What makes you successful as a manager won’t always help you become a great leader. Leadership requires a different mindset and skill to go beyond managing day to day. becoming a good leader is so much more than just getting the position and title and having a significant level of influence on your team.
To be a great leader you need people that want to follow you because of relationships you’ve built with them and what you’ve done for them. It’s also critical that you have achieved great things for the company.
Why is it so difficult to become a good leader? It can be challenging to balance the needs and goals of the team with the needs and goals of the organisation.
It can be difficult to effectively communicate with and motivate a diverse group of people as well as make difficult decisions and take responsibility for the outcomes. It can also be hard to lead by example and maintain integrity in the face of pressure or adversity while building and maintain a strong, cohesive team. Adapting to change and staying ahead of industry developments can also be challenging.
I’m currently working on improving how I handle criticism and also give feedback constructively to others as well as balancing between being a good leader and a good manager.
Top 5 tips for emerging leaders
1. Develop a Leader’s Mindset-understanding that you no longer achieve results alone but through others.
2. Hold Regular “one on ones” with your team- Because you will no longer monitor your team, you connect with them, collaborate, and keep them engaged.
3. Set Up Your Team to Achieve Results-you don’t tell your team what to do. You help them to discover what they need to do.
4. Create a Culture of Feedback-you no longer give feedback to fix problems, you give and seek feedback to elevate the entire team.
5. Lead Your Team Through Change-you no longer control change, you encourage and champion it within your team.
Top 10 tips to Improve as a Leader
- Clearly communicate expectations and goals
- Actively listen to and consider the perspectives of team members
- Make decisions that are in the best interest of both the team and the organisation
- Improve your active listening skills, work on your presentation and public speaking skills, and use clear and concise language when communicating
- Develop a decision-making process that you are comfortable with, seek input from others, and take responsibility for the outcomes of your decisions
- Lead by example, be transparent in your actions and decisions, and hold yourself accountable for your actions
- Clearly communicate your vision and expectations, invest in team building and professional development opportunities, and recognize and reward team members for their contributions
- Stay informed of industry developments and trends, be open to new ideas and perspectives, and be willing to make adjustments as necessary
- Seek out feedback, view it as an opportunity to improve, and use it to make necessary adjustments
- Understand the difference between management and leadership, and work on developing both sets of skills.