Since the 1930s, superheroes have won the adoration of children and the loyalty of adults as they have leaped from comic book pages to movie screens. What is it that draws us to these heroes and their stories? Perhaps some of it is the superhuman strength and ability to fly, or the incredible speed and intelligence many of them possess. But likely, it is the honorable characteristics we see as heroes and heroines defeat evil time and again.
Stepping out of the world of sci-fi and fantasy, there are real heroes and heroines around us every day at work. Those heroes often take the form of office managers. As a leader in any company or organization, you have opportunities to develop and exhibit those wonderful characteristics that so many come to love in the storybooks.
We know every superhero needs a few things to get the job done: the outfit, mode of transportation, a sidekick, etc. So what are the tools on the utility belt of a superhero manager? Kouzes and Posner beautifully summarized the general practices of great leaders in their book The Leadership Challenge. The five practices they discuss are
- Model the way
- Inspire a shared vision
- Challenge the process
- Enable others to act
- Encourage the heart
So in the context of business management or ownership, how do you apply these “super” practices of great leaders?
- Modeling the way:
- While you may be lacking Spider Man’s spidey senses, you can be alert and aware of situations around you by listening to your employees. When an employee comes to you with feedback listen closely, repeat back what you understood from their message, confirm that you understood correctly, and begin to work on ways to address their feedback. Practicing these deep listening skills models to your employees how you expect communication to be in your team.
- A hero doesn’t just save the day. Their actions highlight the moral compass they live by. Managers too should be genuine in actions, character, morals, and personality. The standard set by the manager will be the standard for the rest of the team.
- Lead by example. As a general rule, don’t ask others to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. So if you’re looking for punctuality, be punctual first. Your constituents will more often do as you do, not as you say.
- Stay humble. Mr. Incredible had to recognize mistakes, openly acknowledge the accomplishments of Mrs. Incredible, and allow his family to work as a team to save the day in both movies. You must do the same with your team to remain humble. Realize that you do not need to micromanage for the job to be done well. Studies show that stress and anxiety caused by a micromanaging boss can increase employees’ risk of heart attack by 24%.
- Inspiring a Shared Vision
- Build real friendships with employees to create synergy among your team. As you keep a positive atmosphere in your office, tell stories, create jokes, take time to meet one-on-one, etc. your employees will come together in a similar way the Avengers team worked toward a shared vision as they built stronger friendships.
- Set long- and short-term goals as a team and work alongside everyone else to meet them. Your long-term goal might be as big as saving New York from invaders from outer space (just maybe a little more realistic) and short-term goals might be like hitting a certain sales goal each week. Whatever your goals are, when your employees see you doing your part to meet them, they will be inspired to continue working toward the shared vision.
- Challenging the Process
- Just as Ironman is always adding enhancements to his suit, always improve technical skill and company knowledge to have the abilities to challenge current processes. Enroll in an online course for industry-specific skills, attend webinars, do research, practice technical writing, get familiar with how computers work, etc.
- Look for ways you can be improving the systems, processes, and tactics used in your company and your team. Look for feedback from colleagues who perform the processes the most as you build upon the system in place. As processes become better and fresher, morale goes up.
- Enabling Others to Act
- Encourage open, honest communication. In a recent survey by Robert Half, 30% of surveyed workers stated that communication and diplomacy were the skills their managers needed to improve the most. Your team will see far more productivity in an environment of clear communication than if projects are cluttered with misunderstanding.
- Address areas of improvement on a team and on an individual level. When addressing areas of improvement, lead into the conversation talking about what the employee has done well. Be honest and caring as you tell them what they need to improve with suggestions. Then help them set and meet goals for improving. Again, rewards for improvement always encourage further growth.
- Encouraging the Heart
- If Batman’s butler was not quite so positive and encouraging, how do you think Gotham would have ended up? You are in a great position to be an enthusiastic, positive guide to the team.
- Recognize and reward good work in creative ways to boost morale. You don’t have to robotically stick to the written, formal reward system. Sometimes a small spontaneous gift for doing well in their job is more meaningful. Some ideas include:
- Verbal recognition the moment you notice something (timely and meaningful)
- Give an Amazon or iTunes gift card
- Create friendly competitive rewards such as the “Big Fish” award where the best sales performer of the month gets a giant plastic fish hung on their cubicle.
- Buy lunch for the office, or just your team depending on the size of your company, with everyone voting on where to get food
- Give company swag (like a branded water bottle or flash drive) to employees who meet a particular goal
- Accommodate to certain personal situations of your team members. If there are situations in an employee’s life that need addressing, like a spouse in a severe car accident, be flexible and accommodating to the deviation in that employee’s schedule to take care of the issue.
Like superheroes, good managers challenge the challenges, empower those around them, look after the well-being of those under their care, and make the impossible seem achievable. As you build on practices and characteristics of a strong leader, you will become a superhero of the office.