It is difficult to describe a great leader in mere words and you can distinguish a real leader from a common people only on the basis of his leadership qualities. Adaptability, accountability, intelligence, honesty, and assertiveness are some of the important qualities that you can find out in a great leader. A successful leader makes a lot of difference to his company as he helps an organization to come out of any difficult situation. If you want to become a great leader in your company then here are few effective tips that will make your job easy:
1. Know your own leadership style:
Every individual is different and you have your own style of leadership that you need to identify. You can work on your strengths and weaknesses to figure out areas where you need an improvement. You can assess your skills and check whether those skills are hindering or helping your goal of becoming a successful leader. Once you recognize your dominant style, you can work on things to enhance your leadership skills and change your approach accordingly.
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2. Encourage your team members to contribute:
Send the message to your team member that you welcome their ideas whether those are good or bad. If you are encouraging your team members to contribute to the meetings then you are on a way of becoming a democratic leader. Though you will have a final say on the company meetings, taking opinions of other group members will develop a friendly environment within internal departments of the company. It will also enhance the creativity and problem-solving skills of your employees as they get value for their opinion.
3. Don’t hesitate to take risks:
A successful leader always thinks in an innovative way and he never hesitates to try new things. Take inspiration from what things you have achieved in the past and search for new opportunities to grow your business. At times, taking calculated risks will definitely give you lucrative rewards. But you need to lot of research and keep your plan B read before trying out any new venture. Your risk-taking abilities will allow you to take big leaps that will create a significant difference to your organization’s growth.
4. Accept failures:
A great leader doesn’t mean he wins every race and achieves every goal as per his expectations. Sometimes, you need to accept your failures and learn from your mistakes because losses teach you better lessons than victories. A successful leader doesn’t blame others for his mistakes. He takes responsibility for his actions and tries to improvise further. Your failures shouldn’t force you to take any harsh decisions in frustration. In fact, they should help you to make well-informed decisions and come with proper planning to give the best shot again.
5. Offer the right recognition or rewards:
Offering recognition or rewards to deserving employees within your organization is an ideal way to keep them motivated and make them satisfied. The research has proved several times that satisfied employees are the ones who perform efficiently at the workplace. You can organize inter-department contests on a monthly basis and recognize an employee who performs better.
Daniel Romero- Abreu, the President & Founder of Thinking Heads, as mentioned in one of his recent interviews,
“While rewarding an employee, you have to look after his multiple parameters such as performance, behavior, and consistency of work. Offering occasional incentives in monetary form or bonuses in the form of foreign tours are also some of the effective ways to boost the performance of your employees.”
6. Be honest:
If you don’t know something about the topic, don’t pretend to be a master of that field as it will put you in a helpless situation. In fact, be honest with yourself and try to gain knowledge in the field that you think lacking. Being a great leader you need to realize your mistakes and apologize whenever required. This lets you gain a lot of respect from your subordinates as they will appreciate your humble attitude.
7. Be a proper listener and effective communicator:
Listening to your employees is another important quality that will help you to become a great leader. You need to facilitate one to one communication and take regular feedback from employees before the start of your project and after the completion of your project. By bridging the communication gap between top management and staff of your company, you can avoid any misunderstandings within the company. This will keep all your company staff on the same page. They will focus on achieving the defined goals of your company.
8. Be a role model:
A great leader is not only a mentor of his company staff but he also acts as a role model for them. Most of the employees of the company try to imitate the style of their leader as they try to become like him one day. So as a successful leader, you need to adopt the qualities and skills that you want to see in your team members. You need to walk the talk and constantly try to improvise yourself to set a perfect example for your employees.
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9. Motivate your staff:
You don’t need to give any motivational speech to become a motivating leader in your company. You can encourage your staff by simply appreciating their hard work at the right time. This will give them a boost to try harder. If any employee of your company is feeling depressed because of his mediocre progress, you can talk a few positive words with him by making him aware of his real potential.
10. Build trust:
Participate in everyday activities of your organization and make yourself available to deal with issues faced by employees. Appreciate your employees on a personal level and don’t take unnecessary credits for someone else’s achievements. This will send them a message that your actions and interests will not supersede the goals of your company and you will support your employees under tough circumstances.
11. Control your emotions and keep patience:
Great leaders never get driven by emotions but they stay focus during ups and downs of the company. Your company employees may end up making mistakes occasionally. Sometimes you are the one you need to suffer the consequences. So it’s your turn to handle these kinds of critical situations with patience. Mentor your employees properly so they won’t do such mistakes again. Successful leaders don’t make any important decisions when they very angry. Also, they don’t commit something when they are very happy.
12. Pursue your true passion:
If you are working in the field that is not of your interest then you may become successful in that field but you will not become a true leader. So choose a field of your interest and you will end up making a lot of miracles in your life. Because you will have a lot to gain in life and nothing to lose. Whether you are holding a position of the senior manager in an organization or you are running your own company, make sure you choose a department that you feel passionate about.
13. Be fair and don’t make injustice to anybody:
Most of the senior managers only prefer to accolade the work of their favorite employees. This will send the very wrong message to other employees and they will feel motiveless about their work. So whenever you allocate responsibilities or even recognize someone, make sure to keep things fair. Every employee of your company adds value to his work. If you feel that there is someone within your organization not getting the kind of attention he deserves then being a great leader you should take initiative.
14. Don’t limit yourself:
Great leaders don’t assign any labels to other people and they don’t even do the same for themselves. Maybe you are holding a very senior position in your company; it doesn’t mean you should restrict yourself to only high profile work. Sometimes, you need to do a very basic task and become exemplary for employees of the company. This way you will earn respect from your staff. It will also help you to keep your feet on the ground. Your job designation is not your identity but your approach towards a problem. This is what defines your character and it will take the real leader out of you.
15. Hire talent not qualification:
If you are doing any new hiring for your company make sure you search for real talent rather than ending up recruiting people who got only degrees. It is better to train a candidate who has got an ambitious approach to work and comes with amazing potential. If you have people with the right attitude under you then you can groom them to any level; even you can create miracles out of them. Optimistic employees with low qualification can make great differences to your company than stubborn employees with high qualification.
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Final Words
Apart from the qualities mentioned above, there are still a few unique characteristics you will find in great leaders that come into picture when destiny puts them in a critical situation. So, whenever you come across any tough situation, take it as an opportunity to harness your latent talent; tell the world you have got reasons to be a great leader.
