Not everyone is a natural-born leader, but with practice and determination, it’s possible to develop into someone that’s fully capable of managing or leading a team. Good leaders are able to balance being liked and being respected, as both traits are important for effectively leading people. Listed below are a handful of ways that leadership skills can be honed and improved.
Request Constructive Feedback
For any leader to gain an understanding of the areas that they most need to improve, it’s an excellent idea to survey their team members and receive constructive feedback. Good leaders have to be able to take criticism, especially if they’re serious about improving, and getting feedback from the people they lead is one of the best ways to do so.
Always Listen
It’s extremely important for good leaders to have listening skills. Oftentimes, when a team or business is struggling, there are likely team members that have tried to express what the problem is to their leaders or request certain changes. If anyone in a leadership role wants to improve the state of their team, they have to be willing to listen to the people they’re leading.
Judge Your Success by Your Team’s Success
A leader is only as successful as the team that they’re leading. In a leadership role, the goal should not be to make oneself look good, but should instead be to make the entire team look good. To improve the chances of a team’s success, it’s crucial for the leader to provide whatever assistance they can, and whenever possible, remove obstacles that are impeding the team’s progress.
Connect with the Team
People will always respond more to a leader that they feel connected to. Obviously, in a business environment, it’s important for a manager or leader to take things seriously and remain professional. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t also connect to their team members on a personal level. Forming these connections and relationships will inspire more loyalty among the team members, and help to get the best work from them.
Becoming a good leader is not something that happens overnight, but for anyone that truly dedicates themselves to it, it’s a goal that can be achieved in time.