“If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more,
you are a leader.”
When you are in a position of leadership, both the quantity and the quality of your work output depend on your team and, consequently, your skills as a leader. Fortunately, these skills can be developed over time. Like everything else in life, you need to make the time to learn key elements and practice them. Sounds simple enough, right?
Becoming an effective leader is not an overnight task. But what really matters is consistency in the process of getting to the goals you have set for yourself. There are four basic steps in becoming a more effective leader.
The Four-Step Approach to More Effective Leadership
1. Believe in the vision. Knowing and believing are not the same thing. first, knowing the vision of the team and then actually believing in it is perhaps the most significant step toward becoming an effective leader. At the end of the day, leading a team means inspiring the trust of your team members. And the best way to do that is to demonstrate to them that you believe in the vision.
In order to accomplish this, you must first develop a good understanding of what the vision is. Once you have defined and quantified the vision, you must determine whether or not it’s something you can live with and live up to. Next, you must take advantage of every opportunity to “sell” that vision to your team. Show them that you live it and breathe it and eventually they will realize that it is something to grab on to.
2. Be a good team builder. As a leader, you absolutely need the support of your team. In choosing your team members, look for people who can understand the vision and support it. Then, identify those who fit the roles they will be required to fill. Be careful to select the team members based on merit, and not emotions. Sometimes, but thankfully not often, when people recognize that you have given them an opportunity based on an emotional position, they may try to take advantage to gain favored status with you. You want to be surrounded by team members who know that they have been given an opportunity based on merit and by past performance.
3. Be a good negotiator. Once you have gained the trust of your team members, your next step is to master your negotiation skills. As a leader, this means that not only will you need to spend time negotiating with the team members to get the best results that can be achieved, but you also need to learn to be successful in your external negotiations working for the best interest of your unit.
And, always remember to negotiate fairly so that others know that they can continue to trust you in the future. Negotiate smartly.
4. Be a good delegator. Identifying an ideal team is a success all by itself. You start out knowing that the people that you have taken the time to select are capable of excelling in the tasks assigned. Now, it’s up to you to assign each of the tasks effectively. Becoming a good delegator will involve the following activities:
– Studying the strengths of each team player so you can effectively match the tasks with their skill set.
– Analyzing the potential success capabilities of your team so you can make a wise choice when assigning responsibilities.
Becoming a more effective leader is an achievement that you will certainly be proud of! You know that you have what it takes to earn the title of outstanding leader. By paying attention to and using these four steps over and over, you will be able to sharpen your leadership skills and prove that you are indeed the best person for any leadership position.
Thoughts?
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829325255/sizes/z/in/photostream/
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