Thrive don’t strive – why rethinking your leadership approach can change everything. Real success is about more than just surviving, it’s about thriving.
And that means that you, your team, and your business are all thriving, not just getting through the day. Peak performance and enduring results aren’t about sales and profits; real success is about people and giving them the space and opportunity to be (and do) their best. When you prioritise yourself and your people, great results follow.
Any manager or wannabe can chase results. The smart and successful leader knows that putting people first is the best way for everyone (and everything) to thrive and grow. An effective leader understands that it’s people who make their business, drive its success, and are its most valuable asset. Putting people front and centre, whilst still getting the right results for growth is all about balance, thinking beyond the bottom line, and embracing a new approach.
I believe that taking a holistic approach is vital to not only getting great results but to being a truly effective and respected leader. Productivity and well-being (both your own and that of your team) are not mutually exclusive the two go hand-in-hand. Happy, valued, healthy people who aren’t stressed, overwhelmed, or just plain wishing they were somewhere else instead, are ultimately productive people, who can thrive and who help your business thrive as a result.
So, what’s the secret? For starters, forget all those traditional, results-centric management techniques, those are the tools of bad managers and ineffective leaders. Sure, they may get you results, but for how long and at what cost? It’s time to think differently and explore how my unique and innovative S.O.U.L. system can change not just your working life, but that of your team and ultimately revolutionise what you, your team and ultimately your business can achieve.
Let’s start with the obvious thing – what is S.O.U.L.? I’ve mentioned it in a previous article and it’s my secret weapon for achieving more in less time and with less stress. It can be applied to both you as an individual, and also to your team. It’s about cutting out unnecessary and unproductive tasks, playing to people’s strengths, and giving people the time and bandwidth to shine. Because when everyone has the chance to shine and feel valued, then everyone achieves more.
S.O.U.L. stands for Simplify, Organise, Understand, and Leverage. Each can make a real difference but used together they are a powerful tool that can easily transform how you work and what you achieve. The best bit is that the steps are logical, reasonably easy to implement, and can help your entire team eliminate overwhelm, feel less stress, and achieve more.
Simplify is all about ditching the distractions whether they are online, physical, or things that steal your time and focus. As a leader you’re inundated with things to do this can be the tasks you need to get done, making decisions, or even distractions and things that derail your day. Cutting the clutter can help you find your focus this can be literal such as streamlining your workspace or ditching distracting apps from your phone, to delegating or eliminating the things that take up your time and stop you from focusing on the things you’re good at. This can be applied to your team – could some of those meetings actually be an email, are some tasks overly time-consuming but deliver little in terms of results? Is it time to streamline the way things are done?
Explore this with your team and you might be surprised by the things that are taking their focus away from the things that matter most. Are people spending time on tasks they hate or struggle with when there’s someone in the team who would love to take on those jobs and make the most of their own skills? Encourage honest and open discussion and you may find that rethinking who does what, when things happen, and how things are done could help your team become happier, more productive, and make the most of their skills. Sometimes doing something on a certain day or in a certain way is nothing more than a bad habit, and a simple rethink could be the reset your team needs to take things forward and to feel more valued and less stressed.
Organise – or to put it another way, prioritise, don’t procrastinate. It’s easy to be busy but have little to show for it. Switching from task to task means you’re not fully focused on anything, so it takes longer or isn’t done well. Look at ways that you and your team could be more proactive, rather than simply being reactive. It can be as simple as dedicating time in the morning and afternoon to responding to emails (and only responding to emails during those times), devoting certain days to certain tasks (or even freeing up some days by introducing, for example, meeting-free Fridays). Start with yourself first, and as you identify the things that work, roll them out across the team. Don’t be afraid to tweak things that need to be tweaked or to take on board feedback from your team. New approaches need everybody’s buy-in – and sometimes others can see flaws or ways forward that aren’t always obvious.
Working with your team to bring about change brings me nicely to the next stage of SOUL – understanding. A good manager understands what needs to be done. A true leader understands their team and how they work.
Again, looking at yourself first will help you see the benefits of this step and better appreciate how it works. Think about when you’re at your most productive – are you an early bird or a night owl? Switching more complex tasks to the time where you’re at your best, could be a real game changer. And the same applies to your team – which days are they firing on all cylinders, and when are they starting to be ready for a break? If you’re able to move things around to make the most of these patterns, you’ll not only see an improvement in productivity, but also morale.
The best business leaders are always looking to create a more efficient, effective team, whilst maintaining a positive and happy workplace. Getting great results is pointless the cost is the well-being of your team. Especially as an overwhelmed and unhappy team is not only more likely to make mistakes but also more likely to leave for a place where they’re valued and happy.
I’m a huge believer in the “work smarter, not harder” approach to both life and business. Wasting time on unimportant tasks, things that aren’t areas where you shine, or failing to embrace tech that could make life easier are the enemies of efficiency and productivity. This is what the final part of the SOUL system, Leverage is all about. In its simplest form, it’s collaboration and delegation – or leveraging the talents of others. It’s something you’ll have already been working towards via the other stages of SOUL, but this is where you take the opportunity to the talent within your team to optimum effect. Letting people play to their strengths, means that they have the freedom to be more efficient and effective. It benefits everyone – as well as boosting morale and well-being (being able to spend time on the things you’re good at and enjoy, rather than struggling with tasks that aren’t your area of expertise can make a huge difference to how people feel – give them the freedom to thrive).
S.O.U.L. creates a place where people can thrive, so productivity and well-being increase as your team begins to play to their strengths, are more focused, and waste less time. But more importantly, it gives them the power to feel valued, understood, and happy. And that doesn’t just help you get results, it’s a great result in itself.
