How Leaders Can Improve Their Work Environment

 When we think of projects, most of us young folks think of group assignments in school. What pushes us to get the work done are the deadlines that threaten our grades. They are often from the classes we care the least about, but sometimes they allow for more creative freedom. I often found myself leading teams but I wouldn’t get the results I wanted. My passion for the projects didn’t match my teammates’ and I practically had to beg for some of them to collaborate. I was able to learn more effective leadership methods from the book, Leadership is Language, written by L. David Marquet. 

Creating a Safe Atmosphere

This was something I tried by giving compliments and showing concern during their emergencies, but I found that there’s more involved in that. Our use of language is important in how followers feel about their roles. 

• If they express concerns and we reply with invulnerable comments like “we’re going to be fine”, it gives them the impression that they shouldn’t question our decisions because they are set in stone.

• When we ask leading questions during a dilemma, we are giving false comfort that only tells them to keep conforming to their roles. 

Making Their Voices Heard

When we think of work, we associate it with the act of doing something. We often forget how much of a role thinking plays in both innovation and employee satisfaction.

• Asking open ended questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no encourages employees to explore a problem from different angles. 

• For meetings, it is better to get everyone’s opinions before discussing them so people aren’t swayed towards a popular idea.

• There is a balance in how much doing and thinking needs to be done though. Too much doing and employees will become too stressed to think; too much thinking and there will be too much time wasted with no work being done. 

In my experiences working in Game Design, I had a mindset of getting other people to DO work for me to bring my vision to life. In moments where they wanted to give input or express concern, I would dismiss a lot of it which would kill their motivation. What they wanted was to create something they could be proud of. Instead of threats like a poor grade or firing them as a motivator, I should’ve created opportunities for them to explore new possibilities. Marquet’s book gave me pointers that I plan to use with all future projects I lead. It taught me how the leader creates the environment for their followers to thrive in.