Optimizing These Leadership Skills Will Help Accelerate Your Career
There’s an old way of thinking that says “people are born leaders” is misleading. This mindset is dangerous because it suggests that you’re either a leader or a follower and have no option to change direction. The truth is that anyone can develop essential leadership skills that will help them advance in their career. Learning with us how to optimize the right leadership skills can help you find a job or excel in your current position. It can also help you move into that next leadership level, whether as an executive responsible for a particular aspect of a business or as an entrepreneur who leads an entire company. As Fast Company explains, being a 21st century leader requires soft skills that prioritize human connection. These leadership skills will benefit you and the teams who follow you to reach your goals and solve any challenge or problem that comes your way.
Communication is Everything
The key to success as a leader is knowing how to communicate using different mediums effectively. The way you communicate verbally is different from how you share your message through email or message. Your communication should be clear and concise, while still portraying empathy and understanding. In addition to relaying messages to others, your communication skills also involve listening to what others have to say. The most successful leaders know when to stop talking and start listening to learn from those around them and make more informed decisions.
Humility is Key
It can be tempting to take all the credit when your team does something well.
However, great leaders are humble. They recognize that they cannot achieve their goals without the help of others, and they are happy to give recognition to the team members who worked hard to reach a milestone or objective.
Humility also means acknowledging weaknesses and mistakes. As a leader, it’s important to say the words “I was wrong” when you messed up. Being able to do so will help you solve problems faster. Instead of placing blame or avoiding the issue, you can focus on fixing the problem. At the same time, you will set an example of accountability that your team will follow.
Leaders Need to be Flexible
As a leader, you should have a plan in place for completing tasks and projects. However, you also need to be flexible so that you can change direction as things evolve. After all, things never seem to work out exactly as planned. Good leaders can improvise and make decisions based on new information. This includes listening to your team as they work on projects and taking their feedback seriously if they make suggestions for improvement to processes. Being able to pivot as a company is just as crucial. As Forbes notes, only 12 percent of the companies that were on the Fortune 500 list in 1955 were still around in 2014. The rest either merged or went bankrupt. Being attentive to your team and their adapting needs is essential as a leader, whether you are managing a small team or leading a company as a CEO.
People may be born with a natural inclination toward leadership, but it takes time and dedication to develop these three essential leadership skills. Many workplaces do not teach them. The Human Resources Professionals Association has found that 63 percent of millennials say their employers are not fully developing their leadership skills, which limits their abilities to advance in their careers. If you are struggling as a leader, we can help! At Kassog International, we work with leaders at all levels to identify ways to improve their leadership skills so they can perform as better executives and entrepreneurs who can lead their teams through any situation.
Dedicated to your Progress, focused on your Success.
Kind regards,
Gabriel Kassowicz
