Want to develop new leaders? Teach them to debate

Leaders should take the time to express gratitude to employees by creating a culture of recognition, writes Naphtali Hoff, a psychologist and executive coach, who says valuing employees leads to less turnover and greater productivity. "The best leaders understand that recognition isn't a one-time effort -- it's an ongoing commitment to fostering a workplace where people feel appreciated, motivated and empowered," Hoff writes.

Put it into practice: If you don't know where to start, even recognizing small wins can lead to big payoffs in employee satisfaction. "Celebrating small achievements -- such as meeting a deadline, helping a colleague or learning a new skill -- creates a culture of appreciation and motivation," Hoff writes.

When writing instructions for a process or product, it's important to remember that not everyone knows what you do, so put someone new to the process on the writing team, use links, videos or other helpful material in areas that may be confusing and get feedback from users and update manuals when needed, writes Seth Godin. "Put a value on getting it right," Godin advises.

Put it into practice: Consider using AI to review your final product and ask it to restate what the instructions describe, Godin recommends. "If it doesn't translate, it's probably not clear."

Refusing to delegate work out of a desire for control of your business can lead to burnout, missed opportunities, and stymie growth, writes Allison Dunn, the founder of Deliberate Directions. Learn to let go by framing delegation as a strength, review areas and tasks that can either be released or turned over to others and model letting go for your team so they can also release unproductive tasks, Dunn advises.

A demo tape recorded in 1961 on reel-to-reel to promote then-unknown folk singer Bob Dylan has sold at auction in Boston for $39,325. The tape -- which featured four original songs and two covers, along with other items, including one of Dylan's harmonicas, fetched a total of more than $1.1 million.

My biggest weakness as a leader is my inability to delegate. I have always lived by the motto: "If you want it done right, do it yourself." I discovered that this motto is also a recipe for burnout.

While it's true that no one else will do the job quite like you do, good leaders are those who trust their team to get the job done anyway, even if you would approach it differently. If the outcome is the same, why get hung up on the cursed how of its accomplishment?

As Allison Dunn points out, you may be missing out on some innovation that a team member could bring forward because you're stuck in doing it the way you've always done it. She proposes using the 70% rule: "If someone else can do something at least 70% as well as you, delegate it."

Dunn offers a process of letting go, including doing a "What's Holding Me Back?" inventory to examine areas of operation that aren't working for you anymore. Dunn also suggests a quarterly review of things that need delegating or letting go of and learning how to let go faster so you can evolve your leadership style.

Model letting go of things and delegating tasks to your team so they can also let go of the dead weight of processes that are no longer working.

"Reward employees who identify things that should be let go in the name of efficiency and innovation," Dunn suggests.

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