SHARPENING YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS
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A leader is a person that inspires, motivates, and leads himself and a group of people. A leader will encourage others to pursue goals with intentionality. I don’t believe anyone is born a leader, but an effective leader is a person that consistently sharpens a set of leadership skills.
Here are 6 leadership skills that every leader needs to sharpen.
Listening
One of the most critical skills of a leader is a leader’s ability to listen. Listening is so important because it shows that a leader is paying attention. A leader cannot connect with his team without listening. Listening makes the speaker feel valued and respected.
How to be a good listener:
Give your full attention and maintain eye contact
Let the speaker finish speaking
Manage your body language
Summarize what you heard as a listener
Ask questions to gain more information
Cultivate Relationships
It is impossible to lead if no one follows. Building relationships is a key component to being a great leader. If a leader is not fond of people, it will be difficult to have success as a leader. Yes, I do understand that you cannot please everyone. However, a good leader never fails to develop relationships.
How to cultivate relationships:
Make others feel valued
Pay attention to the smallest needs of others
Regularly express appreciation
Help others achieve their goals
Have a Growth Mindset
A leader must always seek to grow. No success is attainable without continued learning. Growth ceases when a leader stops learning. And a lack of growth is a recipe for leadership failure. Substantial benefits will present growth is a leader’s priority.
How to have a growth mindset:
Be willing to shift your mindset
Focus on positive and negative feedback
Look at failures as learning opportunities
Be curious and committed understanding “why” things happen
Critically Think
It is vital that a leader gathers pertinent information, analyze it, and understand that same information before acting. Critically thinking is a skillset focusing on how a leader approaches difficult people, questions, and problems. Good leader are good critical thinkers because they question everything.
How to critically think:
Collect copious amounts of information from several sources
Gather all facts before making a decision
Keep an open mind and question everything
Be aware of your biases and avoid letting them influence your decision-making
Analyze all options, but choose the best option
Manage Emotions
Emotional intelligence is a leader’s capacity to be aware, control, and express one’s emotions, and to the emotions of others. Some of the best leaders have fallen or destroyed their leadership potential from their inability to manage their emotions.
How to manage emotions:
Be patient in your response to stressful situations
Be proactive
Regulate levels of negativity
Regulate energy levels
Be Transparent
A transparent leader is an inspirational leader. Transparency is the bridge or link to building trust between you and your team members. A person will not follow what they don’t trust. And it can be hard to trust what you cannot see. So leaders have to be transparent about their leadership to build the trust among the rest of the team.
How to be transparent:
Be honest always
Be open and accessible
Talk openly about techniques utilized
Explain why you are making specific decisions
Sharpening your leadership skills is so important to you reaching your life goals and helping others to reach their life achievements. If you will do more than what is expected, you will sharpen your leadership skills and lead effectively as a leader.
How are you currently sharpening leadership? Please leave a comment below or email me directly.
Bryant
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