Consider someone in your life who has influenced you positively as a leader. What characteristics did they have? How did they handle their responsibilities and tasks? And, most importantly, how did they make you feel about specific traits and habits that make a strong leader?
There are five key characteristics that can help you become a better leader and improve your leadership abilities.
A good leader requires great communication
Communicate openly and honestly with your team and the people you lead. When you speak, be particular, direct, and clear, but keep in mind that as a leader, listening is more important than talking and having back-and-forth. A monologue or directive is far less successful than a conversation. Staying physically present and engaged with your team will help you communicate.
Always make sure that your words are backed up by your actions. People will follow a leader who is trustworthy, credible, and open.
Forming bonds with the members of your team.
Building partnerships that will steer your team through problems and help them achieve long-term success requires connections. Keep the fact that people are more essential than stuff and tasks to be performed in the forefront of your mind. Take the time or make an appointment with a team member if they need to discuss something with you. Team members will stop coming to you if you're always too busy to communicate, and morale will deteriorate as a result. Get to know your coworkers outside of the office as well. What are their passions? What makes them tick? What and who matters to them?
Share about yourself too. When people know you care, they will be happier, more productive and responsive.
Always keep a positive attitude
As a leader, you must have a good attitude in order to keep your team and company motivated. Your contribution to the team's energy will be noticed and magnified. As a result, be sure to model the attitude you want your employees to have. Maintaining a positive attitude entails thinking and acting in ways that are supportive, encouraging, and hopeful. Consider issues as challenges to be met and overcome as a group. Mistakes and failures should be viewed as chances for team development and learning.
Being really optimistic necessitates that you take care of yourself as well. Allow yourself time to grieve, but make sure you exercise, eat well, and fuel your mind on a daily basis to stay balanced and energised. This will have a direct positive impact on your group.
A good leader will also create clear goals and set expectations
They effectively communicate their expectations so that each team member understands what they should strive for individually and collectively. Include your staff in the goal-setting process so they feel invested in the process and motivated to succeed. The goal should clearly state your company's or project's vision and allow for collective inspiration from all team members. Determine how others will react to the vision.
Goals should also be revisited on a frequent basis. This not only keeps the team on track, but it also allows you to recognise achievements and make modifications as needed.
Deliver constructive feedback
This may be one of the most challenging aspects of your role, but being capable of giving and receiving constructive feedback is crucial of being a good leade. Employees and team members need to know and in most cases want to know how they can improve and you need to provide the resources to help them with that. The goal of giving feedback is to empower your team members improve their performance and boost team engagement.
To be an effective leader, you must communicate honestly and frequently with your team, build genuine bonds with them, have a positive attitude, work together to set clear goals, and provide useful constructive feedback. Some of these abilities may come readily to you, while others will require work and improvement before becoming second nature. Every effort you make to improve your leadership skills will result in exponential growth for your company and each person you deal with.
A leader is also a good follower