How to be an Affirming Leader at Work

What exactly is an affirming leader at work? If you guessed that affirming leaders are positive people, you weren’t wrong. They are friendly, and generally easy to be around. Affirming leaders at work make themselves seem approachable to their team and interact with others in an easygoing manner. These leaders tend to be very upbeat, and usually work hard to create workplaces that are harmonious and caring, where everyone feels appreciated and respected. If you’ve been lucky enough to have a boss that was an affirming leader, you probably already called to mind some memorable experiences you had with them. That is because they are not your average manager, which is often forgettable. Whether you’ve been lucky enough to be led by an affirming leader at work or not, you can still become one yourself. Read on to find out how you can become an affirming leader.

For those that seek to become a leader at work, there are many attributes to consider as they develop. Whether you choose to use thought leadership, inclusive leadership, or strategic leadership, the details of each style, no matter how big or small, can significantly impact your success as a leader. Leadership styles can be like personalities, leaving the possibilities for growth as a leader endless. This may be why no two leaders you meet are the same. No matter your style, your leadership effectiveness is measured by your ability to lead an organization. Your strength depends on your ability to adapt quickly and intelligently in all situations. As you can see, there is an array of styles and details to consider as a professional when developing as a leader. Often, leaders have experience using several different leadership styles and switch them up depending on the circumstances and how to best accomplish the organization’s goals or implement change at that moment.

As you can see, it is important to continually evaluate one’s personal leadership style and discover the necessary tactics to navigate through effective leadership throughout your career. For the sake of this article, let’s focus more deeply on affirming leadership and learn how you can apply this style. One of the most important ways to become an affirming leader is to understand that creating a connection with each and every employee is imperative to this type of leadership style. For the affirming leader, finding new ways to connect with everyone on your team must be a daily goal to build relationships. One of the best ways to do this is to schedule weekly one-on-one meetings with each team member and then take notes when you meet. If you keep a leadership journal, this could be an ideal way for you to go back and read notes you may have written to keep these details fresh in your mind for each person. Many times, there may be a particular challenge someone is struggling with, and the best way to assist them with it is to provide regular and ongoing discussion and coaching moments. People usually appreciate having time to let ideas and changes settle in before deciding what is best. Often, if someone is unsure how to resolve their challenge if you allow them an opportunity to continue the discussion in a week at your next session, this will help them reflect and make better choices. Regular meetings allow you to be there to affirm them when they do.

An affirming leader uses empowerment and optimism to diffuse negativity when dealing with employee complaints. Complaining is often a common theme in the context of teams; some complaints are empty, and other complaints can be very fruitful to a team’s improvement. One team rule I find particularly helpful is ‘don’t complain about an issue without having a possible solution ready to follow the complaint.’ This rule doesn’t mean to ignore the issue. It instead helps to focus on resolving the issue through collaboration. Not only will this rule teach a team to be ready to come up with solutions to the problems they complain about, it is often a great segue into a powerful brainstorming session with a team to resolve an issue. One day Theresa, my team lead, walked into her one on one voicing a concern that the team’s productivity was not as high as it usually was, and she was tired of picking up the slack. When asked what could be done to fix the issue, Theresa said, “put the new guy back in training so the rest of us don’t have to constantly stop and fix the errors he makes.” I replied, ‘brilliant idea Theresa, I will look into that today.’ Instead of focusing on the negative side of her complaint, the solution was right at our fingertips, and Theresa felt heard and empowered.

An affirming leader motivates subordinates by utilizing their listening skills to create an atmosphere of two-way communication in order to gain commitment and loyalty. They fully understand that the people are the heartbeat of the organization and want to be the catalyst and facilitator who gives them all the skills they need to do their job well. Just as with any other leadership style, affirming leaders have weaknesses they should recognize and remedy. It is commonly said that common weaknesses of affirming leaders are that they lack structure and have trouble managing complex interactions. While it may seem evident that labeling weaknesses of a particular leadership style comes across more like stereotyping than anything else, don’t let that make you lose sight because a good and well-rounded leader of any style knows both their weaknesses and strengths. In terms of self-improvement, remember that strengths and weaknesses are formed and directly related to the personality traits, and experiences of the leader. That said, it is always a good idea to recognize your own weaknesses and continuously build strength in those areas. It is imperative to identify the characteristics of the affirming leadership style you choose and utilize all resources at your fingertips, including career coaching, workshops, improvement articles, and development conferences to assist in your success as an effective leader.

So, what does it mean to be an affirming leader? To be an affirming leader means you will strive to be a leader who is personable, fair, understanding, and reliable. You will be the leader who can get the job done, provide feedback, and encourage others to do their best at all times, especially in challenging situations. You will aim to be results driven in achieving the mission and goals of the organization you work for.  The support you take pride in will take various forms, like letting people know they are important each day; listening to find out about their aspirations and goals; and communicating with personal warmth and openness. To become an affirming leader might take some practice, but it is always worth your efforts, and someday your team will thank you for it.