How to become a great leader

Learning how to be a great leader is a combination of effort, understanding your role as a leader, understanding your team’s role, and a lot of practice. It takes trial and error and no amount of classroom training will suffice without practical and consistent application. You have to be willing to make mistakes and be open to learning and growing into your great leadership potential.

Whether you have just been promoted to your first managerial role, or you are simply looking for ways to become a better manager, this article is for you.

Let’s go through 7 things you must do to become a great leader/manager:

1. Delegate wisely

The key to leadership success is to learn to effectively delegate both the responsibility for completing assignments and the authority required to get things done. Many managers feel they need to control everything that their employees do. This is a recipe for disaster. When you delegate work to employees, you multiply the amount of work you can accomplish while you develop your employees’ confidence, leadership and work skills. 

Many new managers find this very easy to understand, yet hard to execute.  It is key to the long-term success of each individual team member. Allow your team to thrive, grow and be Recognised for their contributions and watch the team’s results soar.  You will be judged by your team’s results and rewarded well in the long run.

2. Set goals

Every person needs goals to strive for. Not only do goals give employees direction and purpose, but they foster harmony and ensure that everyone is working towards the overall organizational goals. Set specific and measurable goals with your employees, then regularly check on their progress toward achieving them.

You can also set stretch goals for your team, which will help promote creativity and innovation as they work out how to do the thing they have never done before.  It’s a beautiful thing to watch your team members grow well beyond their own expectations.

3. Communicate

Far too many managers communicate far too little. It’s often difficult for busy business owners and executives to keep their team members up-to-date on the latest organizational news. Regardless, you must make every effort to get employees the information they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently. You can simply and easily do this by looking at the operating rhythm of the organisation to ensure consistency.

4. Make time for team members

Above all, leadership is a people job. When an employee needs to talk with you, whatever the reason, make sure you stake the time to do so. Put your work aside for a moment, put down your smartphone, and focus on the person standing in front of you. This act alone will pay you back tenfold every time.  Don’t allow noise to distract you from focusing on your team member’s needs.  They need to be given priority.

5. Recognise achievements

Every team member wants to do a good job. And when they do a good job, recognition they get from their manager and managers manager goes a very long way. Unfortunately, few managers do much in the way of recognizing and rewarding employees for a job well done. The good news is that there are many things you can do to recognize employees that cost little or no money, are easy to implement, and take only a few minutes to accomplish.

6. Think about lasting solutions

No matter how difficult the problem, there is always a solution, and leaders are happiest when they are uncovering these solutions to the problems they face. The trouble is, in our zeal to fix things quickly and move on to the next fire, we often overlook the lasting solution that may take longer to develop.

Although it’s more fun to be a firefighter, the next time you have a problem to solve in your organisation, deal with the cause of the problem instead of simply treating the symptoms. Always ask yourself what would you like the end result to look like and work with the end in mind. 

7. Don’t take It all too seriously

Without a doubt, running a company is serious business. Products and services must be sold and delivered, and money must be made. Despite the gravity of these responsibilities, successful leaders make their organizations fun places to work. Instead of having employees who look for every possible reason to call in sick or to arrive to work late or go home early, organisations that work hard and play hard end up with a more loyal, energized workforce.  If we are going to spend long hours at work, let’s make sure they are fun and enjoyable.

So, what have your great leaders done to be successful?

Interested in a customised workshop about how to be a great leader/manager? Send an email to reem@dreemconsulting.com

Sources:

• Forbes
• Inc
• Atmanco
• fitsmallbusiness