Very few people are born leaders and most of us need to practice our leadership skills to be a good leader. 

This is why leadership development is so important. An effective team leader possesses a variety of characteristics and skills. But if you want to revolutionise your leadership skills, think about incorporating the following into your leadership style.

Inspire and motivate others 

When employees or co-workers lose their ambitions and passions, a true leader can energise and motivate them. They do this by getting to know the needs and wants of their employees. For example, an employee might have lost motivation because they think their hard work isn’t being recognised. A good leader will talk to them and offer the recognition they deserve. Sometimes people lose their motivation because they are facing difficulties, are tired of doing the same repetitive tasks or are disappointed they are not being asked to get involved. As a leader, you should be talking to your employees, asking them what’s going on and encouraging them to get involved.

Display high integrity and honesty 

Displaying high integrity and honesty means having strong moral principles, uprightness and fairness. In leadership, this manifests itself through consistency of words and actions. For instance, long management meetings are bound to stir up some nervous emotions among your team. Therefore, communicate as much news as you can, so your employee’s minds don’t wander. Another example is the provision of constructive feedback. Whether it’s good, bad or ugly, clear and constructive feedback is essential for a productive team.

Solve problems and analyse issues 

As leaders, the goal is to minimise the occurrence of problems. This means being courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hands. We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organisation and people we serve. But the reality of the workplace is that we have to deal with office politics, self-promotion and envy. Lack of budgets and resources also makes the role of leadership harder. A leader looking to revolutionise their leadership skills, will view problems as opportunities for improvement.

Be the example

A leader’s actions, behaviours and attitudes are constantly being observed and interpreted by employees. Leaders cannot avoid the fact that everything they do reflects the values and ideology of the organisation. It also conveys how well the organisation adheres to the rules it sets for its employees. When leaders behave as if the rules don’t apply to them, employees often do the same. Therefore, be the leader who speaks to clients in a friendly tone. Keep your office neat and clean. And don’t sit at your desk shopping on the internet. Not only will your employees follow your positive cues, you’ll also have better success at enforcing the rules.

Enhance your leadership skills with courses at Odyssey Training.