In today’s world, good leaders are needed in every industry imaginable. Whether you’re managing a vast number of teams across multiple locations or working with a small, tight-knit team in the same office, good leadership qualities can help you become better at your job, gain more respect, and achieve exceptional results. Here are eight things that you can start doing today to become a better leader.
#1. Educate Yourself
Nobody wants to look up to a leader who isn’t educated on the subject matter that they work with on a daily basis. Good leaders are always one step ahead of their team, so they know that they are prepared to help with any questions that need answering. Be proactive with learning new things and improving your education, whether it’s learning more about your job role, brand, industry, or even leadership education such as this EDD in Organizational Learning.
#2. Practice Gratitude
The best leaders understand that they would never be able to be where they are today without the support of their team. In any industry, good leaders are almost always the ones who take the time to thank every employee for their help and make their appreciation known.
#3. Support Others
As a leader, it’s not just your job to oversee processes, but also to support others in reaching their own goals. Leaders in business have a unique opportunity to not only support their team members in achieving work-related goals but also with their own personal goals for life. A good leader can empathize with anybody who is trying to reach their full potential and will always support them in doing so, whether it’s helping with additional on-the-job training or allowing employees to take time off to study, for example.
#4. Be a Better Listener
Whilst weak and ineffective managers often make the mistake of believing that it’s their job to bark the orders and tell everybody what to do, strong leaders know that every conversation should be a two-way street. Whilst there will always be times where you’ll need to give instructions to somebody, you should always be willing to accept good or bad feedback on your leadership and lend a listening ear to any team members who have issues to discuss. Leaders who listen to concerns and act upon them tend to be the most respected.
#5. Teach and Mentor
Good leaders are rarely people who keep all their knowledge to themselves. Instead, they completely understand the value of providing mentorship and guidance to those who they see potential in. The best leaders know that in achieving their own goals and objectives for their career, they have been given the power to teach others to do the same. Whether you spend your time attending networking events to meet potential new mentees or invest time into helping your work team learn new things, one of the first steps to becoming a better leader is sharing your expertise.
#6. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses
A leader who is unaware of their own strengths and weaknesses is unlikely to succeed as well as one who knows which tasks they will be good at, and which ones to hand off to somebody else. Good leaders set a shining example when it comes to delegating and are not afraid of admitting that they’re not experienced with something. However, it’s also important to conduct research and build strong working relationships, so that you know exactly who to call on if you need assistance. Today’s strongest leaders may be very intelligent people, but they know that even they don’t possess the ability to be the best at everything.
#7. Build Strong Relationships
Getting to know their team, asking personal questions, and sharing information about themselves is something that many great leaders do on a regular basis. Getting to know your team on a more personal level will help you to facilitate stronger relationships with them and enable you to better understand and relate to them.
#8. Give Positive Feedback
Lastly, and often the most important, one of the biggest character traits of an effective leader is that they are very forthcoming with positive feedback, whilst at the same time being slow to criticize. Although it may sometimes be essential for you to mention to a team member if you think that they could be doing something better, it’s vital to take their hard work into account and offer encouragement and praise for what they have done so far. Many employees in today’s young and up-coming companies need constant encouragement at times when workers are overwhelmed with tasks and have little time to complete them. Recognizing the work that your team is putting in and celebrating their achievements should be a top priority.
In every industry across the globe, good leaders are the people who make new ideas happen and inspire others to be the best version of themselves.
