10 Tips for Developing Your Leadership Skills
“Am I an effective leader?” This is one question that everyone wonders about while taking a step ahead in their career with their leadership skills. And the answer doesn’t lie in a simple yes and no.
It all depends on the building blocks that you lean on to shape your own effectiveness as an individual and a professional. Because effective leadership is a journey, not a destination.
The first step to embark on the journey is to commit to growth and development, in the professional as well as personal sphere. You have to work on getting a balance between mind, body, and spirit to unlock your full potential as a leader. I have collated ten skills that you can include in your leadership strategy and harness to become an effective leader.
Here are 10 Tips that Must be present in Leadership Strategy:
1. Communication
Successful leaders are not only effective but great communicators as well. There are different types of channels that form a communication chain – one where you communicate with your body-mind-spirit, one where you communicate with your goals and inhibitions, and external communication within the team.
When you listen and understand your colleagues, it reminds them about the core values of the organization, which is to ensure that they are heard.
The second aspect is an authentic conversation with yourself to initiate self-awareness to drive meaningful action, helping you go beyond your limiting beliefs and starting the wheels of self-mastery. It helps you align your mind’s thoughts with body actions and spiritual intelligence which helps you guide the way forward.
2. Empathy:
Empathy has always been a crucial skill for leaders, now, it is finding new meaning and priority. Today, pushing the team forward isn’t the only job of a leader. It is also to empathize with them and find new as well as unique motivation factors that drive them to tap into their potential. From witnessing significant business results to initiating new innovations to retention, effective leadership requires a mix of personal touch, in which empathy tops the list of what leaders must get right.
3. Confidence:
It is rightly said that the most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence. When it comes to leadership, is the most powerful thing. It is the foundation of effective leadership. You can learn to be more decisive, and a better communicator, but not to believe in yourself. When you gain self-confidence, you leverage self-awareness. Our Step Up program for women in the mid-level of their career guides them towards the core area of self-confidence, which helps them overcome apprehension, and set higher goals for themselves.
4. Your body is a place for learning too
In simple language, it means tapping into the wisdom of your body to guide you to change your mind, and behavior, and improve your leadership outcomes. It is crucial to get in touch with your core life energy to shift your actions to create sustained results through your actions. After all, it is the body that allows us to take action and decisions, and achieving it will create resilience and balance for sustainable growth.
5. Empowering others
An effective leader helps the team to learn and succeed. It is important to understand that empowering others is vital for the employees, as well as the organization. This can be done by trusting your team, encouraging them to think outside the box, take action and ease their fear of failure instead of opting for a blame game route. It will make them confident to take charge and execute ideas on their own.
6. Progressive approach
A progressive leader is an effective leader and one who creates, inspires, prepares and directs people to perform individually and collectively. The key to effective leadership is to enable teams to work cohesively with ambition and flow while empowering senior executives to increase impact and influence. It helps leaders develop relational intelligence that serves teams, clients, and stakeholders, achieving greater results.
7. Risk-taker
For higher goals and results, there are higher stakes. And an effective leader is willing to take the leap. A successful leader recognises to be innovative, and taking risks is important. It is about moving forward despite fear and uncertainty. Because without trial and error, you remain stagnant and complacent. Risk drives you to push your limits and realize your full potential.
8. Build trust and respect for others
The first step towards effective leadership is creating positive relationships among your teammates. Starting by respecting others, and acknowledging that everyone is a partner in whatever you are trying to accomplish. It goes a long way in deciding the future course of a professional relationship. Adds to the effectiveness of the goals that need to be accomplished.
9. Self-awareness
Effective leadership starts with self-awareness. In fact, it has been cited as the most important capability for leaders to develop. Understanding yourself is paramount. It adds to emotional intelligence, which plays a crucial role in developing your ability to recognise and understand emotions in yourself and others. Have a positive effect on the decision-making process and drives goal-oriented actions. Also, It helps in recognizing your triggers and beginning to build self-mastery.
10. Step Up
Stepping up for yourself, your team, and organization is what makes you an effective leader. It starts by identifying areas you care about and then refocusing your energy and time to create a sense of direction for your team, foster collaboration, and resolve conflicts. Be ready to put yourself out there, be vulnerable while discovering your core, celebrate your success with the team, and be ready to face failure.
Sailaja Manacha
As a leadership coach, Sailaja works with a results-based approach. She supports leaders who are transitioning higher, creating impact and influence in their roles.
Her leadership programs at Physis have a special focus on women leaders. Here she offers transformational workshops and 3 digital courses: Rise Up, Step Up, and Power Up.
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