Key Areas to Focus on To Make Yourself a Better Leader
Everyone wishes to grow in their career and become a leader. Some are born leaders, and some are trained. However, the best training is self-training, which involves understanding how to become a better leader and introspection to determine which areas to focus on to improve and lead better.
A leader must maintain focus, set common causes, work under pressure, control their feelings, be an individual others wish to emulate, take the hard route, and get others to rally behind them. Equally important is understanding your team and having empathy.
Research published in August 2017 by Harvard University showed that gaining leadership positions is more important to people than ever before. 61% of Gen Y survey respondents sought leadership positions, compared to 57% of Gen X respondents.
So, what are some ways to become a good leader? This article will cover the qualities needed and tips for achieving them. By pursuing these simple tips, you can hone your capability to lead others.
Sell Yourself as a Leader
Looks bad? Sounds like a door-to-door salesman talking and not a successful leader. Well, let’s be practical; life is all about selling.
When a hungry baby cries, it’s the baby’s sales pitch to get milk or food. When a CEO tells you about the greatness of the company and the vision to be better than all competitors, it’s a sales pitch to drive you to respect and achieve the targets.
So, well, you must sell yourself as a leader by proving that you are a good leader.
(You may also like to read the article about Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership.)
Embrace Positivity and Composure
Leadership often entails facing both support and opposition. Supporters will welcome what you say and want to do, while others might oppose. In such situations, it is essential for you to embody a ‘glass-half-full’ approach, maintaining your composure in the face of criticism or resistance. Keeping a positive outlook helps maintain your morale and assures your team of your confidence and stability.
Transparency and Openness
The foundation of selling yourself as a leader lies in transparency and openness. Be open with your critics about your ideas and strategies. Transparency fosters trust, and being forthcoming about your vision and goals will instill confidence in your leadership abilities. It also invites constructive feedback to help you refine your strategies and grow as a leader.
Encouraging Constructive Debate
Encouraging debate and discussion is a crucial part of leadership. It allows diverse perspectives to surface, leading to well-rounded and inclusive decision-making. Encourage team members to voice their opinions and ask for suggestions on making progress. This type of participative leadership helps make more informed decisions and makes your team members feel valued and involved, which can increase their commitment and motivation.
Showcasing Competence and Credibility
To sell yourself as a leader, it’s essential to demonstrate your competence and credibility. You can do this by showcasing your knowledge, skills, and experience. By making informed decisions, meeting your commitments, and delivering results, you prove your capabilities to your team and stakeholders. Consistent performance and reliability can help in earning their trust and support.
Exemplify the Values You Champion
As a leader, you are not just selling your skills or strategies but also the values you stand for. By exemplifying the values, you champion, you can influence your team to adopt these values and create a shared culture. Whether it’s integrity, innovation, or inclusivity, consistently living these values shows your leadership authenticity and can greatly enhance your influence.
Remember, selling yourself as a leader is not a one-time task but a continuous process. It involves consistent performance, ongoing learning, open communication, and genuine engagement with your team. Each step you take in this direction will help solidify your position as a leader and gain the trust and respect of your team and stakeholders.
Let’s delve into the most important qualities for good leadership and discuss all the important areas to focus on to become better leaders in the following sections:
Show Confidence
A confident leader makes people want to follow, and a leader’s confidence makes a confident team. Showing confidence as a leader is crucial while remaining open to continuous improvement and learning. Let’s dive deeper into it:
Embrace Self-Assuredness
Being a leader is rewarding but involves its fair share of scrutiny. It’s crucial to be prepared for this in advance. As a leader, you need to be secure in your identity and feel good about yourself. Confidence begins internally with the ability to believe in yourself. Reassure yourself that you’re on the right path and that you’re capable of handling the tasks ahead. This self-assuredness will help maintain your mental well-being and positively influence your team’s perception of you.
Handle Criticism with Grace
While confidence is crucial, it shouldn’t become a shield against criticism. Don’t let criticism deter you from leading, but don’t let your confidence blind you to good ideas. As a leader, it’s important to welcome constructive feedback and use it as an opportunity for growth. Doing so will foster an environment of open communication and mutual respect within your team.
