To be valued by your followers and to have an outstanding and high performance in work is every leader’s ultimate goal. Leadership is a large role in any career development, and one has to put in the time, hard work and commitment to achieve results. Just like any other skill, leadership requires continuous learning and consistent practicing till perfection is attained.
Image by Evan Rummel
To be an effective leader you need to be resilient, patient, understanding and a role model. Having technical skills alone does not cut it; one needs soft skills to make a successfully all rounded leader. Here are some ways to instantly elevate your leadership skills that will guarantee growth.
Boost your confidence
Self-confidence is a great ingredient in becoming an admirable and outstanding leader. You can learn all the fundamentals of leadership this world has to offer, but without believing in yourself, you are bound to fail completely. People prefer dealing with leaders who are truly confident and tend to trust them because they equate confidence to competency. Confidence determines the ability to make decisions, commit to them and pitch them to others. To build self-confidence and avoid vulnerability that could be exploited, leaders should inevitably acknowledge their strength and weaknesses so that they work on them early enough. They can build their confidence by finding mentors and people who have been there before, asking for feedback which ultimately allows growth, by not being afraid to fail and managing inner dialogue regularly. Confident leaders have a vision and courage, are good in communicating, embrace risks and build strong relationships with their team members that are long lasting.
Staying calm is key to improving your leadership presence
Being calm will help in taking proper evaluation during difficult times, comprehending and reaching a decision quickly. Staying calm during a turbulent and frustrating time will assure your team that things have not spiraled out of control and that they can still be handled. A leader should stay calm so as to focus on the problem and show a confident and a collected demeanor to his/her members’ regardless of how he/she feels. Leaders should have composure which is mainly reflected in the body language, overall presence, and attitude. When faced with difficulty, as a strong leader you should keep a cool head, remain positive, be transparent with the team, take accountability and be proactive.
Credibility revolves around body language and communication
Body language speaks volumes to people especially when it comes to leaders. People tend to look at your posture, your gestures with hands and arms, the tone of voice and eye contact. Focused leaders convey strength and self-confidence subtly though their pose. In most cases, an open posture shows confidence and power. Leaders use appropriate gestures, and their eye contact conveys trustworthiness. Regarding communication; they always listen without interrupting others, ask for opinions and respectfully and gracefully pass off their opinions too. If you want to be a great leader, it is important that you also master the art of firm handshakes. This may be deemed as a small gesture, but it tells a lot because a firm handshake shows confidence and creates a perfect first impression.
Invest in your social capital by connecting more powerfully with others
Social capital is one of the most valuable assets that can be possessed by leaders and organizations. Strong social capital will benefit the leader in that through the information shared, he/she can easily identify and react to threats and opportunities, creating cohesive teams and facilitate change. Networking and socializing has for a long time been recognized to be a powerful tool for professionals and business people. Social networking helps facilitate information sharing which gives you greater access and makes it easier to have an influence on many people and to communicating across organizational careers.
As a leader, make it your goal to make other people feel happy
If you want to be an effective leader, you should be sensitive to people’s feelings and set a positive and happy mood. Focusing on their needs is as crucial as focusing on your needs. A leader should strive to make others happy because positive emotions encourage high performance in organizations. You should encourage them, motivate them and always be a good role model. This will make them happy, and they will easily and happily respect you, listen to you, and do a great job. Happy people will make a great team in that they will collaborate with you and be good team players.
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