Become a leader with these handy hints
Despite being a popular label, there aren’t many “natural”-born leaders out there. Leaders, managers and trailblazers – they all have one thing in common: they work hard for that title. Leadership doesn’t only come into play if you’re the CEO of a company; in fact many people have been leaders at some point in their life. Whether it’s parenting a family, captaining a sports team or managing a small team at work, the following leadership tips will be beneficial in your daily life.
Learn about yourself
What is your leadership style? To think about this consider how you’ve dealt with situations in the workplace, at home or with your family and note down your strengths and weaknesses in handling matters that arise, people and problem solving. For example, if you’re a “friendly boss” your employees might really like you but does that mean you won’t make hard decisions when necessary? Conversely, if you are the “strict boss”, your employees might respect but be afraid of you. By looking at your leadership style through this type of exercise it enables you to consider what your leadership style is, how you handle things and areas where you might be able to improve.
Be a role model
If you are going to talk the talk, you must walk the walk. To gain respect and faith in your abilities as a leader, you must exemplify the behaviours and characteristics you want from your team. Lead by example and this will encourage others to follow you.
Never stop learning
You should always think about how you can improve your leadership skills because while something may have worked well before, you don’t want to become stuck in your old ways. Always strive to stay ahead of the curve by talking to others, reading books and relevant leadership material (magazines and journals), attend seminars or take a course.
Passion is key
If you aren’t passionate then how can you expect the people you lead to be excited and inspired? If you seem apathetic then your team will be apathetic too. Let your enthusiasm be a source of inspiration.
Encourage contributions
Although you are the leader you can also learn from your team members. Nobody likes to be ignored so encourage everyone to contribute and have a say. Allowing this sort of creativity helps businesses and people thrive.
Show appreciation
A true leader knows success is a team effort. You led the team but everybody helped. Show genuine appreciation for people’s performances. While praise is great, give people real rewards whether it’s promotions at work or prizes for sports teams. It increases morale and motivates people.