Emphasize Measurable Progress
Break every medium to long-term strategy into smaller, measurable milestones. This approach makes large goals more manageable and provides more opportunities to demonstrate success and progress, boosting both your confidence and your team’s morale. After completing each milestone, take time to reflect on what could have been done better and celebrate the successes you achieved.
Show Commitment to Continuous Improvement
A good leader is not complacent. Even as you exude confidence, staying humble and recognizing that there’s always room for improvement is important. Regularly reflect on your leadership practices and seek feedback from your team. By openly pursuing continuous improvement, you show others your commitment to becoming a better leader, which is a sure way to gain respect.
Confidence through Competence
Remember, confidence isn’t just about feeling good about yourself. It also comes from competence. Invest in your skills, stay informed about industry trends, and make decisions based on careful thought and research. When you know your stuff, projecting genuine confidence is much easier.
Let’s delve into the most important qualities of a true leader and discuss those in detail in the following sections:
Effective Communication
Effective communication is the foundation stone for becoming a better leader. Some people confuse communication with the combination of knowledge and speaking about it. However, the art of effective communication goes much deeper than that. Following are the areas to focus for improving communication skills:
Clarity and Conciseness
Effective communication begins with clarity. Leaders must ensure their messages, whether it’s the organization’s vision, project objectives, or feedback, are clear and concise. Conveying your thoughts precisely reduces the chances of misinterpretation and keeps everyone on the same page.
Active Listening
Communication isn’t just about talking but also about effective listening skills. Active listening involves hearing what others say and understanding and considering their perspectives. This fosters a sense of mutual respect and understanding within the team, and it can also provide valuable insights for decision-making and problem-solving.
Open and Regular Communication
Leaders should strive to maintain open lines of communication with their team, providing regular updates and feedback. This keeps everyone informed and builds a culture of transparency and trust. Encourage your team to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas and ensure they feel heard and understood.
Constructive Feedback
Providing constructive feedback is a vital part of effective communication. Leaders should offer feedback that helps team members grow and improve their performance rather than focusing solely on negatives. Feedback should be specific, actionable, and delivered with respect and a focus on the future.
Non-Verbal Communication
Remember, communication isn’t just verbal. Non-verbal cues, such as body language and tone of voice, can also significantly impact your message. Leaders should be aware of their non-verbal communication to ensure it aligns with their spoken words and intended message.
Emotional Intelligence
Lastly, effective communication involves emotional intelligence. Understanding and managing your emotions and being attuned to those of others allows for more empathetic and effective communication. It also fosters a more positive and productive work environment.
In summary, effective communication in leadership is a multifaceted skill. It’s about ensuring clarity, practicing active listening, maintaining open and regular communication, providing constructive feedback, being mindful of non-verbal cues, and employing emotional intelligence. Developing these aspects can significantly enhance your leadership capabilities.
Inspire and Motivate
Inspiration and motivation are integral elements of effective leadership. While the technical competencies of a leader are important, the ability to inspire and motivate truly sets exceptional leaders apart.
Leaders ignite passion, purpose, and creativity by inspiring others, paving the way for innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. They paint a compelling vision of the future, resonating deeply with the aspirations of their followers.
Conversely, motivation propels individuals to action, ensuring that the inspired vision is translated into tangible outcomes. Motivated teams are more productive, resilient, and committed to their goals, leading to higher achievement and organizational success.
The twin powers of inspiration and motivation serve as catalysts, driving individuals and teams to excel beyond their perceived limits.
Create a Compelling Vision
A compelling vision can be a powerful motivator. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to provide a clear vision with which your team can align. This vision should be inspiring, purpose-driven, and directly linked to your organization’s values. You can inspire your team to achieve it by providing a clear destination.
Foster a Positive Environment
The environment in which your team operates significantly influences their motivation. A supportive work environment inspires creativity, dedication, and cooperation. As a leader, strive to cultivate such an environment where each team member feels valued, heard, and encouraged.
Show Genuine Appreciation
Recognition and appreciation can be potent motivators. Acknowledge each team member’s hard work and celebrate their accomplishments. This not only boosts their morale but also encourages continued high performance.
