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In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote of leadership: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.” Many people will say they aren’t leaders because the prevailing image of leadership in our culture is that of the towering figure, the confident dynamo, the Great Man of History, the Steve Jobs types. The truth is that leadership can be much subtler than that. It’s the art of inspiring others, a soft skill that empowers people to bring out the best inside them. You don’t have to be an extrovert, a “Type A personality,” brimming with confidence to motivate others; Lao Tzu’s vision of the invisible leader, a friendly motivational ghost, is just as viable an approach.
For our latest Success Blog, we explore a few actions you can put into practice to cultivate and hone your leadership skills.
Stay Positive
The right attitude can make all the difference. When you’re acting in a position of leadership, maintaining a positive attitude is very important. Part of being a leader is setting the tone for a situation. If you’re dour or pessimistic, that sends a bleak signal to the people around you. How can they have hope in what they’re doing if YOU don’t? A positive mindset is empowering; it can push you and others around you to keep searching for solutions rather than give up in despair.
Being positive isn’t just about your demeanor. A smile helps, but so does praise. Don’t be stingy with your encouragement or praise; people who feel valued will work harder for you than those whose egos are chipped and battered from too much criticism and harsh words.
Be Decisive
A key part of leadership is being decisive. Part of why people put their trust in leaders is they’re entrusting someone else to make the big decisions. Think of a time when you and your friends tried to figure out where to go out for dinner, and the choice paralysis that seizes the group from all the possibilities until someone finally steps up and says “let’s go to the Thai place.” THAT is leadership: stepping up and making the decision that no one else wants to or is able to.
As a leader, it’s on you to make decisions and stand by them. Transparency is very important here, as is accountability. If people can’t understand why you made the decisions you’ve made or see you dodging responsibility when something you decided fails, they’ll have a hard time trusting you in the future.
Be Self-Aware
As the old saying goes: “Know thyself.” If you want to be a leader, you have to cultivate self-awareness. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your blind spots? What are your biases? What is your preferred communication style? What triggers your anger? What do you consistently gravitate toward? What time of the day are you most energetic? Understanding how you respond to life’s ups and downs will improve your ability to interact with others and avoid needless conflict. Knowing your shortcomings encourages delegation: a good leader surrounds themselves with people who can do things that they can’t.
Understanding how you think, communicate, and react to situations gives you important information that you can share with others. If you’re working on a group project and know that certain kinds of feedback or communication are unhelpful to you, share that with your team. One way to set people up for success is to tell them the best method for connecting with you. If you prefer phone calls to email, for example, it’s best to share that inclination with others.
Listen Closely
A good leader is also a good listener. How can you lead if you don’t listen to the people you’re trying to lead? You need to practice active listening. That means giving others your undivided attention, not just to what they’re saying but how they’re saying it. Be aware of their body language and the emotional tenor of what’s being said. Don’t wait to talk or focus all your attention on thinking up counterarguments/rebuttals: just listen. Good leadership needs good information; you’re not going to get that by being a poor listener. Listening is also about respect; nobody likes being ignored. Taking the time to really listen to someone and ask them questions based directly on what they’re sharing shows your respect. Even if what they’re saying is wildly off-base or inaccurate, it’s the mark of a good leader to let people conclude their train of thought before speaking your piece.
“Ask reflective questions,” said Dr. Melanie Abts, Rio Salado College's Counseling Faculty Co-Chair. “Summarize what they are saying to see if you are understanding what they are saying.”
Agile Learner
To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross: always be learning. A strong leader is adaptable and able to learn new things to make themselves and others more effective. Being an agile learner is all about that adaptability; it’s about knowing what to do when you’re faced with a problem or situation without a clear solution. It’s about learning from failure, finding wisdom through experience, and actively seeking out learning opportunities. Taking professional development courses and pursuing certifications and degrees can be part of that process, but so is critical self-examination. Look at your biggest successes and failures. What did you do to achieve those accomplishments? What mistakes did you make? How can you do things differently in the future?
Being an agile learner is also about setting a positive example as a leader. If you want to encourage others around you to develop themselves and pursue learning as well, model what that looks like and lead by example.
Emotional Intelligence
There are different kinds of intelligence. As a leader, you’ll utilize several of them. One of the most important ones is emotional intelligence (also known as interpersonal intelligence). Emotional intelligence helps you “read the room.” Empathy, diplomacy, managing your emotions, conflict resolution, and connecting one-on-one with others all involve emotional intelligence. Effective leaders modulate their approach based on other people’s moods and energy. This is why it’s important to touch base with people and do a “temperature check” on morale.
Leadership Style
One way to improve your leadership skills is to understand what your leadership style is. There are several different approaches to leadership: which of these sounds closest to how you approach group dynamics?
- Autocratic: The buck stops here. Autocratic leaders often act without seeking the input of others; they are uick to act without seeking consensus.
- Coaching: This leadership type focuses on growing the individual talents of their team and organizes efforts based around their respective strengths and weaknesses.
- Democratic: The opposite of autocratic leadership, these leaders value consensus building, transparent communication, and considering the contributions of all their team members.
- Identity: This style is geared around leading yourself before you lead others. Identity leaders understand THEIR own strengths and weaknesses and build their leadership skills around them.
- Laissez-Faire: The opposite of a mircromanager, laissez-faire leaders utilize a trusting, hands-off approach to dealing with others. These leaders remain accountable for their teams but give them the freedom and space to make their own decisions.
- Servant: These leaders put the needs of their team first. Their main focus is on mentoring and empowering others.
- Transformational: These kinds of leaders are all about high energy, motivation, and inspiring others to push themselves to surpass their previous efforts and go above-and-beyond.
Article by Austin Brietta
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