Innovativeness is the key of unlocking success today. Not only do companies spend time in R&D to invent newer products and succeed with good marketplace offerings but are also investing in the way leadership behaviors drive the way people accomplish these things.
Neuroscience has proven that when we are unhappy, our brains tend to disengage, effectively decreasing our creativity, critical thinking and wide range of other core functions. Research supporting that shows that if the teams are unhappy, the capacity of entire business suffers.On the other hand, when leaders invest in promoting happiness in the office, productivity levels raise upto 12% making the happier workplaces more productive.
But how do we create such an environment in the organizations so that employees revere the culture and stay inspired to achieve excellence in their work?
The secret lies in the way Leaders drive the organization. Inspiring leaders unleash the potential in people and drive them to perform their best. New Gen leaders participate in mindfulness, compassionate dealing, coaching and emotional intelligence and understand that a big part of happiness stems from having an aligned vision between the company and individual employees. Researchers and scientists have pinpointed few characteristics that leaders in the organizations can use to stimulate lasting happiness:
- Challenge Driven leadership – Following the problem – Leaders in successful organizations seize the opportunity to look at the problem as a challenge and share this opportunity with the team in intriguing, inspiring and barely solvable way, which draws smart & skilled people towards it. The leaders thus get into stepping up and stepping out process, enabling team members to take ownership and more responsibility so they also feel a great sense of achievement.
- Changing DNA– Lately, there has been change in dynamics of the leadership style and visionary leaders are now placing higher value on work relationships. Leaders explore new paths to growth without being constrained by yesterday’s success formula. Such leaders-Inspire, generate loyalty, commitment, passion and enthusiasm in their team members and excel at creating positive work environment.
- Raising the bar–Inducing challenge stress – They are not only instrumental in establishing a Fun culture at work but also excel at raising the bars by continuously stretching goals and making people feel valued and competent. They also lead with clear goal clarity and assign achievable yet challenging goals, so that employees feel a sense of achievement.
- Recognizing excellence – Keeping a finger on the pulse of the team helps successful leaders to quickly recognize and appreciate great work. Such public recognition not only uses the power of the crowd to celebrate success but also inspires others to aim for excellence.
- Developing others – Leaders have a dual role to play, they become the founders and builders of organizations and mange momentum by coaching and supporting others. Developing others has the twofold impact of elevating performance and creating a culture that is team oriented, fun and engaging.
Incorporating few such practices and embedding them in the culture of the organization can have a dramatic effect on the happiness quotient of the workplace.
Work culture characterized by forgiveness, understanding, trust, empathy, generosity respect and inspiration creates a positive work culture leading to improved employee engagement, performance, creativity & productivity. However, every organization needs to identify and customize their leadership version to achieve the magic combination
Author- Nidhi Taneja Kapoor is faculty at National Council for Hotel Management for Masters in Hospitality Administration Course
