Leadership Tips
"Leading is capturing passions to achieve the extraordinary, everything else is management.”
One day, you become a leader. On Monday, you are doing what comes naturally - enjoying your job, running a project, talking and laughing with colleagues about life and work, and gossiping about how stupid management can be.
Then on Tuesday, you are management. You are a boss.
Suddenly, everything feels different – because it is different. Many people desire to debut on leadership with joy but get overawed by the occasion.
There are lots of ways to be a leader. You need to look around. Leaders come in all possible varieties. There are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept of leadership. While leadership is easy to explain, it is not so easy to practice. Leadership is about behaviour first, skills next. Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess.
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. But what do you do after you become a leader. Leadership requires distinct behaviors and attitudes. Here are few simple yet effective tips :
- Integrity - the most important requirement; without it other traits count for nothing. Be firm and clear in dealing with bad or unethical behaviour.
- Candor: There is only one way - the straightway. Be candid; it sets the tone and imbibes legitimate self-confidence.
- Creativity: Be open to the best of what everyone everywhere has to offer; transfer learning across the company. Encourage people to grow, to learn and to take on as much as they want to, at a pace they can handle.
- Put people first, numbers will follow: Get the right people in the right jobs - it is more important than developing a strategy. Understand where real value is added and put your best people there. Make sure everybody counts and everybody knows that they count.
- Imbibe Informality: An informal atmosphere is a competitive advantage. Moving across to talk is better than writing a memo.
- Business has to be fun – celebrations are rejuvenating and help in bonding with the team. Be smiling and encouraging others to be happy and enjoy themselves
- Don’t declare victory before the war is over Never underestimate your competitors or alternate situations which can upset best of your strategies and plans
- Know when to intrude and when to let go - this is pure instinct. Leaders know what is to be said and what needs to be left unsaid. Involve people in your thinking and especially in managing change.
- Be very grown-up - never getting emotionally negative with people - no shouting no ranting, even if you feel very upset or angry. Always criticize behavior but never the person. Always accentuate the positive (say 'do it like this', not 'don't do it like that').
- Lead by example - always be seen to be working hard and determined. Help your people when they need it. Take the responsibility for the mistakes & give team the credit for successes. Back-up and support your people. (Never be self-promoting).
- Listen to and understand people (understanding is different to agreeing). Ask for people's views, but remain neutral and objective. Be honest but sensitive in the way that you give or receive bad news or criticism. Don’t look for villains in all the wrong places.
- Be fair and decisive - treat everyone equally and on merit as well as be seen to be making fair and balanced decisions. Always do what you say you will do - keep your promises. Avoid talking too much and saying too little.
- Manage your time well and helping others to do so too. (Have a sense of “important vs urgent” tasks and “clock vs compass” management). Be Relaxed - break down the barriers and the leadership awe - and give your people and yourself time to get to know and respect each other
- Accomplish the tasks and objectives while maintaining your integrity and trust of people.
A leader makes things happen by:
- knowing the goals and having a plan to achieve them
- building a team committed to achieving the goals
- helping each team member to give their best efforts
Remember, if you are an excellent manager then you have only reached the base camp. The climb to the summit starts now.