welcome“Originally published at blog.ed2go.com on 19th September 2018 .”
It’s no secret that leadership is an important part of success in the workplace. Whether you’re working toward a promotion, or want to establish yourself in a new career, it’s important to develop leadership skills.
However, developing your personal leadership style is an ongoing process. Being an effective leader is about more than just ordering other people around. True leadership involves excelling in a combination of many different soft skills, in addition to knowing the technical skills specific to your job. If you’re ready to become a leader in your office, you can learn and practice important soft skills that will help you be successful.
There are several attributes of a leadership, but these are the top six ways to demonstrate leadership in your workplace:
1. Develop Excellent Communication
As a leader, you will communicate with people at all levels of your organization on a daily basis. You’ll need to master written communication, which includes reports, emails, customer-facing content, and more. You’ll also need strong verbal communication skills, so you can motivate your team and report to your superiors. This includes knowledge of how non-verbal communication like body language can affect your message.
And don’t forget one of the most important forms of communication — listening. A good leader strives for continuous improvement in all forms of communication. If you need to build up your rapport with peers and management at your workplace, consider training for communication skills.
2. Influence through Example
People want to work with someone who inspires them to be better and do more than they thought possible. A leader has the ability to influence others, so they should strive to make those around them feel useful. Great leaders encourage their team and reward positive outcomes.
Leaders are also responsible for building teams that work. A great way to build a strong team is to ensure all members have a role and make valuable contributions. You’ll also need to set a good example of the traits and habits you want your workers to embody.
3. Have a Positive Outlook
A positive outlook is an important tool for a leader. You will need to keep the spirits of your team up, even if things aren’t going as planned. Work can be stressful, but a good leader can set the tone in spite of constant change. Someone with a sense of humor and the ability to maintain a positive attitude is someone that others want to follow.
Moreover, creating a happy and peaceful workplace environment makes people more likely to want to work with you.
4. Demonstrate Trustworthiness
As a leader, you must demonstrate integrity and give employees a sense of comfort. Employees will never trust leaders they don’t respect. It is important for you to always act as if people were watching—because they are. By being honest and open with your employees and superiors, you will encourage that same behavior in return.
Leadership isn’t about being right all the time. A true leader is quick to admit when they are wrong, and work to understand how their actions affect others in the workplace. This mindset goes a long way in encouraging respect.
5. Showcase Your Creativity
Leaders are faced with problems every day, but it’s their job to find creative solutions that will help the business move forward. Most employees will respect someone who tries new things and thinks outside the box to get the job done. Using social media for your business or developing computer skills for the workplace are great ways to showcase your creativity and help you lead or teach others.
Being creative also means you’re willing to listen to and consider your teams’ ideas. Collaboration, especially for creative initiatives, is an essential part of leadership.
6. Commit to Success
Creating a successful business plan is only the first step to business success. It takes time and commitment to achieving goals in order to succeed. As a leader, you must be willing to put in the extra hours needed to complete the things you’ve promised to do. You will set the example for your employees in this area. Leaders must stay determined even in the face of failure, so it’s important to be flexible and persevere to get the job done.
Seeing how you fit into this list of leadership skills is the first step to gaining a leadership role. Even if you’ve found yourself in a role without developing all of these leadership skills, it’s important to work on them as you role and responsibilities grow.
No matter what your current role is in the organization, it’s possible to gain the valuable skills needed to be a leader. You could enroll in a program for leadership development, or master the individual soft skills that translate into long term success.
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