8 Things Strong Leaders Do That Make Employees Happy

A company's employees are its greatest asset. As such, finding strategies that enhance and boost employee productivity, engagement, retention, and happiness must be a priority for any organization, if it wants to succeed.

Business leaders can create an environment that encourages employee satisfaction by adopting particular behaviors and practices that demonstrate good leadership.

What Is Good Leadership?

A good leader is essentially someone in charge or in a position of authority who has integrity, awareness, courage, respect, empathy, humility, and is also respected by the people they lead or are in charge of. These qualities and traits of a good leader are crucial for motivating, directing, and influencing people to work together towards common objectives.

By stepping up to lead, encourage, and inspire a team to perform to their optimum all the time, a person practices good leadership. Thus, good leadership is about more than just authority and being in charge. It’s more about making the right calls, decisions, and being a source of inspiration and empowerment for others so they can achieve success for themselves and for the organization. 

Different situations and contexts call for different leadership styles and approaches, but ultimately good leaders have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and an ability to articulate and motivate the team to adapt and move effectively towards meeting goals and objectives.

It's crucial to remember that leadership is an ongoing endeavor and that those in positions of leadership must continually develop and polish their leaderships skills and hone essential traits of a good leader to secure their ability to lead and motivate others.

Qualities of Good Leadership That Make Satisfied Employees

Here are some key qualities of good leadership and things business leaders can do to make happy, satisfied, and more successful employees:

1 - Be Flexible and Adaptable

It is crucial that business leaders are flexible and adaptable. For example, good leaders can give employees the option to work from home, which is an important trend in the job market today and a step for addressing the growing desire for work-life balance, particularly among Millennials and Gen Zs.

Being flexible and adaptable to prevailing market trends and employee needs can make your employees very happy and satisfied with their job.

2 - Communicate Openly and Effectively

Business leaders who communicate and interact with their team frequently, openly, and in a clear and respectful manner create stronger relationships and a more productive workplace.

Employee engagement and knowledge is improved by good and effective communication, including establishing clear roles, goals, and providing updates on progress and accomplishments, as well as providing constructive feedback about the organization's objectives, standards, and developments.

Keep in mind that effective communication and open discussions entail active listening and giving constructive feedback and criticism to motivate and empower the team to be better.

A People Management study actually found that out of managers rated “bad” by their employees, more than half (58%) don’t communicate clear expectations, which can be extremely frustrating and disheartening for the whole team.

As a leader, practicing effective communication makes employees very happy and satisfied.

3 - Give Genuine Support and Empowerment

Team members value leaders who provide them with the tools and resources they need to be productive and realize their full potential. This entails offering necessary equipments, instructions, training, and opportunities for expansion, growth, and development.

Leaders should delegate tasks and duties in a manner that workers can perform the job optimally, feel proud to take ownership of their work, and grow professionally while at it.

4 - Acknowledge and Reward Effort

Business leaders who take the time to acknowledge and even reword employees’ efforts and accomplishments greatly increase their employees’ sense of job satisfaction and the teams’ overall motivation to do better.

Commend and reward employees for their dedication, originality, and valuable contributions to the team. This way employees will feel valued and driven.

Even small actions like expressing a simple thanks, giving public acknowledgment, or presenting a reward can go a long way in boosting employees’ motivation and satisfaction.

5 - Build Trust and Autonomy

A healthy working environment requires a high level of trust. Leaders can foster that trust and boost employee satisfaction by offering their team members the freedom to make some levels of independent decisions. This helps the team be more engaged and responsible in their roles. If they succeed in their duties, it brings greater satisfaction.

Leaders should, therefore, allocate tasks and offer necessary support, while also giving employees some level of autonomy and freedom to perform their jobs devoid of micromanagement. Micromanagement can lower employee morale and productivity.

6 - Facilitate Healthy Work-Life Balance

Leaders who place a high priority on work-life balance demonstrate that they care about the welfare of their employees and team members.

A healthy work-life balance is characterized by fair working hours, flexible schedules, and quality personal time outside of the office.

Leaders can set a positive example by taking time off, going on holidays, and taking better care of themselves. Studies have shown that a healthy work-life balance leads to higher job satisfaction, while also promoting healthy families and personal lives.

An individual who lacks a healthy work-life balance has more work and home obligations, works longer hours, lacks personal time, and is more stressed and unsatisfied in the work that they do.

7 - Foster Collaboration

Managers who foster a collaborative workplace encourage staff members to cooperate, exchange ideas, and contribute to the success of the team.

Collaboration promotes a sense of community, sparks imagination, and boosts job satisfaction.

Leaders can promote collaboration through team-building exercises, open lines of communication, and the creation of opportunities for cross-functional initiatives.

8 - Employees Involvement and Participation

Many employees are unsatisfied and search for alternative employment options simply because they feel they have no opportunities at all to voice their thoughts and make their contributions known and heard within their existing company.

Leaders should allow employees to give their opinions freely on matters that affect their work and participate in relevant discussions and plans about the business. This could be done through company meetings, committees, bootcamps, and so on.

Employees feel more valued, loyal, and satisfied when they are involved and participate directly in some of the decision-making processes. It also helps decrease employee churn by making everything transparent and clear for all.

Business leaders benefit by getting new insights, angles, and approaches to issues from staff they might not have otherwise thought about. Leaders can also leverage some of their employees’ ideas, experiences, expertise, and efforts to solve problems and make better, more inclusive decisions 

In Conclusion

Business leaders can considerably increase employee satisfaction and boost the business’ bottom line by prioritizing good leadership and honing their own qualities that make them good leaders, including good communication, trust, and work-life-balance.

By recognizing accomplishments, promoting work-life balance, encouraging collaboration, setting clear goals and directions, and more, leaders can motivate their team, increase productivity, and foster a culture of success in the business.

Remember, your company performs when your people do.