Whatever stage you’re at in your career, leadership skills can help make you stand out. From taking the lead on internal projects to managing a task more efficiently, taking initiative even on a small scale shows you are capable and can get you recognition.
When you’ve taken a step up and you’re in a management role, making sure you understand the fundamentals of leadership helps you stay credible and effective. With this in mind, here are the 5 steps to better leadership courtesy of organisational development providers, Impact International.
Emotional awareness
Knowing how each member of your team is feeling can be a great asset to a good leader. Business functions on relationships, so you’ll need to learn emotional intelligence and be able to react to people’s views, backgrounds and their attitudes.
Accept new ideas
Becoming a leader doesn’t mean taking charge of every avenue. All of the greatest leaders listen to advice from their colleagues or those working for them. New ideas can come from the least likely places – so always stay receptive to ideas and contributions from any level.
Cut down on time wastage in meetings
Taking charge is about optimising the time spent at work – meaning both the time you and your colleagues spend on tasks. Nothing in business is as wasteful as a long meeting that involves a number of staff discussing a topic without a real outcome. To cut down on meeting wastage, you’ll need to do the following:
- Cut down on the amount of people in each meeting. More people equals a higher wage cost.
- Assign clear goals and outcomes of the meeting and make people aware before entering.
- During a meeting, ensure people don’t go off track.
- If you don’t need to be in said meeting, don’t be – you shouldn’t micromanage.
Build effective communication
Communication is the key to workplace efficiency. You’ll need to let colleagues know about projects on an ongoing basis. Establishing good communication where it didn’t exist previously is a great way to show you can lead on projects.
Lead by example
This couldn’t be any more important – in any workplace, leading by example is the best way to motivate the people around you and to establish yourself as a great leader. Nobody likes a boss who drags their heels or micromanages. Doing good work and helping other people builds respect, which is an invaluable tool. If you want to become a leader at work, or improve your position as a manager, leading by example is the most vital element. Don’t push people forward by standing behind them – pull them by leading from the front.
