Leading Others

What does "Leading Others" mean?

Develop interpersonal skills and influence as you work alongside your leadership partners and guide immediate teams.

Articles

When the Same Issue Keeps Coming Up: What’s Really Going On?
Do you have an employee who keeps coming to you with the same concern—again and again—and you're wondering, "Didn’t we already resolve this?" If so, you’re not alone. Many leaders experience these recurring conversations and may find them perplexing, frustrating, or even exhausting.

Building Relationships
Great teams aren’t just efficient or skillful – they get along! They can rely on each other. On a great team, collaboration happens naturally, and meetings are actually productive. Your projects will be more successful when you learn about your team’s strengths and interests.

Conflict Management
Good conflict management requires respect, responsibility, and communication from all those involved. If you’re in a managerial role, it’s your job to exemplify those traits, hold others accountable to a professional standard, and make sure others follow all applicable statewide and agency policies.

Fostering Employee Motivation and Engagement
The goals we set as leaders in public service are far too great to be achieved alone. It takes enthusiastic participation from our teams and colleagues to be truly successful.

Managing Change
We know that change raises a lot of questions, and the best way to manage is to provide answers. Providing answers can be easy when we’re working in small groups or with familiar teams; however, things aren’t so simple when responding to an entire agency.

Onboarding
Onboarding is one of the first steps toward building a successful team, so it’s important you start off on the right foot! Between paperwork, software, tours of the office, and learning new names and faces, the first day on the job is overloaded with information.

Performance Feedback
Providing performance feedback means having a direct, clear, and respectful conversation about professional progress. These conversations are opportunities to celebrate wins, address issues, and set short- and long-term expectations.

Psychological Safety
As public servants, our work can be difficult. Our jobs require an immense amount of dedication, and it’s normal to feel stressed about work from time to time. Creating a safe space for teams means being understanding, flexible, and knowing when to step in to help a teammate carry their load.

Thinking Strategically
Strategic thinking is often described as something instinctual or unteachable. That’s not true. You can learn to think differently, and you can start with the knowledge you already have.

Participatory Leadership
Many leaders earned their role by demonstrating their ability to solve problems and deliver results. It’s a common misperception that in a leadership role you need to exert this even more by having all the answers and making decisions all on your own.

Servant Leadership
Public servants answer to a higher calling of responsibility. We are motivated by community, empathy, and justice. We have accepted this grand obligation, and we seek outcomes that have the most benefit to the well-being of Minnesotans.

Influencing Others
Influence is about inspiration and empowerment. Your influence is meant to support the progress of others. When you actively seek to influence others in the workplace, you become a catalyst for growth, collaboration, and innovation.