As they shepherd their organizations into the future, leaders are dually tasked with ensuring their company's financial success and cultural health. To do this, leaders must understand how to communicate effectively, inspire and empathize with their employees.
Kristi Matus, executive vice president, CFO and chief administrative officer of athenahealth, provided the following tips for leaders:
- "Learn to be a bridge: Every position and situation requires bridging different communication styles, leadership styles and cultures. To foster growth, a successful leader should empathize with individuals and meet employees where they are before asking them to move toward or become successful amidst unchartered waters.
- Declare victory over the past: Recognize that each decision made was the right one at that time. Upon reflection, employees shouldn't feel that what they did in the past was necessarily wrong, but instead should be inspired to recognize that the future doesn’t look like the past and they must adjust accordingly.
- Be mission-centered: Becoming a successful leader at a company with thousands of employees requires a unique approach. Employees need to know there is a purpose for the work they're completing, and it's bigger than themselves.
- Talent is everything: People are a company's most precious resource. Leaders must challenge everyone to give their best one day, then do even better than that the next."
Do you have an interesting leadership tip to share? Please send all ideas to trosin@beckershealthcare.com for inclusion in our "Leader to leader tip" series.