“I can’t get my team to cooperate.”

“I’m losing my best people, and I don’t know why.”

“I spend more time correcting than I do directing.”

“My team members are just not engaged in their work.”

“They just don’t listen to me.”

These are the lamentations of a frustrated manager.

Those who aspire to be in corporate management often think of it in terms of numbers – a lucrative salary, the chance to influence a greater number of people, and the ability to create a higher profit for the company.

What they don’t realize fully is the impact of one key factor in all those numbers, and that is the need for a cohesive team to make it happen.

If you have been in management for more than a week or two, you know that you will be dealing with people issues more than any other single issue. And so, as a manager, you must become a student of people.

One of the best ways to resolve a “people” issue is to ask one simple question: “Why?”

Let’s revisit the lamentation list again, but this time, let’s look at it within the framework of “Why”.

• Why doesn’t your team cooperate?
• Why are you losing your best employees?
• Why are you having to correct so much?
• Why are your team members not engaged in their work?
• Why aren’t they listening?

When you ask, “Why?” it begins to help develop a solution.

Why you are losing your best employees, for example, may have nothing to do with a pay increase being offered at another job. It may be they no longer feel valued in the job they have.

Why are your team members not engaged in their work? It could be they are not being challenged and are not given opportunities to let their strengths shine in their work.

Why are you having to correct more than direct? This is likely a reflection of a need for training and setting very clear expectations.

But THE bottom-line why in all of this boils down to one word: LEADERSHIP.

It is not a matter of management; it is a matter of leadership. Leadership is a big step from simply managing, but it is a very important one. To be an effective manager, you must lead.

Begin to frame your position around the idea of being the right leader for your team, and your team will positively respond.

We have prepared a new (and complementary) e-book just for you. It is full of practical tips you can use, starting today, to help you as you lead your team. It will inspire you as you seek to move from being a frustrated manager to becoming a high-performing leader. And…remember those numbers? Those come as a welcome side effect to being a high-performing leader.

Click the image below to get your complementary copy today.