Developing leadership skills in today’s workplace can be quite an undertaking. Whether you’re in charge of a company, a department or a small team, leading your team in an office, remotely or within a combination of both, can be challenging. Are your skills up for the task?
What Skills Do You Possess?
Having a specific set of skills may set you apart from the pack. So what skill set would help you most? In today’s ever-changing workforce, a strong leader has to be adept at working with what this pandemic has thrown at them. Leading through various situations that are out of the norm has almost become the norm.
Working from home, working from an office, working in a hybrid situation…it can be overwhelming. To help keep the leader in you from feeling this way, be sure to let go of bad habits that will deter you and your team. For example, be sure to see your subordinates as people and not as a title that fits into your org chart. And be sure to take responsibility for the good and the bad versus passing the blame to another.
Be a Respected Leader
While there are many skills that we already have that make us the leader we already are, a more specific skill set may be what makes you go from a good leader to a respected leader.
According to CEO Monthly, there are ten attributes a business leader needs today. Which of these attributes do you already possess?
- Be resilient and don’t let failures get to you.
- Be humble and have a clear vision.
- Be compassionate and understanding.
- Be inclusive and do not value one person over another.
- Be responsible and make informed decisions.
- Be a trailblazer by finding unique solutions to everyday problems.
- Be authentic and show transparency.
- Be accountable by taking responsibility for your actions.
- Be inspirational and motivational to your team and those around you.
- Be a great communicator and focus on what truly matters.
Non-Leadership Behaviors Getting in the Way?
Remember, being a leader may mean that you stop displaying those non-leadership behaviors that you may not realize you’re putting out there. Here’s three you can put aside right away.
- Putting work above all else may help you reach your own goals, but as a leader, putting your team first should be the goal.
- Letting your ego get in the way of what really matters. Just because you’re in charge, doesn’t mean you should put yourself first. Remember, there’s no “I” in “team.”
- Looking at your phone instead of giving your team your full attention when they need it. This may be challenging given the work-from-home situation you may find yourself in, but it’s even more important to give your undivided attention to those who need it.
Advancing Your Leadership Skills
Advancing your leadership skills and getting into a leadership mindset requires work. Develop and strengthen those leadership skills in a way that puts you in a position to communicate and motivate more effectively. Contact Executive Coach Deborah O’Donnell at Rodas Coaching for more information.