1. Let your staff actively participate in team and company goals. Look for every opportunity to include your employees at every level of the organization, in being active participants. Employees often report getting one-way directives instead.

2. Allow employees to suggest better ways of getting their jobs done. Ask each for suggestions for other ways of getting the task or project accomplished. Listen and be willing to really hear their comments. Team members often state that they have no input and are told exactly how to perform their jobs, leaving no creativity.

3. Provide positive reinforcement. Always listen and acknowledge your employees. They often report that their decisions and actions are second-guessed and that most, if not all, feedback given is negative.

4. Clearly delegate responsibility and give your employees authority along with the responsibility. Do you give inconsistent messages? Do you ask the employee to handle a problem or project and then give them negative feedback or give them an assignment and then say "never-mind?" Employees often say that they are given tasks and then told they did it wrong.

5. Be clear in your communication. When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the each individual on the team really understands what you are asking. I hear from line workers that the goals are unclear and that they are not sure what they are being asked to do.

6. Show you have trust in your employees. Allow them to make mistakes as a form of learning. Show that it is really ok to make mistakes. Let them know you really support their decisions. Otherwise, they fear that someone is always looking over their shoulder to make sure they do things right.

7. Listen. Listen. Listen. Do you do most of the talking? Employees tell me that conversations are one way, comprised mostly of their ideas being criticized. They don't feel they are heard.

8. Be interested in the career development of each team member. Meet with your staff and discover their goals and their wants. Workers often report that their goals are not viewed as important in the organization.

9. Let the employees help you achieve success. Are you doing it all yourself? Employees frequently indicate that their managers do all the tasks and that they have no way to make contributions outside their job descriptions. Look for opportunities to delegate and enhance the employees' career development at the same time.

10. Be a leader. The best way to lead employees is not to manage them. Show them success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Staff members often comment that their managers have them feeling like children rather than being on the same team with their bosses. Be their coach and lead the team to success!