Set Others Up To Succeed
The next part of being a hospitable leader is setting others up to succeed! Oftentimes as leaders, we think that we are the only ones who can do something “right,” but allowing others to support us will increase our success.
One way to set others up to succeed is to invite them to participate! Delegate tasks, find those who are less likely to volunteer and personally invite them to complete a task. This invitation helps encourage everyone to engage with the organization and feel like they are a part of the larger mission. For example, allowing everyone to step up and shine when we take a 2.5 week vacation was an important step for me as a leader of IPS and you all have done a truly amazing job at showing us what all you are capable of!
To further the success of others, we must share resources with them — help them know the when, what, and where for different tasks, help them know what they need to know to complete the task. Outline clear expectations, letting everyone know what the bare minimum responsibilities are expected at each level of employment within the organization. A good place to seek out and find this information is in the employee handbook if you are unsure what some of the expectations are for your position or what is required to move to the next position!
Finally, we must create a psychologically safe environment for our staff to feel comfortable voicing their concerns and presenting solutions to problems as they arise. At IPS, we encourage regular feedback and provide lots of ways staff can report issues to management. For example, you can complete a grievance/feedback form and even keep it anonymous! We also have our RBT Feedback form to elicit ways we can better support our employees who have the hardest job, by far! When appropriate, creating a safe environment also includes that we are transparent, consistent, and stable in how we respond to feedback, as we cannot always meet each employee’s request.
Remember, we should strive daily to cheer for each other and want the best outcome for each of our coworkers, even on days where we may be frustrated with their behavior. Deciding that others are on our side will help us ensure a healthier and happier work environment!
I’d like for each of you to reflect on what resources you all would need that would help make you more successful at work each day and if there are specific work-related questions that we can answer in future blog posts to help increase our transparency — bonus points if you shout it out in the chat showing that you’ve read this far in the newsletter! Join me next week for our 7th installment: Teaching the Values!
