10 STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

by: Remie Longbrake | published: April 25, 2022

An effective leader is one who is able to handle the multiple responsibilities of strategizing, delegating, communicating, motivating, evaluating, providing feedback, and remaining flexible enough to change when change is needed.

A leader is a very expansive term with both professional and personal aspects. We all lead in our own environments, and who we lead is foremost ourselves. While there are leadership characteristics in family, when it comes to business leaders are the glue who provides guidance, expectations and drives the team to a successful outcome. They care about the group they’re leading and strive to make the team more cohesive to get results.

In the business world those results are typically directed by the CEO and/or shareholders. However, top down the results are driven my managers and ultimately the employees who day-to-day provide the flow to make the organization successful.

We as leaders have a huge impact on results. Here’s some valuable steps in increase your leadership ability to help make a difference for your objectives.

1. Clear communication

Having great communication skills can make quite the difference. When leading a team, communication means not only clearly conveying thoughts and plans for a project or the mission, but also practicing active listening and consideration for other’s input. Often employees don’t want judgement so you need to encourage interaction and involvement as much as possible.

2. Be committed

Impactful leaders needs a commitment to a goal. You’re never going to receive an employees best work if they’re not committed to the job, and that starts with you as a leader. Being committed to your team and inspiring commitment in them is a powerful leadership skill that each company needs.

3. Inspire and motivate others

Great leaders create a vision of the future that is vivid and compelling that motivates and inspires achievement. Most everybody wants to work for a company that makes a difference. As a leader, you are best able to help those on your team connect what they do to the impact it has on customers and communities as a whole.

4. Transact with authority

Great leaders communicate with their people often, and in a variety of different ways. They have sense of urgency and expect others in the organization to do the same. It’s not about being a dictator, but about being resolute and saying this is our cause and why.

5. See in advance

Leaders can see opportunity where others may not. This could derive from experience, but can also be from using data to comprise exceptions of future growth and possible obstacles. Obstacles could be internal, such as employee engagement and struggles in making sales. External factors could include market trends, competition, and political insight. The leader should act accordingly to the potential.

6. Having flexibility

Flexibility is a beneficial skill for anyone in the workforce to have, but it’s crucial when it comes to leadership abilities.

Life is unpredictable as is business. Being able to stay calm and change the plan when it’s needed is invaluable. Having the capability to manage the unexpected with new or altered plan of action can have an enormous positive impact on a team and results obtained. All businesses face challenges, those who survive do so because they were adaptable.

7. Being responsible

As a leader, it’s on you. Whether you are the CEO or the stock room. Each person is responsible for their part. Make the necessary commitments and step up to what is needed for the team to be successful. If the results don’t end up in the desired outcome then own up to that and make the needed changes.

8. Being helpful

To obtain a positive outcome, a leader should be helpful and encourage team work as much as possible. Help determine trouble areas and find a solution to get past it. Don’t dwell on the problems, but rather get past them. Listen to feedback, take notes and find solutions to get back on track.

9. Develop others

Just as they work to continuously develop and build their own technical and professional expertise, the best leaders set aside time (and money in their budgets) to develop their work force. They look for the most promising employees, and provide them with the training they need to become their company’s next generation of great leaders.

10. Develop yourself

A leaders work is never done. There should always be the next pursuit. This includes professionally to drive more results and personally to challenge yourself. And if you’re not pursuing betterment than your not leading as you should. Educate to improve your skills. This should include reading, studying trends, goal planning, and engagement with peers to continually grow and learn. Just like you would want your employees and continue their educational pursuits to help better themselves, a leader should set that example.