A lot of people have a misconception that great leaders are born not made, but that’s just not really the case! Everyone can have the potential to be a great leader because leadership skills can be learned.
You might feel like it’s difficult, but really, it only takes some persistence, dedication, willingness to adjust, and of course, it does take some time. The tips in this article will help you understand simple things you can do to build your leadership skills.
Make Sure Your Desk Is Clean
It’s a fact that our work environment and workspace, in general, affect the quality of our work. Even something as simple as a messy desk has a negative impact on you. A cluttered desk may mean a cluttered mind. And nothing good comes from a cluttered mind.
Get rid of clutter on your desk by filing or throwing things away that are not needed anymore. Make sure you have everything organized in a way that makes sense for you so that when it’s time to work, there is nothing distracting you from completing the task at hand. This will build your leadership skills because it will help ensure that you are more productive and efficient in completing your tasks.
Keep A List Of All The Tasks You Need To Complete
Are you great at remembering things that need to be done? Do you keep a mental list of things that need to be done close in mind? If you do, this truly is a great skill to have. But if this is all you rely on to get tasks done you need to stop. Although it might seem like a no-brainer for you to do because you’re great and all, quite frankly, your brain still has to keep working to remember. That takes time and energy in ways that you might not even be aware of.
It may seem silly to you, but writing down every single task really does help keep things organized and straight in your mind. This means your transition from one task to another is much more efficient.
Make sure each item on the list has an explanation as to what needs to be done and by when. This will build your leadership skills because it ensures you are staying organized, which ultimately results in being more productive. Your increase in productivity will give you the time and energy to be attentive to those depending on you to guide them.
Always Ask For Help When Needed
Although as a leader you may feel that it is your responsibility to get your share of the work done and have no business asking others to for help this will eventually lead to your burning out. You have a larger responsibility which includes making sure tasks get done in the most efficient way possible. This sometimes means asking for help to get something done faster
Never attempt to be Superman/Superwoman because although this seems like great leadership skills, in reality, all you’re doing is causing yourself more stress by taking on way more than what should be reasonably expected of you.
So do not be afraid to ask for help when needed and build your leadership skills by strategically delegating tasks. This will build trust with those on your team because they know you trust them enough to ask for their help. And they will also feel comfortable asking you for help when they need it. This creates a sort of family-like bond that is very important for any leader.
Be Respectful To Everyone
Leadership is mostly about others, and just a bit about you. This means that your primary concern should be what’s best for those around you rather than yourself. So you need to keep everyone’s feelings in mind.
Only offer constructive criticism, and avoid sounding condescending or self-righteous. Even if someone needs to be put in their place or even disciplined in some way for the sake of your team, DO NOT be overly harsh or rude because as a leader, you need to build your leadership skills by leading with respect and kindness. If you choose your words wisely and provide the necessary guidance you will get your point across just the same.
This is a great way to build your leadership skills because being respectful towards people shows that you are considerate of their feelings and opinions. This goes hand-in-hand with empathy – another important quality for any leader to have! All subordinates enjoy not working for an inconsiderate and self-absorbed leader.
Lead By Example With What You Do And Say
In order to build your leadership skills, you need to have a good idea of what it means for the person in charge. That being said, this is not just about showing how things should be done and getting mad when they’re not but rather demonstrating through your actions that you care about others’ opinions and feelings while also taking responsibility for yourself and your actions.
In order to build your leadership skills, you must be willing to take on an emotionally difficult task or situation that others would shy away from. This is a great way for those around you to see how they should behave and build their own leadership skills as well! It’s also a great opportunity for everyone involved to see what it takes for someone in this position of power to step up and rise above the status quo.
Be authentic with who you are as a leader by sharing both good and bad news because people will respect you more if they know that there’s no facade being put forth but rather just pure honesty about where things stand at any given moment which can help build trust between team members. Acknowledging failure goes hand-in-hand with being authentic because it shows that you are not afraid of taking risks and pushing boundaries to build your leadership skills.
Be Open-Minded About Ideas From Others
As a leader, you should be open to the input of others and build your leadership skills by listening. This is not just about soliciting feedback but actually taking that into account when making decisions because it shows that you are willing to take other people’s thoughts into consideration.
