Failures of leadership are bad for both the leader, their employees, and the company.
Luckily there are skills that leaders can improve on, that yield immediate benefits.
To improve your leadership skills, do a survey of these 8 areas, and see what quick wins you can get.
Jot down a few notes on ways to improve.
Remember: Leaders are made, not born.
Here we go…
🔹 Delegation
If you are trying to do too much, by yourself. you are shortchanging your team an opportunity to learn.
You are also limiting the amount your team can accomplish based on YOUR abilities alone.
Let go of needing perfection.
Try to adopt a coaching mindset.
🔹 Micromanaging
A close cousin of not delegating, is once you let go of a task, micromanaging your team.
Remember coaching? That is the solution here too.
Ask questions, but give your team room to fail and succeed in a way that just might inspire you.
🔹 Sharing the spotlight
Shine the light on your team, and the team’s accomplishments, not your own.
Nothing demotivates someone faster than having their boss soak up the credit for their hard work.
Set up a way to recognize your team’s efforts consistently.
🔹 Erratic behavior
The foundation of trust in a business context is knowing how the other person will react.
• Keep your cool.
• Be consistent.
• Think through your responses before you react.
Build trust with your team.
🔹 Listening
Improving your listening skills can be as simple as:
• Ask a question.
• Wait for the answer.
• Wait until they are truly done speaking.
• Ask a follow-up question.
• Repeat.
Be comfortable with silence, and do not jump in to fill it (even if you can).
🔹Short term thinking
This is harder to think of as a quick fix.
But to make progress: Define what you want the team to accomplish:
• in the next 3 months
• in 1 year
• in 3 years
Get above the day-to-day decisions and communicate these mid-range plans.
🔹 Tame your schedule
Many leaders let their calendars determine their daily priorities.
Take back control and schedule focused time.
Block focused time on your calendar each week to work on what YOU need to accomplish.
(HINT: maybe to work on those mid-term goals).
🔹 Communication
The best quick fix of all, is to double your communication.
• Reach out to your team, peers, and above
• Celebrate the wins
• Talk about the challenges
• Share your plans
Leading effectively requires good communication. Time spent here will pay you back.
🔹 Summary
Look for quick fixes in:
• listening
• delegation
• communication
• micromanaging
• erratic behavior
• short term thinking
• sharing the spotlight
• taming your schedule
As you work to improve your leadership skills the benefits compound.
