Stop Letting Others Lead Your Life With These Top Leadership Tips
Some people think leaders are born, not made. That is just not true. Just like most other qualities important to life and business, learning how to be a good leader is a key to success. It takes study, practice and learning what inspires others. Read these tips to develop your leadership qualities.
Offer incentives to employees who continually perform well. You can use a standard model with known rewards or surprise good employees with some type of recognition and bonus. Be sure you don't make promises that you can't keep. Always encourage your employees to do their best work and make sure each one understands their role in your organization.
Walk the talk. Leaders don't say one thing and do another. That is confusing to employees, and demotivating in many ways. Instead live by what you say. Follow through and lead by example. Then you'll have more than employees, you'll have champions who believe in your business and your leadership too.
Being a good leader doesn't just mean that you lead others. You also need the skills to lead yourself. Leading yourself by staying motivated and focused can also set a great example for others. Make an effort to become a working part of your organization and not just delegate tasks to others.
When you're trying to be a good business leader, you'll need to be able to make difficult decisions. When making a difficult decision, you should understand the consequences and outcome of your decision. When making a decision, you should always consider what is going to be best for your business, not just for certain people or yourself.
Focus on the people you are trying to lead, not yourself. It can be difficult to do that, but when you are a leader, you think of everyone. You must forget about yourself and focus on what you can offer to those who would follow you. That is the right thing to do, and you will find that most people appreciate that behevior.
Take care of yourself. When you're a leader, it can be very easy for you to lose yourself. However, it's important for you to remember that you are not going to be much use if you never sleep and never eat. Make sure that you are caring for yourself so you can best care for those you are leading.
Do not push people on your team too hard since this can result in doing the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Instead of giving them motivation to do more work, it may make them feel demoralized. In turn, they will lose a lot of respect for you.
Surround yourself with smart people. The best leaders out there all know one thing: when you've got the best people, you'll elevate everything. Don't think you need to be the smartest person in the company. Far from it. You need to be a visionary who sees greatness. Use that and find the best colleagues to surround yourself with.
Own your words. To be a good leader, you need to put your money where your mouth is. You are an important piece of the business, and anything you do or say will reflect on it. If you haven't handled a situation the right way, then you must be accountable and quickly react in order to make it better. Don't try to get others to help you fix things.
Don't hesitate to recognize people for their accomplishments. It is easy to forget to thank people for what they do, especially in a work environment where everything is moving quickly. Make sure you look for reasons to thank click here people for their good work, instead of simply chiding them when they make mistakes. This will encourage loyalty, and you will find you have an easier time leading when those you lead are loyal.
As a leader, or manager, your team is your greatest asset. And, they know the business better than anyone. Try carrying a journal, or notebook with you at all times. Use it to write down any information, ideas and problems you hear from the team. Then, each week, go over your notes, and see what you can do to implement good ideas, and solve any problems you may have encountered.
Finish what you start. Don't be the kind of business leader that is always giving motivational speeches. Whenever you have a realistic chance of closing out the execution of a stated goal, personally see that it gets done. That will tell colleagues and clients that you mean business. It also sets the bar for what you expect of those under you.
Get to know each of your employees one-on-one within the business environment. Find out what they like about their job, what they don't like and the things they would change. Try to check in with every employee periodically. These one-on-one meetings should be informal and you should not be threatening when you spend this time with your employees.
Keep a positive outlook. It can be hard to be optimistic and positive when things are rough, but doing so is critical if you want to be a good leader. You can increase employee morale by staying positive.
Being in a leadership position means that you hold a position of responsibility. As such it is necessary that you take responsibility for your actions and decisions. You can't expect your employees to take responsibility for their own work if they see you attempting to evade facing the consequences of your own behavior.
When coordinating the efforts of more than one group, it's easy to get caught up in the us-versus-them mentality. Unfortunately, this way of thinking breeds unhealthy competition, resentment, and conflict. Focus instead on identifying a single goal or purpose that is shared by all parties. Emphasize the shared benefits of meeting these goals to improve motivation all around.
Judge your own success as a leader by evaluating how well you are able to get others to perform their jobs. If you have a positive influence on your employees, keep them motivated and help them grow, you are are an effective leader. If you must use intimidation and manipulation to influence your employees, you are an ineffective leader.
Your actions should be decisive. If you want people to really look up to you as a leader, you're going to have to know how to decide on things quickly and then stand behind your decisions. People don't want to follow those who are indecisive and wishy-washy. Unless you must, don't change your mind.
Do you feel more confident now in your leadership abilities? It is time to put the tips you've learned to the test. You're going to have to take risks and step forward believing in yourself in order to be the right kind of leader. Remember the qualities that are called for.
How a former ISU basketball coach found new purpose after a stint in federal prison
Minutes after the Iowa State University men’s basketball team lost to the Michigan State Spartans in the 2000 Elite Eight game, I found myself searching for a place of solitude in the Palace at Auburn Hills.
I walked the circular hallway dodging people left and right looking for an open door. I found one and stepped inside a pitch-black, small room. I laid on whatever was in front of me, my screams and sobbing echoed for what seemed like an hour.
My heart had been ripped in two knowing that the biggest dream of my coaching career was over. Millions had seen us lose and the season that was heading toward a national championship was over.
Never before or after did I feel that kind of sheer agony from losing a basketball game.
For a little guy 8 years old, I fell in love with basketball. Here I was 35 years later at the pinnacle of the college game as one of its most promising coaches. Maybe I would lead my own big-time program or coach in the NBA. The sky was the limit.
https://www.facebook.com/louise.diesel
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-diesel-a6b21b14/
https://twitter.com/Lifecoach_LD