Leadership is something that is often taught to children because it’s something that can truly make a lasting impact. Both children and adults can easily pick out who a leader is, a good leader at that. Shows, movies, bookies, comics, video games, and other forms of media depict leaders of a variety of ages for their audience to see. While these can help set an idea of what a leader is, how would you describe a leader? How would you describe a strong leader?
People often tend to get “boss” and “leader” mixed up. There is this belief that a leader needs to be powerful and assertive but it’s far from the truth. Leaders should be in a role that allows others to be transformed. Some of these qualities a leader should have can include being an empowering force, inspiring, and positive. The major quality of a good leader rather than just some boss would be the fact that good leaders value their followers, they see them as a team, and they continuously inspire their team to perform better.
So what exactly can you do to improve yourself as a leader and embrace the best qualities that a good leader has? How do you become a strong and effective leader? What are some of the best tips to achieve just that? Continue reading on to learn more about the following tips on how to become a better leader and how you can implement these strategies in your day-to-day life.
Begin by figuring out the type of leadership style you have
Did you know that there are different types of leaders? Did you know about the different types of styles that are included? Leadership isn’t entirely a one-size-fits-all, even for good leaders there are still going to be different styles. What may make it easier for you would be to be taking a quiz or some type of assessment as this can lead you in the right direction of what your leadership style may be? Even if you don’t agree with that leadership style in the results, then go ahead and take the quiz or assessment one or more to get an idea of the type of leadership style you are. Sometimes what you’re wanting to be and what you are may not work out, but it also helps in pushing you to embrace who you are.
Expand your skills and training
One of the best ways to become a good leader is to always be open to learning. The world is your classroom and you’re always looking to learn something new. There are plenty of resources online that can allow you to get some additional learning and training done. There are free courses and training such as Udemy or Coursera, and these are known for being quite helpful. But there are plenty of other ways you can get additional training and education as well. If your company has an education program then you can ask about that.
The same can be said for the industry that you’re in as sometimes there are education programs that are free or affordable as well. It’s just best to do some searching on this. But one program that is known to help out a lot regardless of industry is the Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Just take some time to do some research on classes, programs, and training that could benefit your career and your skills of developing as a good leader.
Stay creative and encourage creativity in others
Intellectual stimulation and creativity go hand in hand. In fact, you want to stay creative as this is going to help you stay intelligent and to learn. As a developing leader, you need to define what creativity means to you and how you want to be creative. Your followers need to have encouragement as well for expressing their creativity so they can eventually evolve into good leaders as well.
Embrace self-expression through creativity, as this is one of the best ways to intellectually stimulate yourself. Any good leader will offer new challenges to their followers, but themselves as well to help them achieve their goals. Always try to stretch your limits and push your followers to do the same. You want to encourage yourself and others to cross barriers, not discourage them.
Have a role model
Even effective leaders need to start from somewhere. A great way to get a good start is to find an effective role model. Even the greatest leaders of all time have had role models. So who is your role model? Who is someone that you idealize? Having a general idea of who this could be can massively help you out because you may want to emulate some of the qualities that they have.
Serve as a role model
It’s great to have a role model, but why not try to be an outstanding role model for someone else? As a good leader, you’ll want to exemplify the behaviors and characteristics that can help encourage your followers. Fostering a specific belief or value and fostering it with your followers can result in outstanding performance and achievement for everyone. Just be open to being a role model because some of the best role leaders were role models to someone.
Have strong communication skills
Communication in any relationship is key and there’s no difference between the relationship of a leader and follower. You want to provide one-on-one communication with your teammates. If you’re looking to be a good leader that inspires others, then you have to provide a vision. You have to keep communication open and you want to make sure that your team feels as if they’re contributing enough. Not only this, but you need to reach out and effectively communicate by recognizing the achievements that your team is doing. Let them know that you’re always there to listen to them and help them whenever possible.
Be adaptable
In this world of constant changes, a good leader needs to think fast, adapt, and teach their followers to simply roll with the punches. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of this. Many leaders and business owners have adapted to COVID by allowing their employees to work from home as well as other opportunities for them to consider.
Show your passion
Passion is one of the biggest ways to show that a leader is indeed a good leader. How could you ask for guidance from someone if they truly don’t care what they’re doing? Passion is one of the biggest drivers. Good leaders have a genuine passion for what they’re doing, they’re so enthused by it and the projects they’re working on. Let people know that you care about their progress and what they’re doing. Let them know that you’re wanting to help. Whenever one person shares something with the rest of the group, let them know how much you appreciate the contributions.
Stay positive
Sometimes being overly positive can be a bit annoying, right? Well, being optimistic is a great quality that all great leaders need to possess. Having an optimistic attitude serves as a source of inspiration for followers. It helps cheer them up during the worst of situations, and it helps with seeing the silver lining.
If leaders seem too apathetic then this is going to cause the group to be uninspired. The show Ted Lasso is a great example of having a positive leader. Coach Lasso’s positivity is what helps drive his team to stay happy and positive even during the times where his team loses their match. Positivity can truly go a long way and make a lasting impact.