Empower Your Team
Empowerment is another key factor in motivation. When team members feel empowered, they are more likely to take ownership of their work, display initiative, and commit to their roles. Delegate meaningful tasks, trust their abilities, and give them the resources and support they need to succeed.
Lead by Example
Inspiration often comes from seeing others accomplish great things. Therefore, leading by example is a crucial aspect of inspiring your team. Showcase the behaviors, attitudes, and values you wish to instill in your team. Your actions should mirror the standards you set for them.
Provide Growth Opportunities
Most people are motivated by the prospect of personal growth and advancement. Providing opportunities for professional development can inspire your team to improve and reach their full potential continually. This could include offering training, mentoring, or opportunities to take on more challenging tasks or roles.
In essence, inspiring and motivating your team as a leader involves creating a compelling vision, fostering a positive environment, showing genuine appreciation, empowering your team, leading by example, and providing growth opportunities. It’s about creating an environment where people feel driven to do their best and grow personally and professionally.
Delegate Wisely
We all talk about the importance of delegating responsibilities; however, it’s not just about delegation, but it is delegating wisely, which is a crucial leadership skill.
Understand Your Team’s Strengths and Weaknesses
To delegate wisely, you must first understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team members. This requires observing their performance, discussing their interests and skills, and assessing their potential for various tasks. By matching tasks with the right individuals, you can maximize efficiency and satisfaction within your team.
Clear Task Assignment
When delegating, be clear about the task, why it’s important, when it needs to be completed, and the expected results. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and ensures everyone is on the same page. Provide the necessary resources and support to complete the task.
Empowerment through Trust
Delegation isn’t just about assigning tasks; it’s about showing trust in your team members’ abilities. When you delegate tasks, communicate your confidence in their capabilities to handle the responsibility. This can boost their self-esteem, engagement, and motivation to succeed.
Provide Opportunities for Growth
Delegate tasks that provide opportunities for your team members to learn new skills to take on new challenges, and grow in their roles. Delegating tasks slightly beyond a team member’s current skill level can encourage them to stretch and improve, provided they are given the necessary support.
Maintain Accountability
Even when delegating tasks, it’s essential to maintain accountability. This involves setting clear expectations, establishing deadlines, and conducting regular check-ins to track progress. If a task is not completed to the expected standard, work with the team members to understand the reasons and find solutions.
Foster Autonomy, Not Micromanagement
Successful delegation involves giving your team the autonomy to complete tasks in their own way. While it’s important to monitor progress and provide guidance, avoid micromanaging. Letting team members control their methods and processes fosters creativity, motivation, and ownership.
In sum, wise leadership delegation involves understanding your team’s strengths and weaknesses, clear task assignments, empowerment through trust, providing growth opportunities, maintaining accountability, and fostering autonomy rather than micromanagement. It’s a powerful way to drive productivity, team development, and satisfaction.
Empathy: An Essential Trait for Effective Leadership
Empathy is a cornerstone of effective leadership. It enables leaders to genuinely understand and appreciate their team members’ feelings, perspectives, and concerns.
When leaders demonstrate empathy, they foster an environment of trust and open communication, allowing for candid feedback and collaborative problem-solving.
By recognizing and validating the emotions of others, empathetic leaders enhance team morale, motivation, and loyalty.
Moreover, in an increasingly diverse and globalized world, an empathetic approach aids in navigating cultural and individual differences, ensuring that decisions are informed, inclusive, and equitable. Ultimately, leadership that lacks empathy is disconnected and short-sighted, while leadership grounded in empathy is transformative and enduring.
A caution here: one should clearly understand the difference between empathy and sympathy. S
sympathy involves concern or pity for someone’s situation, often from an outside perspective. Empathy, on the other hand, goes deeper by allowing one to emotionally connect and share in another person’s feelings.
Empathy is crucial for leadership because it helps leaders understand and connect with their team, fostering trust and collaboration.
However, sympathy, while well-meaning, can sometimes lead to a more distant and pitying approach. This pitying approach might prevent leaders from addressing issues effectively or making objective decisions. Sympathy also makes a leader more pitying than a helpful guide to the team members.
