One of my favorite leadership approaches is taking the time to understand and experience the work that your employees actually do. To be an effective and successful leader, you need to personally perform various jobs to experience and understand the company from the inside.
Understanding the ins and outs of every job in the business, from the manufacturing floor to the warehouse crew to the engineering and sales staff, will make it easier to create an open line of communication between you and your team. If your employees know that you understand their roles and can present concerns or questions to you without hesitation or fear you can present answers or implement solutions more quickly and clearly.
Creating a direct line of communication will also encourage the staff to trust you with the information you need. If they expect negative feedback from their supervisors, they will withhold or fabricate important details for better reactions. Further, it will help you as a leader gather all of the necessary puzzle pieces to develop business improvements alongside your team in the trenches.
Take time on a regular basis to put yourself in their shoes. See how they do the job. If you can, do the job along with them. The only way to correct any mistakes or increase efficiency is to know what is and what isn’t working well. You can’t fix what you don’t know.
Culture of Belief 