You’ll always come up with better ideas than what one person could provide. Work to build trust with people around you rather than attempting to go at things alone. Going at it alone may lead to a poor result. This can be a good thing, but it depends on the way in which you utilize it. It’s also important to remember that one person’s failure does not negate another person’s success; rather, both are unique and valuable experiences in their own right. You could say that no one else has the same vision or enthusiasm for something as they do if everyone was more involved with projects! You want their expertise on hand regardless of whether or not they’re officially part of your team because good leaders know how important it is to build up their entire workforce.
Maintain Good Communication With Your Team Members
This is important because all of you build your leadership skills by communicating with one another. It’s great to think that people will understand what you mean simply through the words you choose, but this isn’t always the case – particularly if English is not someone’s first language or they are having an off day and aren’t able to fully concentrate on everything being said.
Good communication can build trust and build your leadership skills as a whole because it shows that you’re willing to include the people around you in what is happening.
Be open about changes that are going on within the organization or company as this will build trust with those who work for you and build your leadership skills even more so than before. People appreciate transparency and understanding of what is going on in the business they work for.
You build your leadership skills by being a good example to those around you. If someone near you stumbles or fails, that’s not a time to gloat about how great of a leader you are; motivate them with kindness and advice rather than thinking negatively of their mistake.
Don’t Worry About People Not Liking You Because They Will Eventually Come Around
Leaders build trust by being honest with those around them about short-term and long term goals so that everyone knows what they are working towards. If people feel like the leader is not looking out for their best interests, then there will be a lack of motivation to work hard or put in extra effort when it’s needed.
For example, if you’re always late on projects because you didn’t communicate well enough how much time was necessary to complete certain tasks, this can lead others down the wrong path as far as expectations go which reflects poorly upon your ability to build your leadership skills no matter how talented you may actually be at leading people along with you throughout all stages of growth within the company.
Build your leadership skills by working on the things you know aren’t right within yourself. Build them through affirmation, such as telling yourself “I can do this!” over and over again until you actually believe it’s true instead of thinking negatively about what other people might think of you.
Know That It’S Okay To Make Mistakes, But Don’t Repeat Them
It’s a good idea to build your leadership skills by asking for help when you need it. Perhaps someone on the team has been in this position before and can offer some insight as what might work best so that everyone knows precisely how to go about achieving their goals without getting too frustrated or overwhelmed with everything going on at once.
One of the worst things anyone could do is be afraid of making mistakes – or allow others around them to believe they’re not allowed to make mistakes because then people won’t take risks which leads down a road where no one wants anything new ever being tried out. A leader should build trust with those who are working towards similar goals while allowing individuals enough room within themselves so that they feel able to express who they really are.
Find Ways To Get Feedback On How Well You’re Doing As A Leader
It’s good to build your leadership skills through humor whenever you can because people will appreciate the lighter side of things. You don’t want anyone around you feeling afraid to speak up when something is wrong within the workplace, so doing this will build trust and show that you’re willing to be open about sharing ideas with others who might have some insight into how certain projects should run or not run at all.
Make sure your team knows they are able to laugh as well – encourage them if necessary – because building a sense of humor throughout everything going on brings everyone closer together even though there may be stressors present from time to time. It’s better than being too serious which builds resentment between those working towards similar goals but feels like it isn’t getting anything accomplished.
Be open to what others have to say about your leadership skills and build on them by encouraging input from everyone involved in the same projects you’re managing at any given time. This will build trust, motivation, responsibility within those around you, and it feels good knowing that there is someone who can offer insight into how things should be.
Now You’re Ready to Lead
It’s hard to be a leader. You’ll make mistakes but try not to repeat them. Keep your desk clean and keep track of what you need to do next with a list on the wall or in an app like Asana (there are tons). And always ask for help when needed – it will take some pressure off of you! If someone is mean to you don’t worry about it, they’re just feeling frustrated because they can’t get what they want from their job. Remember that if people seem uninterested in doing anything new then that probably means there isn’t any potential for innovation there anyway so don’t bother with those ideas coming from others. Be open-minded about other people’s thoughts and actions.
If you need help developing a leadership plan, Top Tier Coaching specializes in helping people do that very thing. Why not get on a free call, no sales pitch, and get an actionable plan?
