3 Steps to Improve Leadership In The Workplace

No matter what industry you’re in, any business functions more smoothly with great leadership. Effective leaders help workers stay energized and motivated to chase after the goals of the company. True leaders have a talent of uniting people under a common cause. If this is the kind of leader you want to be, then try following these three steps to improve your leadership skills in the workplace.

Step 1: Surround yourself with a great team

Being able to build a great team is a sign of leadership in and of itself. But when you surround yourself with the right people, their skills, insight, and input can actually help you develop into a better, more capable leader. Surrounding yourself with the wrong people, on the other hand, can make it incredibly difficult to step up and be a leader in the workplace.

When recruiting talent for your team, you’ll want to consider a few things. First, think about the values of the people that you’re surrounding yourself with. The ease that comes with leading a great team shouldn’t be due to the fact that they’re blindly obedient to everything you say or suggest—in other words, while surrounding yourself with people who absent-mindedly follow your instructions may make you feel like a leader at times, it won’t significantly improve your leadership skills.

Instead, you should try to find intelligent people who share similar goals as you, will ask questions when needed, and challenge you when appropriate. By surrounding yourself with smart, driven individuals, you’ll be more likely to begin challenging yourself and making progress as a leader.

So, how do you build the right team? You’ll have to conduct multiple interviews with candidates in order to get a true sense of their values and their character. It’s also always a good idea to put individuals you’re considering adding to the team through a screening process. Run a background check employment history, their education history, and their identity to make sure they’re being forthright with you during the application process.

Step 2: Work on your communication skills 

Communication is key when it comes to being a strong leader. Think of people who hold prominent leadership positions: heads of state, CEOs, coaches, etc. One trait that they all have in common is the ability to effectively communicate their intentions and ideas, whether it be with a single person or a large group. That’s because proper communication skills are absolutely necessary if you want to efficiently solve problems within your organization and motivate your workers, clients, business associates, and investors alike.

There are a few different things to keep in mind if you want to work on being a better communicator. For example, one of the most important parts of communicating is being able to speak in a confident, convincing, and eloquent way. Some people are born with this gift, while for others, it’s a skill they need to practice. If this is something you feel like you need to work on, consider taking an interpersonal communication class or a public speaking course.

An equally large part of communicating is being able to listen to the person you’re speaking to. After all, you don’t want to just talk at the other person and never give them the chance to speak. Make a conscious effort to actively listen to your employees and respond to their feedback.

Step 3: Form connections with the people around you

A leader is someone who can motivate the people around them and bring them together in the pursuit of a common goal. However, as a leader, it can be very difficult to do this when you’re distant to the people you’re supposed to be leading, and they don’t feel like they know you. That’s why it’s necessary that you actually try and get to know the people you work with.

Most people would rather work for the fun boss that takes them out to lunch from time to time, rather than for an aloof, intimidating figure isolated in a big corner office. Thus, being an active part of the team can make you a more effective leader.

Provide your employees with hands-on help when they’re experiencing issues, offer words of encouragement, keep the workplace positive and upbeat. In order to help everyone connect, you might even consider organizing events such as company lunches, work parties when someone in the office has a birthday, or other informal social gatherings.

If you want to start being an effective leader, then take action. By following these three steps, you can bring out your true leadership potential and earn the respect of your employees and peers.