Hey Friends,
What does it mean to have good leadership skills in the workplace? Here are top leadership skills with tips about how to improve these skills to become the kind of leader that others are proud to know and would like to work with.
Communication
Strong written and verbal communication skills are immensely important for good leadership. Communications that are clear, appropriate, and useful are the way your colleagues understand what you are asking of them. If you make it easy for people to understand your questions, instructions, comments, and guidance, they can easily follow your lead.
Collaboration
Good leaders understand the importance of their team. Collaborating helps to forge partnerships to get the job done and promote inclusion, ensuring that everyone is heard equally. Assess your current approach to collaboration. Ask yourself:-
- How well do I partner with team members?
- Do I work with everyone equally or only the people that I know well?
- Do I have strong people skills?
If you find that you need improvement, the best thing to do is be mindful to practice better habits.
For example, before the close of your next meeting, ask if everyone feels that they have been heard. A collaborative leader employs a purposeful effort to help the team work well professionally and socially.
Active Listening
Make a conscious effort to understand what people are saying. This is an integral part of what makes a good leader and among the top people skills you can have! Dedicate greater attention to conversations you hold throughout the day and clarify when necessary.
True leadership quality is demonstrated by a leader who is fully engaged in conversation at all levels.
Knowledge
The ability to speak from a deep understanding of a subject is crucial to strong leadership. Learn as much as you can about your professional work/organisation or industry including best practices, ethos and traditions) then determine how to use that information effectively.
Humility
Humility means understanding that no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn and others may have insights into our knowledge that is valuable.
Practice humility by seeking feedback from friends and colleagues. Challenge your own outlook by reading literature with an opposing view or reading about a culture that is different from your own. Few things are more humbling than finding out that what you thought you knew about the people and world is actually quite different.
Decision-Making
Strong leadership require decisiveness. Leaders are constantly faced with making decisions both tough and simple. Remember strong decision-making is well-supported, timely, inclusive, and specific. You should learn to recognize and trust your own instincts but do have a more deliberative process. You can ask to conduct research, explore your options, and consult with people working who are working in a specific domain. This will help to ensure firm decision-making that is effective and informed.
A strong leader will be able to explain the reasoning behind a decision.
Self-Awareness
The strongest leaders are conscious of their own patterns and behaviours, remaining self-aware of how they interact with the people and world. Leaders who are self-aware will understand how their own behaviour patterns and mood affect their interactions with other people.
A good leader won’t take their bad day out on their co-workers or subordinates.
Experience
Nothing prepares you for the demands of leadership quite like experience with leadership! Reflect on the kinds of leadership that you have observed in others throughout your career. Think about what has worked for you in your leadership roles. You can gain experience as a leader and exposure to other leadership styles by expanding your exposure.
Take good care & enjoy reading your dose of cerebral happiness.
JOE
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