- Learning how to be a good leader can greatly impact the success of your team, your organization, and yourself.
- To be an effective leader, you must understand your own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Great leaders connect with their team by facilitating open communication, encouraging employee growth and development, and giving and receiving feedback.
Anyone can sit in a corner office and delegate tasks, but there is more to effective leadership than that. Effective leaders have major impacts not only on the team members they manage but also on their company as a whole. Employees who work under great leaders tend to be happier, more productive, and more connected to their organization – and this has a ripple effect that reaches your business’ bottom line.
If you look around and see that your team members have become disengaged or stagnant in their work, it may be time to reassess and reform your strategies. According to Dana Brownlee, founder of Professionalism Mattersthe, following behaviors are signs that you may have a poor leadership strategy:
- No one on your team has criticized one of your ideas in the past month.
- You spend more time planning your own career progression than that of your team members.
- You haven’t had at least three completely non-work-related conversations with a team member weekly.
- Different team members would provide different answers if asked your top three priorities for the year.
- Team members are afraid to fail.
A recent study by the Center for Creative Leadership showed that roughly 38% to more than half of new leaders fail within their first 18 months. Leaders can avoid becoming part of this staggering statistic by incorporating good leadership strategies that motivate their team members to accomplish their goals.
1. Engage in honest, open communication.
One of the most important elements of effective leadership is creating an open line of communication with your team members. The founder of a big Web and Mobile Development Company in India, said that your own honesty and transparency should serve as an example for your team members.
“When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward,” he said. “Your company and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behavior as a key value, your team will follow.”
Brownlee added that great leaders are able to customize their interactions and communication styles to suit each situation and team member, based on individual preferences. “This means they take the time to figure out which communication mode is preferred by each team member – e.g., are they a text person, email, phone, or face-to-face? They’re also great listeners and are authentically interested in other people.”
Each team member may have a different communication style so it’s important to tailor your communication based on the individual.
2. Connect with your team members.
Leading a group of people requires a mutual sense of trust and understanding between the leader and their team members. To achieve this, leaders should learn to connect.
St. Marie, a leadership writer and consultant, said that being a “more human” leader requires positivity, purpose, empathy, compassion, humility and love. These key traits will put you on the road to genuine connections with the members of your team.
“Building a real, personal connection with your teammates is vital to developing the shared trust necessary to build a strong culture of accountability and exceptional performance”, St. Marie said. “With that culture in place, the team can achieve a successful business, a happy team and a fulfilled leader”.
To build a connection with each of your team members, focus on getting to know their personality, interests, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies and preferences. This can give you insight into their goals and motivations.
3. Encourage personal and professional growth.
Acting as your team’s cheerleader is an important part of being an effective leader. You should be invested in their success and growth.
Keri Ohlrich, the CEO of HR consulting company Abbracci Group, said that leaders should set aside a budget, if only a small one, to dedicate to the growth of their employees.
“With options as varied as on-demand, virtual [and] in-person options, there’s ample opportunity to continue learning new skills or further developing existing ones,” she said. “Empower your employees to take the time to learn and infuse that in the work they do.”
In addition to investing in your employees’ growth financially, you should invest emotionally.
To motivate and inspire employees, leadership strategy is about empowering others to do their best and take on new challenges. Employees like challenges and enjoy feeling the satisfaction of overcoming them. Whether it’s a tough client, a difficult sale, a hard situation or whatever the case, it’s always good to let them take on these challenges.
When leaders believe in their employees and give them the opportunity to learn and grow, they might be surprised to see how much they can accomplish. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks and encourage freedom and creativity.
4. Keep a positive attitude.
As much as leaders wish their team’s day-to-day operations could run smoothly all the time, they’re bound to run into the occasional obstacle. Whether it’s a minor miscommunication or a major error, the way you handle a negative situation says a lot about your leadership skills.
Robert Mann, author of The Measure of a Leader (iUniverse, 2013), recommended focusing on the good in any set of circumstances. “Look at three positive things about a problem before you identify what makes it dissatisfying. The more you look at the positives in a problem, the more positively people react with one another.”
Focusing on solutions, rather than problems, can help your team maintain positive engagement. A positive environment is more like
ly to create a more engaged and productive workforce. By displaying enthusiasm and confidence, a good leader will see the impact that they can have on their working environment.
5. Teach employees instead of giving orders.
An effective leader knows how to show others what is required, rather than simply telling them. Luke Iorio, president and CEO of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), said leaders should coach their team members toward a more collaborative, committed work environment – without coaxing them.
“[If you are] controlling people to do certain things in certain ways, you’re not going to get the level of engagement that you’re looking for,” he said. “Coaching is about helping the people you lead recognize the choices
they have in front of them. People will take a great deal of ownership over the direction of the project.”
As opposed to simply barking orders at team members, Rampton said that good leaders should encourage growth by teaching. “People wouldn’t grow if leaders never taught them anything. Leaders need to be teaching so they can grow new leaders to take their place.”
6. Set clear employee goals and expectations.
Setting clear goals and employee expectations for your team is key to employee success. When setting these objectives, encourage employee questions and feedback. Including them in the process can increase engagement.
Amish Shah, president of ALTR Created Diamonds, said that good leaders will also explain the company vision and how team member goals fit into that equation.
“For a leader to motivate and inspire, they need to keep their team in the know about their vision,” he said. “This helps employees understand the end result they’re working towards as a unit. When goals are clearly set, everyone can track progress and identify achievements in a tangible manner.”
Don’t let team member goals go static. Periodically revisit goals to modify or rearrange them as needed. This will let your team members know that you are present and aware of what they are working on.
7. Give direct feedback about performance.
Taso Du Val, CEO and founder of the Toptal freelance talent network, said direct, honest feedback – even if it’s criticism – is the best way to guide your team in the right direction. You also need to know exactly where your business is headed so you can give them the right advice.
“If you’re not direct, people won’t know what you truly think about them and their work, and they will never be able to improve,” Du Val said. “If you don’t know the precise direction your company is headed, no matter how much you’ve communicated to your employees and leadership team regarding their individual performance, they will flounder when it comes to making decisions and taking actions. Once those basic principles are in place, deadlines, regular product plans, performance reviews, structure and processes can easily be put into place.”
In addition to providing constructive feedback and performance reviews, highlight employee accomplishments. If a team member does something great, let them know. Celebrate their wins and thank them for their hard work.
“Positive recognition will create an environment of productivity,” said Shah. “Acknowledging successes by outlining how it impacts the business, rather than with vague pats on the back, is not only encouraging but also helps a person work better in the long run.”
8. Ask for feedback on your leadership.
Your team members aren’t the only ones who can benefit from honest feedback. A true self-assessment of your leadership can be difficult, so mentors, fellow professionals and even your own staff are invaluable in evaluating your effectiveness. Talking to friends and peers can give you a necessary perspective on your leadership style and approach.
Leadership coaching can also help you discover areas where you need improvement. A professional who helps you develop a plan to achieve your leadership goals can be more motivational than books and seminars alone.
Remember that being a good leader takes time. Although some individuals are naturally inclined to have good leadership skills, it is something anyone can learn and improve upon. With hard work, dedication and strategic planning, you can lead your team to success.
This post was originally published on https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4991-effective-leadership-skills.html
