10 GO FOR IT GOALS FOR BETTER LEADERSHIP

by: Remie Longbrake | published: May 19, 2024

If you are in a position of leadership within your job, then it is generally a good idea to develop your skills within your role. This development process is important whether you are a natural leader or not. By being aware of areas that need development and seeking ways to build on your skills, you will be able to be a better leader for your team or employees alike.

People want to be employed by companies that will look after them, empower them to learn new skills and enable them to reach their full potential. And better leaders will also help to foster an enjoyable working atmosphere, where employees feel as though their efforts are valued.

Follow these steps below to culture better leadership

1. Become a more active listener

An effective leader needs to be able to do more than guide their team. They need to be able to listen to feedback and concerns that team members might have. Developing the skill of active listening can also mean that you can hear and take notice of suggestions or stumbling blocks which you hadn’t perhaps noticed before. Being an active listener will involve learning to interpret non-verbal cues as well as conversational skills, which will enable everyone to feel as though their viewpoints and opinions have been noted.

2. Become a better coach

Leaders should ideally also be coaches. They need to be able to tell their teams what to do but in a way that is encouraging and enables individuals to learn for themselves. By developing coaching skills, you will be ensuring that others can learn and progress while also meeting the targets that you set for them.

3. Develop great resilience

4. Give more effective feedback

There will be a number of occasions when you need to give feedback as a leader. This can be after a project has finished, during annual reviews or in general conversation when an opportunity arises for you to give praise and offer suggestions. It may seem easy to give feedback. After all, you’re just telling people what they did right or wrong. In reality, though, it’s much harder than it seems to give feedback which encourages and doesn’t lead to a drop in morale. This is why feedback skills should always be on the list of things to be developed and built upon.

5. Improve and optimize

When processes are optimized, it can mean that tasks are able to be completed more easily and in less time. This then enables businesses to consider expanding areas of their business further, perhaps taking time to engage with new clients or develop new products and services.

6. Be the example

Leaders should always aim to lead by example. Your team will be much more inclined to perform well if they feel as though their leaders are going to pitch in and pull their weight. It can be tempting, as a leader, to think that the best way to lead is by giving instructions and telling people what to do. While this is important, sometimes it is more beneficial for everyone if they can see what needs to be done in a visual way. By showing that you are willing to work as hard as your team members, you will be showing that you respect them and the work that you are expecting them to do.

7. Become a mentor

Essentially, a mentor is someone who teaches others the skills that they have developed throughout their career. They will share their knowledge and expertise with other individuals with the intention of enabling others to progress through their chosen career paths. Mentors are a valuable part of any business, and it is a particularly useful skill for a leader to have. By taking others under your wing and sharing the things that you have learned, you will show your team that you are able to see their potential.

8. Deliver bad new tastefully

One of the most important things that you will need to know how to do as a leader is how to give bad news. This could be in terms of general feedback or can relate to someone’s role within the company in general. In the worst case, you may need to tell someone that they are no longer going to be employed by your company. Knowing how to give this news tactfully can help to maintain relatively positive relationships with current and past employees. It can also help everyone involved to feel as though they are able to move forward in a productive way.

9. Accept personal responsibility

In the worst case, you may need to tell someone that they are no longer going to be employed by your company. Knowing how to give this news tactfully can help to maintain relatively positive relationships with current and past employees. It can also help everyone involved to feel as though they are able to move forward in a productive way.

10. Develop other leaders

For a company to be successful, it needs to have a constant flow of new blood bringing new ideas and practices to help keep things up to date. When a company doesn’t do this, its leadership is at risk of becoming stagnated and being out of touch. One of the very best things that a leader can do is learn how to identify individuals who are likely to become leaders in the future. They should also be willing to help develop leadership skills among these individuals so that they are able to step up to the challenge of a leadership role in the future.

In closing

One of the very best things that a leader can do is learn how to identify individuals who are likely to become leaders in the future. They should also be willing to help develop leadership skills among these individuals so that they are able to step up to the challenge of a leadership role in the future.