It is often a complex process for people to get a grip on how to be an effective leader. Especially because their conception of an effective leader is beclouded by what society has defined as an effective leader. Some think that good leaders are born. That belief is without sufficient study. Effective leaders are made, but it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and determination to become an effective leader. You must develop the requisite skills and traits to become a leader, an effective one at that. And your leadership traits will begin to wear off on your team.
Note that there is a stack difference between skills and traits. Though they are often confused to mean the same thing. Skill is the total ability possessed to perform a task with all the necessary expertise. Whereas, Traits are more innate, such as the quality you have or your characteristics. Despite the difference between the two, there is a point of intersection and that point is that they are both channeled similarly to achieve a clear goal.
Below is how to be an effective leader.
How to be an Effective Leader
1. Set a clear Vision:
What can an organization achieve without a clear vision? The totality of your expectations and goals is in your vision. To be an effective leader, you must set a clear vision of the goals you want to achieve, wherever you find yourself to lead. That will become your roadmap to achieving results.
Forbes says it is not enough that you have developed a plan, but you must take the requisite steps to put those plans into action. And that will necessitate bringing into perspective a team of people that share the same vision or use your skills to set the pace of how you think the vision can be achieved. You will begin to record results as your goals become reality.
2. Be Honest and Open to Communicating with your team:
The foundation of an effective leader is Honesty. You must build an environment of trustworthiness and be clear when you communicate an ideal. When your team knows you are truthful, it will aid in easy communication, as reported by Business News Daily.
We recommend being transparent and straightforward with your team members. This will rub off on them as well and you will begin to record a good number of followership, who are always willing to have you lead them.
3. Lead by Example:
Effective Leadership has reflections. These reflections are encapsulated in how you appear to your team. If you set a high standard for your team. You must bring your “A” Game also to the table. Followers want to follow those willing to go the extra mile to achieve a goal. The greatest motivation and tool you can give your team is to always lead by example.
Michael Page is quite optimistic that once your words are backed up by your actions, your followers will begin to fall in place and work to achieve team purpose. Here is how to manage a team remotely as a business owner.
4. Make Decisions:
One burden that leaders bear is making decisions. Developing decision-making skills is how to be an effective leader. Can you make the critical decisions that will position your company and raise the bar for your organization? That question you must begin to answer if you want to become an effective leader.
Indeed states that decisions effective leaders make are often risk-based, timeous, and smart. It is worth noting that some risks might involve complex factors or decisions that may displease some members of your team, but sticking by such decisions when you know there is a high chance of success is what defines your effectiveness. This leadership trait can also be useful when you become a life coach.
5. Motivate and Inspire Others:
An effective leader must motivate others. You have to instill passion, enthusiasm, and inspiration in your team if you want your leadership traits to stand out. You can choose to motivate them along personal lines or it could relate to professionalism.
You can be an effective leader if you invest your time and resources in the personal and professional development of your team. You give them the value they need to work under you and achieve the clear vision set for your organization.
Overall, try to inform them how they are making a difference and how their value adds to the organization’s success. Read on how to know your self-worth at the workplace.
6. Be Innovative;
Creativity and Innovation are how to be an effective leader. Harvard Business School Online states that the best way to become an effective leader is by experimentation and promoting innovative thinking amongst your team members.
A culture that encourages innovation and recognizes that humans are bound to make mistakes, but how the data generated from the experimentation can be used to improve your competitive advantage defines you as an effective leader.
7. Give Direct Feedback about Performance and Request for Feedback about your leadership:
An effective leader wants to know where to improve and whether his leadership is achieving the desired results. Thus, you must develop a leadership feedback survey from team members. Make the feedback anonymous so team members are forthright in providing honest feedback. As much as you want to request feedback from your team, you must reciprocate the gesture by providing team members with direct feedback about their performance. Be blunt yet clear and considerate in your feedback.
Ensure you put in place a work environment where people will feel free to express themselves without the fear of witch-hunting.
Conclusion
When you consider that how to be an effective leader is no easy process, you will come to terms with how much height you can scale for your organization when you are an effective leader. Like Education, you must keep learning and improving to be the leader you want. Remember, a lone approach creates no leader. Hence, set clear goals for your team that you want them to achieve. While we wish you well, remember to meditate on Doctor Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
- Habit 1: Be Proactive
- Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind
- Habit 3: Put first things first
- Habit 4: Think Win-Win
- Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood
- Habit 6: Learn to Synergize
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw