If you’re thinking about your professional goals for next year, it’s likely that you’re thinking about what you can do to become a better leader. Here are 6 pieces of leadership advice you can use in 2018.
Learn, Learn, Learn
There’s more to being a great leader than telling people what to do. If you want to improve your leadership skills, make it a priority to learn everything you can about leadership theories and principles. Stay on top of the best leadership videos, books, and articles in 2018. Read and re-read your favorite leadership books and articles. Make sure that you refresh yourself on leadership basics, too.
You can also learn how to be a better leader by finding a mentor. You don’t have to be new to leadership to take advantage of a mentorship. Look for a mentor that emulates the qualities that you want to display as a leader.
Be an Example
The best leaders don’t just give instructions and delegate. They set an example. Help others when they need it. Have an open door policy for questions and concerns. Be an overall example of the work ethic that you want your team to display.
Help Your Employees Grow
Being a great leader means that you get to know your employees and you do what you can to help them grow. While they play an important part where they are within your organization, it’s likely that they have bigger ambitions. Find ways that help your employees improve and move toward their own goals. You’d be surprised at how well this encourages employee loyalty.
Along the same line, make sure that you don’t limit your conversations with your employees by only talking with them during their yearly review. Make sure that you build a good relationship with them and take the time to get to know them. This is the best way for you to learn what motivates them and how you can help them grow as professionals.
Empower Your Employees
By giving your employees the ability to solve problems for your clients, you show them that you trust them. Empowering your employees to solve basic issues isn’t just good for company morale. It also helps save you time because there are fewer small scale problems that you’ll find yourself involved in.
Be Respectful of Their Time
Your time is important. So is the time of your employees. Be mindful of their time. If employees aren’t truly an integral part of a project, keep them out of meetings or emails related to it. Let them work on projects that they’re assigned to complete. Stay away from mandatory attendance meetings that don’t have a clear agenda and time limit. Stick to what’s on the agenda and respect the time limit. This preserves your time as well as the time of your employees. This is an easy way to improve productivity.
Talk to Your Employees about What They Need
To be a great leader, you must get the feedback of your employees. Your employees won’t have the same needs, but by talking to them, you can find out the general consensus on how happy (or unhappy) they are. You can find out how you can make the workplace better for them. Improving the workplace helps inspire employee loyalty.
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