Some people are natural leaders, but most of us must develop the skillset needed with some training. To take your career as far as it can go, you must be willing to put in the work. Here are 9 ways to help you develop leadership skills and keep advancing your career or business.
1. Have a plan
Successful leaders are detailed and focused and stick to it. A leader who is guided by assumptions and has no practical, focused plans is like a ship without a rudder.
2. Lead by example yourself
Be a role model for your colleagues, team, employees. Not only do they need to hear what is expected of them, they need to see it! When expectations do not match reality (or their own interpretation of it), this leads to expectant and suspicious behavior.
3. Be courageous
No (intelligent) person wants to be led by a leader who lacks (sufficient) self-confidence, courage, self-knowledge, and who is not up to date with professional knowledge. A successful leader who understands these principles and can encourage others to follow the same, inspires and creates a stimulating environment as a result.
4. Have a sense of justice
Without a sense of justice and fairness (≠ honesty), a leader cannot give orders and maintain the respect of others. Do not confuse sincerity with honesty. Sincerity is a combination of honesty and respect for the other. Justice complemented by self-control sets others a strong example, which others will try to emulate.
5. Have the willingness to take responsibility
A successful leader must be willing to take full responsibility for all the mistakes and shortcomings of people he’s leading. A leader who tries to shirk his responsibilities will not remain a leader. If one of your team members makes a mistake or is unfit for the job, remember that you are the one who failed.
6. Do more than what is required of you
This is one of the drawbacks of leadership: a leader must be willing to do more than he expects of his team.
7. Know yourself and continuously seek for self-improvement
An inspiring leader dares to show his weaknesses and gives up control, he learns from experience and wisdom and leads by example: he first changes himself, then others.
8. Be pleasant to be around
This sounds obvious, but leadership requires (earned) respect. A leader who does not score well on all aspects of a pleasant personality will not be followed by others.
9. Be committed and understanding
Showing compassion and understanding builds trust. Genuine interest and understanding creates an opening for better communication and collaboration.
10. Resolve conflicts
A true leader knows how to resolve conflicts (or should learn how to). Instead of ignoring interpersonal conflicts, hoping they will go away on their own, a leader addresses them by pro-actively by talking to those involved (in private). Also, is open to reassigning team members if the conflict can’t be resolved.
11. Be disciplined
A good leader needs to develop discipline (personally and professionally) to be an effective leader. This can be done by always meeting deadlines, keeping appointments, and ending meetings on time. To develop discipline, one can start at home by waking up early, getting daily exercise, eating healthy and working their way up from there.
12. Be a discerning listener
A leader listens to suggestions, ideas, and feedback from other people, and builds on them. Good listeners know that communication is not only about words, but picking up on non-verbal cues, such as eye contact and body language.
As you can see, good leadership skills are essential to advancing your career but being a leader is much more than simply being in charge. A leader inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.
