What sets a leader apart from a supervisor? They may hold the same job title, but the role of a good leader extends far beyond supervising—leadership is less about delegating responsibilities, and more about inspiring and motivating one’s team.
At the City Engineers Association of Minnesota (CEAM) Annual Conference in January, Ali Timpone, human resources director for the City of Plymouth, presented her top 10 leadership techniques: real-world tools to enhance soft skills in the workplace. “Why [would] somebody want to work for you versus a different city or organization? It’s because of the leaders and managers,” Timpone said. “The more that you can set yourself apart as a good leader—and not just a good engineer or a good technical person—[the more it] is a competitive advantage for your organization.”
Here are five of Timpone’s practical tools to start implementing with your team today.
Identify your "main thing"
Leaders should have a “main thing” that they stand for and emphasize at work, Timpone said; integrity, safety, and teamwork are just a few examples. After identifying your main thing as an individual or brainstorming with your team, weave this value (or set of values) into your work and leadership style. To reinforce the idea with your staff, incorporate a physical reminder of your main thing, like a picture, trinket, or other item, into your work area.
Take job descriptions seriously
Job descriptions should inform everything from performance evaluations and hiring to promotional decisions, so it’s important to make them accurate and clear, Timpone said. She recommended building job descriptions with low essential qualifications in an effort to encourage the growth of future employees. “Try internships … different kinds of apprenticeships, pipelines,” she said. “Give people the beginning, and build them into future leaders.”
Job descriptions should be updated, or at least reviewed, on a regular basis. If you need assistance making your job descriptions more accurate, your organization’s HR department is there to help. If you don’t have access to HR, use AI tools for guidance, or shadow your staff to write the job description based on their work, Timpone suggested.
Hire courageously
Rather than simply trying to fill a previous employee’s shoes, look at every job opening as an opportunity to advance your organization to where you want it to be. “Each person that you hire says a lot about you, as a leader and a manager, and they shape the future of your organization,” Timpone said. “So we have to start thinking long-term about what this person will be like in 10 years, not what they will do next week.”
Only 11 percent of new hires fail because of their lack of technical competence—89 percent of failure is due to their inadequate soft skills. So, Timpone explained, it’s important to focus on the coachability, emotional intelligence, ability to learn, and customer service skills of potential new hires rather than technical competence or years of experience alone. To hire courageously, leaders should cast a wide net, interviewing as many people as possible; hire into more lower-level positions; use a representative panel of diverse perspectives; and ask open-ended interview questions that avoid hypotheticals.
Develop people
The best leaders are preparing others to take over their job, which requires getting to know their staff. “Get to know what they want, what their career goals are, what they’re good at, what they need to develop, and make it your mission to help them achieve those goals,” Timpone said.
Proper onboarding plays a large role in development and setting your team up for success; even if you hire someone with plenty of experience, there are likely many unwritten things for them to learn. Sharing information is another good way to develop your staff; if you tell them what you’re learning at higher levels, they will learn, grow, and become more interested.
Management by walking around (MBWA)
“If you’re the kind of manager that is in the trenches with your staff, you will build so much trust,” Timpone said. The goal of MBWA is to be familiar with your team, which increases your relatability and approachability. This concept is achieved over time through recurring touchpoints with your team; Timpone suggested holding one-on-one meetings at least once a month, job shadowing staff at least once a year, and checking in daily or multiple times per day—whether you’re working in-person or remotely. “Good leaders know where their staff is at all times,” Timpone said. “They know what they’re working on, they know what they’re struggling with. That’s one of the most important parts of being a supervisor.”