In order get the best out of your workforce, look to create an environment that:
Ensures employees understand the significance of their work
- Do employees understand how their job impacts customers?
- Do employees understand how their job impacts the success of the organization?
- Do employees feel valued?
Appreciates employee contributions
- Do leaders/managers show appreciation to their direct reports?
- Do leaders/managers treat direct reports with respect?
- Are employees fairly compensated for the work that they do?
Allows employees to build their competence
- Are employees’ skills and talents being used to their fullest potential?
I’m a firm believer that as a leader you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with great people (who are a good fit to your culture and environment) and you are on the road to success. Yet, I regularly see leaders who want to be the center of it all. They feel like they need to be the smartest ones in the room. Instead of sharing information, they withhold it thinking it gives them power. They let their egos and/or insecurities get in the way. They fail to invest in their team because they are afraid that that if their team members look too good, they will look bad (e.g., stupid, not knowledgeable, less skilled). As it turns out, they end up “looking bad” because the team isn’t as successful as it could be. And they only have themselves to blame. 
