A good leader cares about those surrounding him or her and helps them to succeed. A leader needs to make sure people are enabled so later on they’re able to lead too. Besides these skills, you must learn how to delegate responsibility and other key aspects of leadership.
Your staff are not psychics. Use precision in your communications and let people ask follow-up questions about assignments. If the instructions are not clear, make it clear that anyone can come talk to you about it.
Honesty is probably the most important leadership quality to have. If your team doesn’t trust you, they won’t work well for you either. Always be open and honest with your team. When people know they can trust and rely on you, they will grow to respect you as a leader.
Decisiveness is essential to being a great leader. As the leader, you will probably make the decisions. When multiple opinions are shared, you’ll have to choose which is the best for the project.
If you’re leading other people you should take the time to let them know what they mean to you. Just write them a quick note saying thank you for the hard work. That small acknowledgement can make their day and doesn’t cost a thing.
Do not engage in dishonest or untrustworthy behavior. In order to build trust as a leader, you must come through with your promises. If your claim is that your business has the best service for a particular category, then you need to communicate this to your employees so they know how best to give the best service.
You should schedule some time every day to go over just how well things are running at work. You could even ask a few members of your team to join you in this assessment. They can make suggestions and changes can be brainstormed.
Listen much more than you are motivated to talk. Leadership begins with listening. Listen to all of your employees. Listen to what they’re griping about and praising the company for. Listen to them so you can learn from the employees what they think about your products and the buyers, as well. There’s a lot you can learn from listening.
A leader demands integrity at all times. The two best ways to pragmatically practice integrity are to always speak the truth and do what is right, especially when you think no one’s watching you. You will not gain the trust of others if you have no integrity. Lead with integrity to instill trust, loyalty and respect in your team.
Don’t become obsessive with winning. In the Internet and technology age of today, it’s easy to break things down into stats and spreadsheets and goals. This helps you break down goals and measure progress. If you step back for a second and start focusing on making a culture of people being successful at work, winning will happen on its own.
Leaders must know the difference between what they are working on and what’s in their mind. The two have an inverse relationship. Focus on bringing what is in your mind to the surface when it’s time to take action. Try writing it down, so that you can focus on your current task.
Set a good example for your employees. A title isn’t everything. If you want people to come to work and be friendly while they work, then you have to show them that you’re doing it too. Everyone dislikes hypocrites. Stay respectful and you will be respected.
When you are a manager or a leader, it is up to you to guarantee the safety and comfort of those who work beneath you. Discomfort causes lack of motivation, so make sure that working conditions are comfortable. That may mean providing cold drinks during the summer, allowing break during difficult tasks, or listening to concerns.
Present yourself in a way that you’d like your employees to present themselves. When you display a fiery temperament, they probably will do the same. If you have dishonest or lazy tendencies, don’t be surprised if they show up in your team. If you treat your employees with respect, they’ll to do the same.
Team Member
Do not be so full of ego that you alienate your employees. While you are the true leader, it helps to see yourself as a team member as well. It’s not possible for you to take on every task alone. When it comes down to it, you are only as valuable as your team, which means that each team member must feel that he is a valued part of the team.
No one enjoys a bad leader. Now you know what behaviors to avoid and those that should be enhanced. A leadership role takes hard work, and you need to keep working on your skills. The choice is yours, so you need to make good decisions.
