few reminders:

Create an environment of growth: When you encourage your team to grow, you show them that you care. You want to see the team members become more knowledgeable and to advance within the company.

Engage with employees: Sit down and have a conversation or share a lunch with your team members. Get to know them and their dreams. Show them you’re interested.

Arrive on time: If you’ve planned meetings with your team members, show up on time. Even early. When you do, you show your team you value their time.

As leaders, we must be willing to show our team members we value them. Otherwise we’re making a lethal leadership mistake.

Value your team and they’ll value you. They’ll work hard. They’ll speak well about the company. They’ll dedicate themselves to the company.

Question: Have you found yourself not valuing a team member? How did you course correct? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.