Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how senior your role is or how prestigious your career path has been, you should never rest on your laurels. The second you stop taking the time to develop your career and better yourself as a leader, you’ll witness a steep decline in your influence and, ultimately, your relevance in the corporate sphere.
And whilst you may well be considered a strong leader by your team, there’s never a better time to dust off the cobwebs and challenge yourself. Here are five key ways to build-up your leadership skills:
- Learn, consider, implement
There has never been a better time to be a leader in search of betterment than the modern day. The sheer wealth of studies, stats, and advice on websites is enough to keep any leader engaged in progressive people management indefinitely. Want to know how to grow and change? Read up on the latest techniques, consider how applicable they are to your business, and change based on the outcome. You’ll never regret getting more informed.
- Challenge yourself to improve the worker experience
Whilst many workers are hesitant to complain to the boss, sites such as Glassdoor offer anonymous insights into employer experience. It may be true that many comments are often left by disgruntled workers, however, this in no way discredits some of the points they raise. To better your leadership, take on board what your critics have to say and use that to better the experience of your employees.
- Get into their shoes
Do you feel disconnected from your workforce? There are many ways to reconnect with your team – one of which is to dedicate a day, or even a week, to shadow them. This way, you’ll see their everyday processes and truly understand what it means to manage their workload, whilst also getting to know them better as people. The insight you’ll receive is extremely valuable going forward.
- Set team goals
Want to promote collaboration? Then think outside of the box when setting team goals. Teambuilding events are a fashionable excursion for corporates these days and whilst many bosses refuse to get involved, working with your team to complete fun tasks builds a sense of community and comradeship. This could also be promoted in the workplace; why not set reward-based weekly targets? This pushes employees and gives them a reason to celebrate a win if they succeed.
- Identify an area of weakness
Don’t wait around for employees to bring it up; objectively asses your own strengths and weaknesses and set aside some time to address them and strengthen them. A boss that can be inwardly critical of their own practices encourages employees to do the same and ultimately improves your management.
What skills do you think are essential for leaders to possess?