Understand and Acknowledge Emotions
Empathy begins with understanding the feelings of others and acknowledging their experiences. As a leader, take time to engage with your team individually, ask about their well-being, and show interest in their lives beyond work. Recognizing that each team member may face unique challenges helps foster a more supportive and inclusive work environment.
Listen to Them
We discussed the importance of listening under the point “Effective Communication” earlier in this article.
Active listening plays a vital role in empathy. By truly listening to your team members, you can better understand their perspectives, concerns, and motivations. This helps resolve conflicts, make more informed decisions, and show your team that you value their input.
Show Compassion and Support
Empathy involves not just understanding but also responding with compassion and support. If a team member faces a challenge, offer help and guidance where possible. Even small gestures of kindness can go a long way in creating a compassionate work culture.
Empathy in Decision-Making
Incorporate empathy into your decision-making process. Consider how your decisions may impact your team on both a professional and personal level. Demonstrating that you consider their interests can build trust and loyalty among your team members.
Cultivate Emotional Intelligence
Empathy is a key component of emotional intelligence, which involves recognizing and managing your own emotions and those of others. By developing your emotional intelligence, you can better empathize with your team and lead with more emotional sensitivity.
Foster an Empathetic Culture
Leadership sets the tone for the organizational culture. Demonstrating empathy encourages others in your team to do the same. An empathetic work culture promotes collaboration, trust, and respect among team members.
Empathy in leadership involves understanding and acknowledging emotions, active listening, showing compassion and support, incorporating empathy into decision-making, cultivating emotional intelligence, and fostering an empathetic work culture. These practices can help create a more harmonious and productive work environment.
Don’t Get Mad: Manage Emotions
Managing emotions is a crucial quality of a true leader. Some people misunderstand the management of emotion by confusing it with hiding emotions. A true leader never hides emotions but shows the right emotions to motivate the teams effectively. The following points explain it in detail:
Maintain Emotional Composure
One of the primary attributes of a true leader is the capability to manage feelings in all types of situations. Emotional outbursts, even caused by genuine pressures, may make others think you have problems handling certain scenarios.
Therefore, it’s crucial for leaders to maintain emotional composure, especially during challenging times. This sends a clear message to your team that you’re in control and can manage the situation effectively.
Embrace Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is an essential quality for any leader. Try to recognize how you react under different types of stress or psychological duress. The more aware you are of your triggers, the better equipped you’ll be to manage your emotions and prevent negative outbursts. Regular introspection, meditation, or even feedback from your team can enhance your self-awareness.
Master Emotional Regulation
Once you are aware of your reactions, the next step is to master emotional regulation. This involves recognizing your emotional triggers the moment they start and reacting neutrally and positively. Techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and cognitive reframing can help manage emotional responses effectively.
Foster a Positive Mindset
A positive mindset can help diffuse tension and prevent emotional outbursts. Stay optimistic and seek solutions rather than dwelling on problems. This approach helps maintain your composure and motivates your team to stay positive during challenging times.
Communicate Openly
Don’t bottle up your feelings if you’re feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. Instead, communicate openly with your team or a trusted colleague. Expressing your concerns constructively can help alleviate stress and foster a culture of open communication.
Practice Emotional Intelligence
Practicing emotional intelligence involves understanding and managing your own emotions and empathizing with the emotions of others. This can help you respond to stressful situations with more empathy and understanding, reducing the chances of emotional outbursts.
In conclusion, managing emotions, or the “Don’t Get Mad” aspect of leadership, involves maintaining emotional composure, embracing self-awareness, mastering emotional regulation, fostering a positive mindset, communicating openly, and practicing emotional intelligence. These practices will enhance your leadership capabilities and promote a healthier work environment.
No Full Stops for Learning
Learning should never end. The concept of “Continuous Learning” is a key characteristic of successful leadership and should be embraced for successful professional and personal growth:
Embrace a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset – the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed – is the foundation of continuous learning. As a leader, embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and encourage the same mindset within your team. Understand that failures and setbacks are not final but rather valuable lessons that lead to improvement and innovation.
