by For many businesspeople, the last thing you want to worry about (or do) is managing people. You want to get out there and meet customers and create awesome products and bring exciting new opportunities through your front door. But unless you’ve hired people to take on the task of managing your employees, then you’re still on the hook.
The good news is that you can make that task a little bit easier for yourself by remembering these 7 essential leadership keys, and your organization will benefit as a direct result.
- Delegate wisely
The key to leadership success is to learn to effectively delegate both the responsibility for completing assignments and the authority required to get things done. Many bosses feel that they need to control every little thing that their employees do. This is a recipe for disaster. When you delegate work to employees, you multiply the amount of work you can accomplish while you develop your employees’ confidence, leadership and work skills.
- Set goals
Every employee needs goals to strive for. Not only do goals give employees direction and purpose, but they ensure that your employees are working towards the overall organizational goals. Set specific and measurable goals with your employees, then regularly monitor their progress toward achieving them.
- Communicate
Far too many bosses communicate far too little. It’s often difficult for busy business owners and executives to keep their employees up-to-date on the latest organizational news. Regardless, you must make every effort to get employees the information they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently.
- Make time for employees
Above all, leadership is a people job. When an employee needs to talk with you–whatever the reason–make sure that you set aside the time to do so. Put your work aside for a moment, put down your smartphone, and focus on the person standing in front of you.
- Recognize achievements
Every employee wants to do a good job. And when they do a good job, employees want recognition from their bosses. Unfortunately, few bosses do much in the way of recognizing and rewarding employees for a job well done. The good news is that there are many things bosses can do to recognize employees that cost little or no money, are easy to implement, and that take only a few minutes to accomplish.
- Think about lasting solutions
No matter how difficult the problem, there is always a quick solution, and leaders are happiest when they are devising solutions to problems. The trouble is that, in our zeal to fix things quickly and move on to the next fire, we often overlook the lasting solution that may take longer to develop. Although it’s more fun to be a firefighter, the next time you have a problem to solve in your organization, deal with the cause of the problem instead of simply treating the symptoms.
- Don’t take it all too seriously
Without a doubt, running a company is serious business. Products and services must be sold and delivered, and money must be made. Despite the gravity of these responsibilities, successful leaders make their organizations fun places to work. Instead of having employees who look for every possible reason to call in sick or to arrive to work late or go home early, organizations work hard and play hard end up with a more loyal, energized workforce.
Effective Leadership
Effective leadership shines not only when the going is good, but also (even more so, sometimes) when things are rough. They’re respected (not feared) by the people around them, who in turn, become motivated to work harder and make more significant contributions to the betterment of the organization as well.
Leadership is not about working towards a goal single-handedly. In fact, leadership is about inspiring and motivating people to work together towards a goal.
Good leadership is important. As an article from Pennsylvania State University states, “Effective leadership is essential to a functioning society.” In a smaller scale, the fact remains true in organizations and businesses. It’s basically impossible for a company to continue to evolve and grow with the times without effective leadership. Especially during this time where digital technology is changing every aspect of how business is being done and how customers are engaging with brands, a brand without effective leaders will be like a ship sailing without a captain directing which way to go.
What make good leaders?
Being a good leader isn’t something everyone can do. It’s not easy. Every effective leader needs to possess and/or work towards their goals and vision. Good leaders are keys to improved productivity and morale among members of an organization. So what makes an effective leader? Many good leaders share several traits and attitudes. Here are some of them.
- Good leaders are decisive
Effective leadership is about not wasting time. That includes the time needed to make decisions. More often than not, so much time can be wasted in the decision-making process that many opportunities are missed. Production sometimes even comes to a halt. Good leaders are all about making informed decisions, but are always mindful of the timeframes involved. And once a decision is made, they commit to it and see things through. They realize that putting-off important decisions can have significant effects on an organizations productivity and growth.
- They practice what they preach
Effective leadership, in essence, also involves leading by example. It’s hard to respect someone who asks everyone to come on time, or work towards a certain goal if that person isn’t willing to come on time or put in their share of the work themselves. Many times, good leaders set the bar and meet it instead of just talking down to everyone. As an article in Forbes says, “A leader who rolls up their sleeves and gets dirty from time to time will create a loyalty in his or her people that will result in achieving goals beyond what we usually expect.”
- They don’t lose sight of goals
Effective leaders are problem-solvers. Or at the very least, they don’t dwell on problems and instead focus on working towards a solution. They don’t have the answers all the time, but they sure will always be working to get answers. They don’t complain and instead look forward and move forward, always keeping in mind the goals they set at the beginning, and always looking at the bigger picture. To this end, they prioritize and set the tasks that need to be done first.
- They are passionate about what they do
Effective leadership is about believing in what one is doing. Good leaders don’t and will never say, “it’s just a job,” or “I just work here.” They care about what they do, they care about the organization, and they care about the people they lead and work with.
- Good leaders are humble and accountable
This plays into the aspect of effective leadership that relies on generating respect that is earned, instead of relying on one’s position or title in the organization. It is humility that makes great leaders open-minded and willing to listen to others and even take constructive criticism. They don’t let pride get in the way of accomplishing goals and executing their vision for the business. They are also willing to take responsibility for their actions and don’t point fingers at the people they work with when things go south.
- They give credit where credit is due
Often you’ll hear the story about the boss that stole an idea, or took credit for someone else’s accomplishment. Good leaders share the glory, and are quick to credit a team member or colleague for a good idea. They know that success is through teamwork, and they respect the contribution and work other people make.
- Helps people grow
Great leaders help people grow. They willingly share what they know and look out for learning opportunities for the people they work with (or the people who work for them). They build up the team and foster strong relationships, rapport and cooperation within that team. They know the weakest link, and work towards strengthening that weak link.
- Communicate effectively
An integral part of effective leadership is strong communication. And communication isn’t just saying “I want this to happen.” It’s all about listening and truly considering the input that comes from other people in the team. Proper communication allows for better dissemination of information, as well as a stronger ability to work well with others when the situation calls for it.
