Duuni Ryhmä is a group employed by Poikien Talo that is responsible to clean our space. Each year three young men are employed while one member of the previous team is hired to train the new members. The aims of the Duuni Ryhmä are to offer a supported work experience for those looking to enter or re-enter working life. Support is offered through monthly meetings, individual discussions, and educational opportunities that are hosted and provided by Poikien Talo. However, the most important element of support comes within the group as each group member supports the other.
The cornerstone of Duuni Ryhmä is the creation of a safe working culture where members can express themselves freely. Part of the way we attempt to achieve this is through sensitive leadership. Below Brandon, who has been a Duuni Ryhmä member and tutor shares his thoughts on how he sees leadership:
Brandon:
Howdy, I’m that Brandon guy who worked for Duuni ryhmä as a member and tutor. Looking out for people and their feelings has been a passion of sorts, and I’m a patient easy-going guy who likes to do my best and keeps promises and all. It’s not too hard to get into the swing of things. In Duuni ryhmä all got pretty focused on our tasks, and I made sure my fellow co-workers were doing alright and helped anywhere I could.
This made me appreciate teamwork and how it made me feel less pressure. I felt like things got done nicely.
Attributes of a Good Leader
An important part of good leadership is about being yourself and also being confident. This leads to something called genuine communication. Genuine communication allows team members to know that its okay to be yourself and that you can ask any question. It makes it easy for everyone to develop and grow their skills. When a leader expresses things in a genuine way team members feel they can share new ideas. Also, everyone gets a clearer picture of each other’s character.
As a leader, its important to keep learning. A leader should gain as much knowledge and experience as they can so they can give everyone the best information and advice. As a leader it’s also important to be open about new ideas and give them the space they need to learn and experience things in a focused manner. Related to this, remember as a leader you must be humble and acknowledge your own shortcomings. Its important to keep in mind that you can still improve. This makes you fit in with the team better.
Another important point is sensitive communication which is a way of being polite, friendly, being open minded and having patience. No one should feel threatened or uncomfortable especially due to being too strict, too blunt or just negative in the way you communicate. Sensitive communication achieves avoiding these things and instead solutions are found in a calm manner.
Listening and observing are skills that are essential for giving feedback honestly. Giving honest feedback, both positive and negative, is important to lead your team in the right direction. Giving negative feedback should be done carefully.
Remember to really listen, and to also take a moment to breath. Also take a moment for a break with the whole team, because it helps process information and creates cohesion and synergy in the group. This is really important. Leadership to me also means someone who works with the group, instead of someone who gives orders willy-nilly. It’s about getting to know everyone, understanding their way of working and knowing what their specific needs are.
Finally, and maybe most importantly one of the best things that you can do as a leader is understand the strength’s and interests of your team and team members and foster that passion. You can achieve this by having the attributes mentioned before and showing care, effort and expressing that you believe in each and everyone. You’ll start to notice an interest that may resonate with someone in the team. If you foster that interest that skill will boom for them!
And that’s my thoughts behind a good leader, Thanks for reading.
Brandon,
Duuni Ryhmä Member and Tutor.