In business, success directly depends on the involvement of employees and their willingness to work for a common result. Joint efforts always give a greater effect than the achievements of individual specialists. The leader’s role is important here – it is he who sets the tone, motivates and shapes the atmosphere within the team. We asked Svetlana Bormatova, CEO of Greenatom Simple Solutions, and Tatyana Sideleva, a psychologist and coach who works with teams in business, what qualities distinguish a real leader and are there ways to unleash the potential of the team.
Engagement is the new must have
A good leader is easy to distinguish: he knows how to organize basic processes so that the team can work without unnecessary distractions. When everything is established, employees have space for development, creativity and growth. Here engagement is important. A specialist who feels valuable, understands his prospects and sees support from the manager and colleagues, works at a different level of energy and motivation.
“From this point of view, different ways are suitable for different employees to feel their own need and importance,” coach Tatyana Sideleva explains. – Some need a business game, others need to try themselves in a new role (become a mentor for beginners or a mid-level manager), others need an individual schedule or work remotely. However, the main thing is that the company should have a culture of personnel development. It is the leader, like a juggler, who chooses certain methods of working with each employee and the team as a whole in order to achieve maximum results.”
The primary task of the manager is to give the employee a chance to open up. Even if the company has hundreds of people with the same positions, each of them has its own story, dreams and expectations. Of course, there are universal bonuses like VHI, which everyone likes. But the most important thing is the atmosphere: if the company has a culture of care and development, people feel that they are really valuable.
Of course, not every company can afford an unlimited budget for different bonuses. But you can always find small details that will make the work for a particular employee more comfortable and pleasant. A good leader is interested in finding these little things, and his energy, involvement and willingness to look for solutions will certainly pass to the team. As a result, with this approach, everyone will benefit – the business will receive loyalty and results, and the employees will have a sense of their own necessity and confidence that they are in the right place.
Honesty as a leadership style
Today in business, it is increasingly said that the main capital of a company is people. But there is one quality without which the relationship in the team cannot be really strong – honesty. It sounds simple, but it is this factor that executives often forget. Employees feel when their work is ignored or underestimated, and at that moment trust is lost, as well as motivation.
“To prevent this, we have built a transparent feedback system,” Svetlana Bormatova explains. – Once a year, a round table is held in each division, where the results of work are discussed together with the heads of related areas. This is not a formality, but a real conversation, during which the leaders of the directions clearly understand where they are moving – up, to the side or remain in the current position. Whatever vector of development they choose, we support it with specific recommendations: what skills are worth pumping, what to learn, where to try yourself.”
But the real value lies elsewhere. After the approval of the results, the head of the department must meet with each of his employees personally and conduct a dialogue with him about the strengths, points of growth and plans for the future. And, importantly, this is a conversation in both directions: the employee also shares his view on his own achievements and tasks.
As a result, honesty ceases to be an abstract word. It turns into the basis of trust, into the very atmosphere where people understand: they are heard, they are appreciated and they have a future within the company. This is the best investment in the long-term success of the business.
Mentoring is actual skill
In a modern office, the most valuable bonus is not a fancy coffee machine or even corporate insurance, but a person nearby – someone who is ready to help and share experience if something happens. Mentoring is a one-stop tool that works at all levels.
Imagine a newcomer crossing the company’s threshold for the first time. He is “green,” full of questions and doubts. A mentor appears next to him – an experienced employee who helps to understand the processes, intricacies and corporate rituals. For a young specialist, this is like a support: thanks to an attentive mentor, he grows faster and turns into a confident professional.
There is another advantage of mentoring – it becomes a powerful motivation for those who have long been in the company. This is recognition of an expert level, an opportunity to try yourself as a leader, albeit in a small area. You teach, set tasks, control the result, and share experience. In this process, managerial skills are pumped, which are not always available in the usual routine.
“It’s the rare case where everyone wins,” Bormatova says. – Beginners get a comfortable entry into the profession, and experienced employees get a new level of responsibility and recognition. As a result, both the person himself and the company grow.”
The main goal is to learn
The world is changing too fast to afford the luxury of a long pause. For a modern leader, study is not an elective, but a mandatory element of a career. You can lose competence and authority instantly if you forget about development.
“There are many training formats today. In “Greenatom”, for example, the “School of an adequate leader” appeared – an intensive 4-6 weeks long, – Svetlana Bormatova says. – These are face-to-face meetings once a week, online classes and homework. Everything is serious here: if you missed a meeting or did not complete a task – you drop out of the program. It works: school really gives not only knowledge, but also new self-confidence.”
The classic format of live trainings lasting several days is also very effective. Personal communication in such formats is especially valuable: the atmosphere of live discussions, the exchange of experience and the energy of the group cannot be compared with meetings in the zoom.
“A manager needs to develop not only professional skills, but also soft skills,” Svetlana Bormatova says. “The ability to hear people, manage the team, inspire and guide is what turns the team into an orchestra, where every note sounds appropriate and harmonious.”
Financial motivation is also important, but it is the personality of the leader that determines the atmosphere within the company. It sets the rhythm, shapes the culture and turns work into a space of growth. Therefore, being a learner is not just a fashion trend, but a key skill of an effective leader.
The art of being near
The task of a good leader is not just to collect reports on time and count KPIs. Real leadership begins where there is attention to the person. It is important to know more about an employee than his name and position. Hobbies, looks, even habits outside the office – all these details add up to a mosaic that makes working relationships alive and warm.
These “human touches” change the atmosphere in the company. Work ceases to be about numbers and deadlines only, it becomes a part of life, where there is a place for trust and support. Then the goals are achieved not in the race mode, but in a balanced rhythm. You want to come to the office with pleasure, because there are not just colleagues, but people of your interests, and you and them go in the same direction.
“The formula of a good leader, in my opinion, is simple and at the same time complex: Professional + Human. Both words – with a capital letter, – the CEO of “Greenatom” Svetlana Bormatova tells. “Because this is the only way to create a team in which success is built not on efficiency only, but on lively participation and mutual respect.”