Invest in Self-Development
Continuous learning involves consistently investing in your self-development. This could involve taking up professional development courses, attending workshops, reading books, or seeking mentorship. Regularly expanding your knowledge and skills enhances your leadership capabilities and keeps you adaptable in an ever-changing business landscape.
Learn from Your Team
Your team is a valuable source of learning. Engage with them regularly, welcome their ideas, and be open to their feedback. Each team member, with their unique perspectives and experiences, can offer insights that help you become a better leader.
Foster a Culture of Learning
As a leader, you can create an environment that values learning. Encourage your team members to pursue their professional development, provide learning resources and opportunities, and celebrate their learning achievements. A learning culture promotes innovation, adaptability, and continuous improvement within the team.
Stay Informed and Curious
In the age of rapid technological advancement and shifting market trends, staying informed is crucial. Keep up-to-date with industry news, emerging technologies, and changes within your field. Moreover, cultivate a sense of curiosity about new ideas and different ways of doing things.
Reflect on Your Leadership
Continuous learning also involves reflection. Take time to reflect on your leadership style, decisions, successes, and failures. Identifying what you did well and what needs improvement allows for self-awareness and growth as a leader.
In summary, “Continuous Learning” in leadership involves embracing a growth mindset, investing in self-development, learning from your team, fostering a learning culture, staying informed and curious, and reflecting on your leadership. These practices enhance your leadership capabilities and create a more adaptive and innovative team.
Manage Disagreements
Disagreements can not be avoided. Rather, disagreements “should” not be avoided because differences of opinion pave the way for new ideas and improvements for effectively managing the work and teams for continuous improvements. Here are a few points that add value to for becoming a better and more effective leader:
Embrace Conflicts as Opportunities
Conflicts are inevitable in any leadership role. Instead of avoiding or fearing confrontations, see them as opportunities for growth and innovation. Disagreements can lead to productive discussions, fostering a deeper understanding of various perspectives and generating creative solutions.
Practice Active Listening
During a confrontation, it’s crucial to practice active listening. This means hearing the other person’s words and truly understanding their perspective. Listening actively makes you more likely to uncover the core issues and develop mutually beneficial solutions.
Stay Objective and Open-minded
In the heat of a disagreement, it’s easy to become defensive or stuck in your viewpoint. However, effective leaders remain objective and open-minded. Consider the other person’s perspective and try to understand their reasons. This can lead to more productive conversations and a stronger relationship in the long run.
Foster Constructive Communication
Focus on fostering constructive communication during disagreements. This involves using respectful language, maintaining a calm demeanor, and focusing on the issue rather than the person. Constructive communication reduces defensiveness and encourages open dialogue.
Seek Common Ground
Identify points of agreement to serve as a foundation for resolution. Finding common ground can diffuse tension and pave the way for compromise. This shared understanding becomes the starting point for progressive and positive discussions.
Understand the Art of Negotiation
Mastering the art of negotiation is a critical aspect of leadership. Successful negotiation involves defining your goals, understanding the other party’s needs, and working towards a solution that benefits both sides. Remember, you will not always win, but effective negotiation can often lead to outcomes that satisfy all parties involved.
In summary, “Be Prepared to Battle” in leadership involves embracing conflicts as opportunities, practicing active listening, staying objective and open-minded, fostering constructive communication, seeking common ground, and understanding the art of negotiation. These strategies equip you with the necessary skills to manage confrontations effectively.
Ethics Go a Long Way: Ethical Decision Making
Ethics build trust, and trust makes leaders. “Ethical Decision-Making” is an important characteristic of effective leadership.
Understand Ethical Principles
The first step in ethical decision-making is understanding the principles guiding you and your organization. These may include honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, and transparency. Being clear on these principles helps you make decisions that align with your values and your organization’s.
Consider the Impact of Your Decisions
Every decision you make as a leader has potential impacts on various stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders, and the community. Therefore, ethical decision-making involves considering these impacts and minimizing harm while maximizing benefits.
Foster an Ethical Culture
As a leader, you have a crucial role in fostering an ethical culture within your team or organization. This involves setting an example with your behavior, promoting open dialogue about ethical issues, providing training on ethical practices, and implementing policies that encourage ethical conduct.
