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Tips for Improving Leadership Culture

Did you know that there is also International Boss Day? Held in mid-October, it commemorates the carelessness of the secretary of State Farm Insurance Company, Patricia Bays Haroski. The employee forgot the birthday of her father, who was also her superior, and she decided in 1958, to correct the error, register the date with the United States Chamber of Commerce. The objective is to recognize the qualities of the bosses, on a day in which they also remember that they are human and coexist on equal terms with the employees.

Spanish employees opt for results-oriented leadership (47.6%) or people (43.7%), to the detriment of leadership focused on tasks (8.8%). This follows from the recent report “Labor Expectations among employees and companies 2022”, prepared by Edenred and BTS to more than 6,000 employees. The conclusions point out that workers prefer leaders who measure development based on results, granting autonomy to perform tasks or leaders who provide freedom, encourage collaboration and creativity in work spaces.

Thus, Netmind, a BTS company specialized in digital transformation, has collected eight tips to improve the culture of leadership in Spanish companies.

  1. Create spaces for creativity and failure. The 20% rule is an example of this. Some companies have launched an action whereby, during that percentage of the day, internal employees develop their own ideas. This generates very dynamic processes, where in one day a hypothesis is built and presented: it can be for any aspect as long as it is aligned with the company’s purpose and strategy.
  2. Collaborate in the autonomy of people and teams. The foundations of trust begin to be installed when employees feel part of the organization. An example is that leaders understand that the most appropriate person to make decisions does not have to be a middle manager, but rather the person with the most criteria to execute it.
  3. Encourage collaboration instead of competition. Spanish gastronomy could be representative, since much of its success is due to collaboration. The model tries to build on the ideas of others, evolving them to another level, which does not imply that there is no competition. The difference is in understanding that to improve you don’t need to beat others, what will make you go further as a leader is to develop together with them.
  4. Exercise good leadership. Easy to say, hard to pin down. Perhaps it is necessary to start by changing phrases such as “What you have to do is…” for “How can I help you?”. Leaders understand that their role is to set an example and encourage the leadership of others to emerge. It is not a goal, but a path to travel.
  5. Promote the culture of feedback. There are many ways to collect feedback. To generate spaces of trust between teams, fishbowl feedback can be very useful. It is an easy and fast dynamic, whereby a team presents in about 5 minutes the most important aspects of an idea or project, something they want to validate.
  6. To be able to collect feedback within the team there are many easy dynamics to carry out. The important thing is not the form, but the content. The conversation that occurs between two people in a feedback is a gift. There are no judgments, no intention to attack or hurt the other person, just to give him the unique vision of her. A leader constantly asks the people around him for feedback.
  7. Have a facilitator. The figure of a facilitator is increasingly required, and it is not by chance, since its great utility has been demonstrated. Having a facilitator maintains focus, ensures that everyone has a voice and that goals are achieved. The facilitator encourages conversations in decision making.
  8. Measure, measure and measure. The only way to know if progress is being made is to set indicators and follow up. The first thermometer is the opinion of the people, which should start from the safety of anonymity, especially in untrusted environments.
  9. Basic: get going. In change management there is a maxim: if nothing changes, everything will remain the same. Therefore, it does not matter the situation in which you find yourself, if not the one in which you want to work. Start by taking a step, the simplest and the most value it will bring you. The most important thing is to start.

“There are many types of leadership. At the moment we are in, we think that the term boss should give way to the leader. That person must generate spaces of trust and development. He cares about people. He is transparent, humble and a fan of his team. That way of leading is the mirror where you see yourself reflected, and the opposite will lead to detachment and frustration. People don’t leave their jobs, they leave their bosses.” assures Iria Rivero, Agile Coach of Netmind.

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