“Change is the law of life, and those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future” John F. Kennedy
In my previous article , we discussed the first five (5) essential qualities to be a good leader: integrity, innovation, honesty, active listening and self-confidence.
Now let’s look at five other qualities to develop to become an effective leader:
- Have a vision
- Be an excellent communicator
- Know how to delegate
- Ability to make decisions
- Ability to solve problems
Have a vision
As leadership is the ability to influence, motivate and guide individuals or groups to achieve a common goal, it is essential for the leader to fully understand this goal and the direction to take to get there.
To leave room for the development and involvement of your team members, who know the different tasks to be accomplished better than the manager or leader, it will be necessary for the leader to indicate or propose a way of doing things without being attached to it.
Depending on the deadline to be respected, which remains the responsibility of the leading manager, and the tools available to the team, the way to reaching the objective will be achieved.
The elements above are about a clear vision of the objective to be achieved, but the vision of the leader is not limited to the output of his team.
An excellent leader also works on the team itself, and the members who are part of it, over several given periods: The next shift, the next week, the next month, the next year and beyond.
This includes:
- Employee skills development
- Project management
- Intra-team mentoring
- Growth development for key players
- one-on-one discussions with employees to understand their ambitions and the best chair for them for the future.
We must also remember the need to find the weak links in the chain to prevent a breakdown in its fluidity.
It remains essential for the leader to have a clear vision of the destination, but to maintain a certain flexibility in order to adjust this vision along the way if necessary.
Excellent communicator
Another quality of the leader is to ensure excellent and healthy communication with his team and his bosses.
If a link is made with the last quality of having a good vision, it is important for the leader to be able to communicate well with his colleagues the important elements of this vision.
This is done by using language adapted to your audience and finding the right words that will motivate the troops to follow you in the chosen direction.
The importance of clarity in your message also comes from the fact that the positive leadership approach is not always known to employees.
This could lead to reluctance to change and employees, hurt in the past by broken promises, looking for loopholes or inconsistencies in your message that could undermine the efforts put in place.
Know how to delegate
Given that there are a significant amount of tasks to accomplish when you are a manager or leader of a work team, the delegation of some, if not the majority, of these tasks to the members of your team is essential. This allows the manager/leader to keep their head above water and therefore have the peace of mind to remain in charge of the strategy, vision and direction that the team will take.
However, the most important element coming from delegation is empowering team members and allow them to develop.
To do this, the leader must remain disciplined and not delegate everything at once. He identifies a task and a person capable of receiving this new task and ensures that everything is accomplished in the right way and that his employee/colleague has the tools to succeed.
By using this methodology for all tasks to be delegated, the team’s efficiency increases quickly and everyone wins.
Ability to make decisions
The different elements discussed before show a clear picture that the leader is a figure of influence and transformation for a group of people.
Although the goal is to empower employees and delegate certain tasks, the leader must be able to make the right decisions.
It’s not always easy, there are often significant risks and consequences if the wrong decision is made, but that comes with the position. Your followers expect you to have the courage to decide .
The worst decision would be not to make a decision and continue with the status quo. When you make the right decision, you receive praise from management, colleagues and employees.
Although the fear of making the wrong decision often prevents us from taking action, it is very educational. It allows you to grow and learn.
It remains essential, however, that you take responsibility for this bad decision. Even if the fault comes from an employee. You can then give feedback to the employee and work together to understand the error and what needs to be put in place to prevent it from happening again.
So, be courageous and assert yourself in making decisions.
Ability to solve problems
To every problem, there is one or more solutions. As a professional, you have always had problems to resolved. You may have had the humility to recognize your limitations and asked for help when you couldn’t find solutions. However, we often have the reflex to think that it is our responsibility (to us alone) to find answers to our problems.
When you become in charge of a work team or position yourself as the leader of a group, everyone will look at you and expect you to solve problems.
And there will be a ton of problems… As mentioned for decision making, you will have the final say on what action to take to resolve the problems, but you are far from alone and you don’t have to be an expert in all areas and to have all the knowledge.
This is where the exceptional strength of a work team lies. If you are able to stimulate the thinking and creativity of your team, the solutions will emerge on their own and will probably be better than you initially thought.
Remember: employees are experts and have the information on the current situation. They are best equipped to solve the problems that affect their daily lives.
Important point
If an employee offers you a solution that is slightly different from yours, but which will solve the problem, choose their solution and you will see a transformation take place. That’s wonderful…
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The next article will deal with five (5) other qualities, namely:
- Right attitude
- Autonomy and motivation
- Humility
- Caring for others
- Good emotional intelligence
Need help improving your leadership skills or building a culture of caring leadership? Do not hesitate to contact me .
I will be happy to listen to you and provide you with the tools you need for the future.
Always remember: how does your mood impact your performance and overall attitude? Imagine if all your employees or collaborators were happy…
Carl-Michael Tessier – Manager and Team Leader
PS : Discover additional servant leadership resources on my YouTube channel !
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