7 ways to build your leadership skills today September 10, 2018

7 ways to build your leadership skills today

Regardless of where you are on the career ladder right now, there will be a point when you’ll be handed a leadership role and your team will expect you to hit the ground running.

As a leader, you should focus inward on your own leadership skills list and ask yourself how you can find ways to empower and inspire your team.

Here are some ways to turn the conversation inward and focus on building and honing your leadership skills:

Be disciplined

Every good leader needs to be disciplined. If you require discipline from your team, you yourself need to be the one who sets the standard. Remember, always meet your deadlines, keep your appointments, and end meetings on time.

Model great leadership for others

Show those around you exactly what you’d like to see them do. Don’t waver on this. People respect someone who walks the walk. Research supports the power of the role model; idealized influence is one of the core characteristics of transformational leaders. The fastest way to improve your team is to model the right behaviors for them through your own leadership skills.

Delegate tasks

It might surprise you, but you don’t have to do everything by yourself. Learn to delegate tasks to your colleagues; they are surely more than capable of fulfilling the task just as well as you. It will leave you with more time to do tasks you are best at and, at the same time, it will empower your team members and help them move forward.

Improve Your Communication Skills

One thing to remember is that communication is a two-way stream. While being able to communicate your vision and goal is important, be sure to also pick up on any queues that others may be giving off. Listen to your employees when they have complaints, opinions or ideas and you will go far. Strive to continuously improve your communication skills.

Reward people

Apart from obvious perks such as compensation and bonuses, people genuinely need honest feedback. When you're asking people to pull out all the stops, especially during difficult times, you want to show your appreciation for a job well done, which also builds employee loyalty.

Admit when you fail and move on

Even the most powerful, inspiring leaders make mistakes. The best leaders recognize their errors, admit them openly and take action to correct them and move on. Be open about your failures, to yourself and with your team, and learn from them. This is a powerful message to everyone around you that you will lead well even when you make a mistake. Being able to recognize not only your successes, but also your failures, is key when learning how to improve leadership skills and grow as a person.

Keep On Learning

The professional world changes constantly. Never remain complacent. Keep pushing yourselfto improve and learn more about your industry to become a better leader. Stay open to everyone’s ways of thinking. Attend management training courses, someone may have a better way of doing things than you do.

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