Leader Feeder by Unique Training & Development

Congratulations, you just got promoted to be the supervisor of your work team, but how are you going to be successful in that new role? There are several challenges that face every new supervisor. Leading your former coworkers is one of them. After all, you used to work alongside them and commiserated with them, but […]

How can you use a shift start meeting to get your day off to a great start? Shift start meetings or toolbox meetings are a great opportunity for you to get the shift off to a good start and get your team members ready to contribute and achieve their goals. You’ve likely seen both less […]

Why should you focus your team on collaboration and not on competition? Some leaders believe that employees will perform better if they have rivalries with other teams. They will have things like crew of the month or employee of the month, really thinking that if they are competing against each other, it will bring out […]

How can you focus your team on winning the day? Most companies want to win, and most team members want to win – but they don’t have a clear idea of what winning each day means. They are just going through the methods and processes without knowing that what they do is making a significant difference […]

How do you resolve a conflict or a disagreement between two of your team members? Today, people have shorter fuses due to the underlying worry and anxiety that comes along with the COVID-19 situation. If people on your team are losing it too easily, it is probably because of that underlying anxiety. When two employees […]

What do the people you interact with on a regular basis need from you, and how can you strengthen those relationships? If you can build strong relationships with everyone you interact with, it will make it a lot easier to get things done. You will be able to get things you need more quickly and […]

When restrictions are reduced, will companies go back to in-person meetings and training sessions? Or will it stay virtual? Let’s examine the trend of e-books. In the e-book industry, they predicted that everyone would be reading them. But what happened? They certainly grew, but at the end of the day, they only represent a third […]

How should you shift your leadership approach to match what your team members need? Situational leadership is an adaptive leadership style. It encourages leaders to take stock of their team members, weigh the many variables in their workplace. And then they can choose the leadership style that best fits their goals and circumstances. Managers who […]

What is the full potential of your operation? Focus your team on their potential and set goals high enough for yourself, and your team. By setting high targets, you can motivate your team to excel beyond what they think possible. Here are three tips to help focus your team on their potential: 1. Identify the […]

How can you drive up results by focusing on your people? Interpersonal skills are an important quality that all successful leaders must have. This poses a big challenge for you as a front-line leader because chances are you were promoted based on your technical skills, not necessarily your interpersonal skills. Work on harnessing those personal […]

What do you value as a leader? People can tell what you value based on what you talk about, what you focus on, and what you spend your time on. It is the same within an organization. Your employees are paying attention to these things. Do your values reflect what you care about as a […]

How can you learn to lead with and embrace humanity? Do not forget the human side of human resources. You as a leader, have a lot to focus on, but what about the emotional needs of your team? “This person cared about me as a human being” – when you lead with humanity, it is […]

How do you deal with office politics? Some symptoms of office politics include, people having closed-door meetings–where they are talking about other people on the team–and people with cynical attitudes who gossip in a high-school way. Here are four tips for you to rise above office politics as a leader: 1. Avoid taking part. This […]

How do you influence the culture scores or employee survey results that your organization is gathering? It is tempting to look at employee surveys or culture scores as something that has nothing to do with you as a supervisor. However, the way that most employees judge the organization is very much influenced by their interactions […]

How can you support the diversity initiatives that your organization has? Diversity is an incredible asset because, when harnessed, it brings more ideas and backgrounds to your company, so the quality of ideas and talent within your organization increases. What do you do as a leader to embrace diversity? Here are three tips to help: […]

How can you embrace and recognize milestones? Many leaders, especially high achieving ones, tend to focus on the next milestone and do not recognize the importance of acknowledging current success. Use these three tips to acknowledge milestones with your team: Savor the moment. Celebrate, and feel the success that comes with it. Even sports teams […]

Does your team think that you do a good job of setting a good example for them? Think about a leader for whom you have worked, who you think of as being an exemplary demonstration of leading by example. Chances are you are going to think of someone who, when there was extra pressure and […]

Do you inspire initiative on your team? It is very tempting as a leader to say, “I wish my team would take greater initiative.” But what if you are sending signals that shut down your team’s sense of initiative? Here are three tips to inspire greater initiative on your team: 1. Avoid dismissing their ideas. […]

Could you be a micromanager? How can you stop it? Most people who are micromanagers do not know that they are micromanaging. They think they are being helpful. Here are three things you can do to empower your team and reduce micromanaging: Declare your intent to be helpful. Overtly declare that you want to be […]

Could you show your team more attention as a leader? About 100 years ago in the suburbs of Chicago, Hawthorne, Illinois, there was research being done at the Western Electric Company. That research has become known as the “Hawthorne Effect” and has since been quoted in many management texts. It explored the effect of increasing […]

How do you move your team from being dysfunctional to being successful? There are a few ways to do so and to be more successful. A lot of this advice is based on Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and his follow up book called The Advantage. Mr. Lencioni lays out the […]

How clear are you with your team about your expectations? From our book, Employees Not Doing What You Expect, the number one reason that employees do not meet your expectations is because they’re unclear about what you expect. Here are three tips to help them understand and meet your expectations consistently: 1. Clarify your expectations. […]

What kind of supervisor are you? There is a big difference between a supervisor that does the bare minimum and one that is determined to thrive as a leader. At Unique Development, we have seen both. We have trained thousands of leaders from companies in manufacturing, supply chain, logistics and warehousing and other operational environments. […]

Does emotion trump logic, or does logic trump emotion? If one of your team members is upset, frustrated, and emotional, should you talk to them rationally and logically? Even the most logical people tend to be more emotional than they would like to admit. You can make more of an emotional impact on your team […]

How do you put your leadership resolutions into action? Do you know which leadership lessons will help you make lasting change in your team? The reality is most people have ideas and aspirations, but they never build up enough traction to actually get started. They end up tossing their ideas aside before they even have […]