They keys to being the leader that you need to be lie within yourself and identifying them and honing them. You must know about leadership in order to properly be an efficient leader. So, utilize the following tips for your next venture in which leadership is calling your name.
Use a mentor. Find someone whose leadership skills you trust, and model your behavior after theirs. Watch them for a while, and get an idea of how they lead and what makes them a good leader. You don’t want to mimic them completely, but find what works about their style and incorporate it into a style that works for you.
Be confident in a decision before you share it with others. If you look indecisive, that will cause those beneath you to be indecisive as well. Not only that, but indecision causes others to be able to try to take your position. Instead, deliberate in private before you make any announcements.
Always remember that a great leader builds up and does not need to tear down. Do not be overly critical of those on your team. Be quick to give commendation, praise and recognition. Even when people fail, commend the effort and inspire them to get up and try again to succeed.
Don’t make the mistake of ordering people around. That is not true leadership. The key to true leadership is to inspire those around you. You need to help them find their own voices, so that they can go on to lead others. The entire journey they take with you is about their ability to know themselves better.
Consider holding monthly contests among your employees. These contests can be based on the most sales, the best customer service or a variety of things. The prizes for the contests can be something as simple as a preferred parking place or as extravagant as an additional paid day off.
Being a leader means taking action. It doesn’t matter how many good ideas you have if all they ever do is take up space in your head. Develop a plan and put your idea into action. Focus on the outcome you would like to achieve and focus your energy on making it happen.
Don’t fear failing. Failing is something that many great leaders have done, and it has only spurred them on to greater victories. If you fear failure, you may be afraid to act boldly, which is the only way for a leader to act. If you fail at something, use it to help you change directions.
Reward great work. It may be tempting to be a slave to the bottom line, but you’d be amazed what a few rewards can do to help productivity. These rewards don’t have to be big. A bagel breakfast or gift certificates for a team work quite well. The gesture shows that you care, and good leaders really do.
In order to be an effective leader, you need to stay in touch with your emotions. Do not allow yourself to make any of your positive traits turn negative. For example, if you are normally a very confident leader, do not allow added pressure to turn you into someone that is overly arrogant.
Make it a daily goal to spend time reviewing how progress is being made. It is a good idea to bring team members in for input. They can make suggestions, talk about changes, and you can also make some friends during this process.
Get to know the truly talented performers underneath you. Great employees are hard to come by, and harder to keep. Learn what their personal ambitions are in life. The more you are able to synergize their dreams with your business’ goals, the longer you can retain them and their productivity.
Finish what you start. Don’t be the kind of business leader that is always giving motivational speeches. Whenever you have a realistic chance of closing out the execution of a stated goal, personally see that it gets done. That will tell colleagues and clients that you mean business. It also sets the bar for what you expect of those under you.
Caring for others is the heart of great leadership. A leader should never look down on others or view followers as a tool to be used to get results. A true leader never has to bully others to get results. Genuine concern about the welfare of others leads to trust, the foundation of loyalty.
As a leader it is your responsibility to identify the highest performing workers and ensure that the company retains their valuable talents. Look for ways to reward their performance. This can take the form of additional compensation, a bonus, special recognition or additional freedom or responsibilities in their daily work.
Nurture growth in your team members. You can do this by offering help and solutions when they make a mistake instead of punishments. Understand that everyone makes mistakes, and show your workers where they went wrong when they make one. A great team is not hired, it is built through teamwork.
Keep all your professional promises. If you are a leader, you need to stay true to your word. If you are not able to keep your word, you need to tell your team and explain why. Not keeping your promises or making changes to what your plans were will make it to where people don’t respect what you’re doing unless there’s a good reason.
Maintain a positive attitude. As the leader, you set the tone for your business. You need to make sure that the tone you set is one of possibilities, positivity and patience. Always encourage those under you to think in terms of the solution and not the problem, so that they too can keep an air of positivity as they go about their work.
Leadership is not only something each person is born with but skills that must be attained and skills that must be honed. You don’t want to ever think that you have it all down. Instead, practice what has been given to you, and always look for other things that can help you.