Leading a business isn’t for sissies. Do you know if you’re a good leader? Do you want to become a better leader? All managers have room for improvement. The key to becoming a better leader is to be continuously dedicated to both professional and personal development. Here are tips on how you can become a better leader.
Find a Mentor
If you’re new to leadership, you will react one of two ways to the suggestion of needing a mentor. You’re either going to be all for it or you’re going to look down on it. If you’re all for it, congratulations. Your willingness to learn from others will help you become a better leader. If you cringe at the thought of finding a mentor, then it’s even more imperative that you have one. You have a lot to learn about leadership. To become better in life, it is often suggested that we surround ourselves with likeminded people. So, if you want to become a better leader, you should surround yourself with leaders that have qualities that you want to emulate.
Get Involved
There’s a big difference between a boss and a leader. A boss just delegates tasks and watches others work. A true leader will delegate tasks, help others when they need it, and get their hands dirty. Leadership is about more than telling people what you want them to do. If you want to become a better leader, be the shining example of the work ethic you want out of your team. Get involved.
Trust Your Team
Micromanagement is one of the worst things you can do as a leader. Understand that there is a big difference between providing guidance and micromanaging your team. When you delegate tasks, you must trust your team and their abilities. You need to trust that they understand the end goal and will come to you if they need help. You delegate work because you can’t do it all. So, you have to trust your team to do it. Micromanagement will eat up more of your time. Give instruction, offer guidance, have an open door policy for questions, and let people do their jobs.
Don’t Make Work All About Rules
We’ve all worked with that one boss who was a total jerk. He or she seemed to have nothing better to do than make sure that everyone knew that they were in charge; that one boss who actually does very little work and seems to have 15 new rules in place every day. Yes, rules are often necessary. However, you do not want to take away power from your team. They need to be empowered to help solve problems. They should not have to check in with you over every decision.
Respect the Time of Your Team
Have you ever in your professional life been involved in meetings that felt like a total waste of your time? Maybe you really weren’t an integral part, but the meeting was mandatory. Maybe the meetings talked about everything except what the meeting was supposed to cover. Respect the time of your team (and your own time). Implementing mandatory attendance to meetings even for team members who aren’t involved is a big time waster. It makes it hard for your team to meet their goals if their tied up in meetings. Time is money. Stick to the agenda for the meetings. Make a time limit and enforce it. This will limit the amount of time that is wasted and preserve the time you and your team need to help your clients.
Ask for Input
Yes, you’re a leader. It’s your job to make the decisions. Asking for input is a simple way that you can become a better leader. You’ll get insight from your team about projects. You’ll get different perspectives that may make you think about projects and problems in a new way. It widens your scope. Never be afraid to ask for input on key team members who are heavily involved in your projects and goals. Take the time to talk to other team members, too. You just never know who might have an absolutely brilliant idea.
Learn to Say Sorry
Good leaders apologize when they are wrong. This is not a sign of weakness. Apologizing if you are wrong is a sign of strength and respect. When your team sees that you are not above admitting your mistakes, they are more dedicated to your cause. They feel respected and you are more likely to retain them for a longer period of time.
It's a Learning Process
Continuing to improve as a leader is a process. It’s all about learning. To be the best leader that you can be, make it a point to keep learning and improving. You’ll be glad that you did!
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