Michael McFall is the cofounder and co-CEO of BIGGBY COFFEE as well as the author of the Inc. Original books GRIND and GROW.
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If you’re in a leadership position, you likely think you're doing a great job—many people in these positions do.
Your team might feel differently, especially as it pertains to communication, recognition and support.
For instance, one survey found that 60% of managers think they are addressing mental health effectively. Meanwhile 40% of their teams think managers do a “poor to very poor” job addressing mental health. Additionally, 70% of managers say they have “great relationships and open communication with workers,” while just 58% of employees share this sentiment.
To be sure, not every boss is underperforming. A Pew Research Center survey discovered that 55% of employees say their boss is “excellent or very good to work for.”
The point isn’t that most managers are failing. It’s that many leaders don’t know if they are effective or not. They are often isolated, self-assured and informed by their perceptions to gauge their success.
Understanding that being an effective leader is different from thinking you’re an effective leader—and that impactful leadership is critical to long-term success—here are five tests to determine if you’re truly leading well. Are the following statements true for you?
1. I’m transparent about my shortcomings as a leader.
Here’s a secret you probably already know: You’re not perfect. Other people know it, too.
However, the consequences are amplified when you try to hide it, refusing to acknowledge your shortcomings.
The inevitable outcome is simple and devastating: People don’t trust you or the organization you represent. Put differently, being open and vulnerable and expressing your shortcomings is critical to building trust, and trust is the foundation of thriving companies.
According to an expansive Deloitte analysis, “An increasing focus on trust and transparency was identified as the trend that would have the greatest impact on an organization’s success, both this year and in the next three years.”
In this regard, we have room to improve. Just 21% of U.S. employees “strongly agree” they trust their company’s leadership.
This doesn’t mean you must reveal every flaw, weakness and insecurity to your team. Instead, it encourages you to push yourself and consider what you can make transparent, why and to whom.
Being transparent about your shortcomings isn’t a weakness. It’s a strength that cultivates trust.
2. I invite and reward my team for bringing genuine feedback.
Great leaders know that feedback is valuable, allowing them to improve performance and respond real time to their teams. Many are notoriously bad at receiving genuine feedback.
As one Inc. contributor conveyed, “My current manager, who is new to her role and our industry, has repeatedly asked us to give her feedback, but when we try, she gets noticeably upset (raised voice, angry expression, snarky comments, etc.).”
This experience is familiar to many workers, who have grown skeptical or fearful of leaders' frequent (but perhaps not entirely earnest) requests for feedback.
It’s a missed opportunity.
Honest feedback is a gift, and I am profusely thankful when people bring me something I can improve. You should be, too.
3. I thank my people for helping me grow.
If honest feedback is a gift (and it is), then gratitude is the necessary response.
When we express gratitude when people help us grow, we acknowledge the vulnerability required to offer constructive feedback, especially when a power imbalance makes it inherently risky to do so.
It also helps create and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. If people don’t feel their feedback is well-received and valuable, they will stop giving it. As a result, you will stop improving, and your brand will stop growing.
It’s worth asking: When was the last time you thanked people for caring enough to give you honest feedback?
If it’s been a while since you thanked people for helping you grow, now is the perfect time to change that. This might include:
• Writing a personalized thank you note.
• Recognizing valued feedback through public acknowledgment.
• Acting on feedback, demonstrating with action that it was valuable and valued.
These methods might not be your “style,” and that’s okay. Decide what works for you, and make gratitude a part of your leadership style.
4. My people are my best mentors.
For many people, mentorship comes with specific connotations. Maybe it involves weekly meetings with experienced professionals who have been around the block. Often from outside the company.
While these engagements are good, from my experience, this feedback is limited.
Consider some of the obvious limitations.
• Mentors may have little insight into your team dynamics and organizational norms.
• Mentors may lack current knowledge of industry trends and technologies.
• Mentor-mentee relationships may lack personalization or specificity.
That’s why, in addition to receiving wisdom from the outside, we, as leaders, need to be mentored by our own teams. Your team can bring insights nobody else can. When you build a trusting, caring relationship within and treat them like mentors to you, the insights they bring are gold.
5. I invest in my people’s success.
Great leaders know that leadership isn’t about them. It’s about their people’s success.
Your people want to know that you invest in them and their success. Too often, our people don’t know this. In one employee survey, nearly half of employees reported they feel undervalued, and many are disengaged.
Returning the feedback loop by offering timely performance feedback to your team shows that you are as committed to their success as they are to yours. This results in dynamic engagements.
A recent Gallup survey found that 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback in the past week are fully engaged, a startling figure that reverberates across an organization. To achieve this, consider providing public recognition, private praise and regular, personalized coaching.
In this way, you know you are a great boss when you’re receiving and responding to feedback from your team and returning that favor as part of a regular, interconnected improvement cycle that elevates people and their teams.
Love, lead, learn and grow!
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