A couple weeks ago a new leader in my New Manager Accelerator asked a great question that I wanted to share.

She said that she was looking for tips and insights as to how she could support her team.

What a fully loaded question! But a great one 😉

I decided to pull this question from my coaching session and share it with you on the channel today.

You see it really boils down to five things. Five things make all the difference in the world for your team.

Would you prefer to read rather than watch? Not to worry! You can read the blog post below.

But first, to really help you stand out in your new role I highly recommend downloading The Ultimate Guide to Being an Effective Team Leader.  A free downloadable interactive guide to help you show up and stand out and take the right action steps.

WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT FROM THEIR MANAGER #1 – TO FEEL SEEN AND HEARD

If you’re an Oprah fan then you are going to love this gold nugget.  In one of her interviews as she was discussing her greatest learnings from interviewing other people, she said  that every last person she interviewed would always ask at the end of the interview was that okay?

She said that what she was able to string together from those experiences is that everyone is looking for assurance that they are being seen and heard. 

So for you as the manager of the team, that insight is something that you can use to help you really be the best manager your team has had. Make sure that each interaction makes way for that person to be seen and heard. 

WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT FROM THEIR MANAGER #2 – CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

One of the greatest frustrations to a team member is not knowing WHAT their manager expects of them. 

They can always figure out the HOW but they always need a clear WHAT. 

One of my favorite quotes on this is by Ken Blanchard who says that “All good performance begins with clear goals.” 

If employees are not clear on what is expected of them, then poor performance is only inevitable and for someone that truly cares about their performance this is a big deal. 

Aim to make sure that you are being clear in your communication and ensuring that the expectations you set hit the mark so that there is no confusion.

WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT FROM THEIR MANAGER #3 – FEEDBACK

A study done in 2017 found that 67% of employees want performance feedback conversations with their manager but only 26% receive it. 

That’s a big gap in terms of what they WANT and what they are GETTING. 

And so yes, while it might be uncomfortable for you to give feedback (and usually that’s just a matter of lack of training) it needs to be something that you do more often. 

Whether that be reinforcing feedback or redirecting feedback your team member wants to know where they stand with the work that they are doing. 

WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT FROM THEIR MANAGER #4 – REMOVE THE OBSTACLES

Now this is my favourite! 

Everyday there are going to be obstacles in the way of your people doing their best work particularly now with the world climate being the way it is. 

So if you want them to perform at peak levels then you got to do your very best to remove those obstacles. 

It’s like my mentor always said: People don’t get paid to create problems, they get paid to solve problems. 

And so your job that you’re getting paid for as the manager is to solve those complex problems in the way of your team kicking butt! 

WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT FROM THEIR MANAGER #5 – TRANSPARENCY

No one respects or trusts a leader that withholds and hoards information. 

They want to know what’s happening. 

Now yes there are certain things that you cannot share but there are plenty of things that you can share that will provide them with ease, comfort and safety –  particularly when things are changing.