Effective Leadership: How To Be a Better Leader

Dr. Ankit Sharma, PhD

Updated on:

Leadership

Today, we will discuss the art of Leadership & characteristics of a good leader. Let us discuss first what we mean by the term Leader. A leader is a person who leads, organizes & commands a team. He/she gets the support of the team & guides the team to the path of achievement & towards a better goal.

Being an efficient Leader is not an easy task, a Leader must be ready to put his/her motives behind for the sake of a greater good. A Leader must be familiar with the strengths & weaknesses of each & every one of his team so that he/she can allocate tasks accordingly. Here, let us put some light on the characteristics of a good leader.

Characteristics of a Good Leader

Leadership

An efficient Leader must have the following qualities:

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is a must-have quality for good Leadership. The leader needs to be continually aware of how members of his/her team are acting, what they are saying, and what message their nonverbal communiqué is sending.

Although they may not always realize it, team members constantly observe leaders and model their actions and reactions on how they see the leader react. A Leader must be aware of his/her reactions, verbal/nonverbal response to some particular situation & how it will affect the team.

2. Relationship Building

To form an effective team a Leader must focus on Relationship Building.  The Leader must make his/her team members feel comfortable with him/her. The Leader must form a working relationship with each of the team members so the Leader can be aware of their strengths & weaknesses, which is quite necessary to allocate roles & duties to team members.

The relationship between a Leader & his/her team member must be cordial, so that any team member doesn’t feel threatened or embarrassed to tell the Leader that he/she has made a blunder.

3. Display Humility

Humility is a word that is sometimes misunderstood. People who have humility tend to not be proud of their work and accomplishments & don’t have any superiority complex. A

humble Leader will never take credit for the work of someone else. A Leader will always acknowledge the effort & success of his/her fellow team members. Some effective Leaders also have the tendency to label his/her accomplishments as the result of teamwork.

4. Display Confidence

A true Leader will ooze with confidence, be it about some task in hand or about his/her team & the capability of it. People look for confidence from their Leader.

The positive mindset, the confidence motivates the team member to even go for Herculean tasks. The confidence of a Leader is reflected within the team.

Tips for Becoming a Better Leader

Leadership

Some people are born leaders, some are not. But like many skills, skills of Leadership can be learned too. If we can understand the basics of effective Leadership, we also can emerge as influential Leaders & be ready to lead a team. Here are some ways we can apply to be better Leaders.

1. Show Empathy

Showing Empathy to your team members is a must for a Leader. Sometimes, someone gets chosen as a Leader only because of past experience & achievements, but devoid of the gift of empathy, that team will surely fall down.

If a member has made a mistake & feeling down, instead of yelling at him/her remind him/her how he/she has succeeded earlier, remind him/her that we all make mistakes & provide some motivation to get up & move forward. Next time the member will provide his/her best effort to mend that mistake & complete the task successfully.

2. Be a Good Listener

Being a good listener goes hand in hand with being empathetic. Everyone wants to be heard & a true Leader always values the input of his/her team members.

To know & understand each of the members, listening to the team is quite necessary. All of them are unique & come with unique skill sets. By listening to the team a Leader finds out the motives, aspirations, strengths & weaknesses of team member & utilize the knowledge for the benefit of the team.

3. Hone Their Skills

A good Leader always tries to bring out the best in his/her team members by sharpening their skills & experiences. He/she always motivates his/her team members to strengthen their skills for the benefit of the team & their personal development.

4. Learn How to Handle Failure

We are bound to make mistakes & as a result, failure will strike. A true Leader must know how to handle failure without dampening the team spirit. Anger & pointing fingers are counterproductive. A true leader always handles failure gracefully, he/she tries to find out the root cause of the failure & invites input from team members to know how to avoid that in the future.

5. Be a Team Player

Sometimes, appointed Leaders have the tendency to assume the role of Supervisor or Boss. That is quite undesirable. A true leader has to be a team player. He/she has to participate along with his/her team to complete a task, not to boss around. By being a team player a leader provides the necessary motivations & moral boosts to his/her team members important for the accomplishment.

6. Provide Reward & Recognition

After the successful completion of a task by a team member, never forget to reward him/her & acknowledge his/her credit in front of the team. Everyone craves some recognition, when the team members will see how you are acknowledging the efforts & contribution of a member, they will also be motivated to do better.

7. Ask For Feedback About Your Leadership

If you ask for feedback about your Leadership from your team members, it will show how you want to connect with them & how you are open to their honest feedback. Through their feedback, you can be aware of your shortcomings, point out your flaws & try to mend them. Inviting feedback from fellow team members is a great way to show your open-mindedness.

Conclusion

As the saying goes, “A True Leader doesn’t create followers, they create more Leaders” While leading a team, we need to always remember that. Despite seeking submission from the team, one must seek performance & creativity from the team. The most effective leaders of history have gone hand in hand with their followers & showed the world what are the characteristics of a good leader. They defined Leadership.

We hope you enjoy our today’s post.

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