Flexible Leadership: How to Be Flexible to Lead Employee Morale | #LeadMorale

Flexible leadership is essential to lead employee morale. Rigid leaders and their strict ways turn off employees and shut out their ideas. The result is low morale. So, how can you be a more flexible leader? Here’s how!



Flexible Leadership: Image is flexible plastic straws.

Flexible Leadership: Be Flexible to Lead Employee Morale. Image by Old Photo Profile Horiavarlan

Image by Old Photo Profile Horiavarlan via Flickr Creative Commons License.


Flexible Leadership Actions That Lead Morale!

Many leaders don’t see themselves as very rigid. Some of these leaders are and some of them are not. Yet, when they review this list of flexible leadership actions, they can see how being flexible is essential to inspiring employees and leading morale.



Review this list and see how you can be a more flexible leader.

  1. Ask all employees for their input not just the most experienced ones or the ones you’ve known for a long time. Get to know them all.

  2. Call attention to employee talents not just skills. When you honor employee talents, employees are excited to contribute more.

  3. Understand the needs of new generations and what motivates them.

  4. Uncover your implicit bias to prevent dumping your biases on those you lead. Bias makes you rigid. Awareness helps you be flexible.

  5. Be able to reverse your decisions when appropriate and watch your employees’ respect for you grow.

  6. Tap new employees’ perspectives instead of limiting them to “learning how we do things here.” This inspires their morale from the start.

  7. Speak to them as equals not as subordinates. Traditional leadership creates hierarchy. Flexible leadership actions tell employees that everyone matters!

  8. Create psychological safety that allows them to speak up and disagree, even with you. Employees need to know there is no punishment for speaking up. You may think this is a ridiculous need. However, everyone is different. Be flexible.


  9. And these flexible leadership actions work too!

  10. Invite employees to take turns running a staff meeting their way. It not only boosts morale, it uncovers new ways to run meetings and develops their skills.

  11. Have the team of employees define high performance team behaviors instead of you giving them the list. This inspires them and builds buy-in.

  12. Question standard practices with the whole team. You lift their morale as you show them it’s good to question traditional ways of working and consider the possibilities of change.

  13. Adapt to their personality types. Many leaders expect employees to adapt to them because they are the leaders. Yet, in the end, everyone has to adapt to each other’s personality types for the best teamwork and results. That includes you, the leader!




  14. Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™ – Adapt to Personality Types


  15. Be willing to apologize to employees when you have insulted or hurt them. It not only sustains morale it also shows great integrity.

  16. Find interesting ways to make flexibility a daily goal. Ask employees for their ideas on this. Are there some visuals that would help?


The Extra Benefits of Being Flexible

There are extra benefits to you and your employees for being flexible. In addition to boosting morale, being flexible prepares everyone to easily deal with unexpected change. Flexibility becomes a finely tuned muscle that you can all use to be resilient in tough times. It is also a very desirable quality for most jobs today. Change is always going to happen. Employers want employees who can adapt easily!


Final Thoughts About Flexible Leadership Actions

Being a flexible leader does not mean you are whimsical and chaotic or spineless and indecisive. It means including and engaging employees more and dictating less. There may be times when certain decisions and requirements are firm. Just make sure that’s not the norm.




Flexible Leadership: Be open-minded not indecisive. ~ Kate Nasser

Flexible Leadership: Be open-minded not indecisive. ~ Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™




What Flexible Leadership Actions Would You Add to This List?



From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Posts:
Change of Direction is NOT Lack of Direction
Powerful Leadership Connections w/ Employees Start With the Courage to Be Open
Tough Leadership Moments: Are You Ready to Lead Morale?
People Skills to Lead Morale on Day One

©2021-2024 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.


Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.



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