Deal with Ethical Dilemmas
Leaders often face ethical dilemmas, situations where there are conflicts between different ethical principles or values. When facing such dilemmas, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons, consult with others, and consider the long-term implications of your decision.
Be Accountable for Your Decisions
Part of ethical decision-making is taking responsibility for your decisions and their outcomes. If a decision has negative consequences, be prepared to acknowledge the mistake, take corrective action, and learn from the experience.
Encourage Ethical Behavior in Others
Lastly, ethical leaders encourage ethical behavior in others. This may involve recognizing and rewarding ethical conduct, addressing unethical behavior promptly and fairly, and providing opportunities for team members to discuss and learn about ethics.
In summary, “Ethical Decision-Making” in leadership involves understanding ethical principles, considering the impact of your decisions, fostering an ethical culture, dealing with ethical dilemmas, being accountable for your decisions, and encouraging ethical behavior in others. These practices help ensure that you lead with integrity and foster a culture of ethical conduct within your team or organization.
Don’t Get Stuck Up – Move Forward
A true leader does not let unfavorable situations become obstacles to moving forward to overcome those. The following are the crucial aspects of achieving the same:
Foster Resilience
Resilience, the ability to bounce back from setbacks, is a key leadership quality. If a situation isn’t working as expected, refocus your energy on finding a solution instead of dwelling on failure. Understand that setbacks are part of the journey and provide valuable lessons for growth and improvement.
Prioritize Effective Decision-Making
Leaders must make swift and effective decisions to prevent further setbacks when things aren’t working. Analyze the situation, gather the necessary data, and involve your team in decision-making. It’s important to avoid paralysis by analysis and move forward with the best decision based on the information available.
Cultivate a Culture of Adaptability
Create a culture that embraces change and encourages adaptability. If an individual or a strategy isn’t working productively under your leadership, it’s time to adapt and explore new approaches. Encourage this mindset within your team, fostering an environment where change isn’t feared but welcomed as a path to innovation.
Address Underperformance
Addressing underperformance or non-cooperation is a critical aspect of leadership. Have honest conversations with individuals who aren’t meeting expectations. Offer feedback, support, and the necessary resources to improve. If the situation doesn’t improve, you may need to make tough decisions for the good of the team and the organization.
Maintain Focus on the Vision
During challenging times, it’s crucial to maintain focus on your vision. Remind your team of the bigger picture and the goals you’re collectively working towards. This can help to re-energize the team and align their efforts towards the shared vision.
Encourage Team Cohesion
Persistent delays or challenges can demotivate a team. As a leader, it’s your job to foster cohesion and motivate the team. Acknowledge the difficulties, celebrate small wins along the way, and remind your team that their efforts are valued and appreciated.
In conclusion, an effective leader doesn’t get stuck when things don’t work out. Instead, they foster resilience, prioritize effective decision-making, cultivate a culture of adaptability, address underperformance, maintain focus on the vision, and encourage team cohesion. This ensures that the team moves forward, regardless of the challenges encountered.
However, at the end of the day, if you have to lead an individual who can’t work productively under your leadership, then you have to have the strength of character to move a situation forward in the way you want.
Persistent delays can kill a business, not to mention how demotivating they can be for the rest of a team or entire company. The show must go on, and either get your critics on board and behind you or tell them to jump aboard another bandwagon!
Conclusion
As mentioned at the beginning of these articles, not everyone is a born leader; however, that cannot prevent others from becoming great leaders if we put conscious efforts in that direction.
Some of us may get a chance to get trained as leaders. However, if we understand all the factors crucial for leadership and focus on the areas where we should improve, there is nothing to stop anyone from acquiring great leadership skills.
I hope this article will guide people who wonder what can make them better leaders. However, please note that it’s not like a puzzle we solve once and find the answer to how to do it the next time; it is a continuous journey to improve every day with our leadership qualities.
A long-term ex-pat in Japan, Himanshu comes with an IT background in SAP consulting, IT Business Development, and then running the country operations of an IT consulting multinational. Himanshu is the co-founder and Managing Director of ReachExt K.K. and EJable.com. He is also an Advisory Board Member of a Silicon Valley AI/IoT startup.