Goal Driven Consulting
10 ways you can be an effective leader
Effective leadership is the cornerstone for success of every team, every division, every department or every organization. Positive changes in the organization occur as a result of effective leadership. Let me share with you ten ways you can become an effective leader.
1. Be passionate
Passion is a powerful force that does not have respect for obstacles. Success in leadership starts with a desire within an individual. Let passion within you drive you to work very hard on your leadership so that you be effective.
Passion is like fuel in a car. It possesses a kinetic force that makes mobility possible. When there is fuel in a car that is in a good condition, mobility of the car is guaranteed. Passion within you will enable you to be on the right path to success in leadership. It has the power to propel you into the right direction.
Effective leaders have passion that makes things happen. No one can stop a leader with passion from accomplishing the goal of being effective in leadership.
2. Be prepared to change
Effective leaders know that it is impossible to change the organization without changing themselves. Change must begin with you. There are old habits that need to be broken in your life. Change is uncomfortable; it is painful because there are sacrifices to be made.
Leadership expert, and author, John C Maxwell said, "Change the leader, change the organization. Changed leaders equal changed organizations." Effective leadership is about being the agent of change. You cannot and won't be the agent of change if you are not prepared to change as a leader. The process of self-change involves the willingness to admit when you are wrong. It also involves the willingness to accept negative feedback about your character from your spouse, your team, your division, your department or your organization.
3. Get yourself a mentor or a coach
A mentor or a coach should be someone who is experienced in leadership. It should be the one who will surely help you become effective in your leadership. You can get a mentor from reading leadership books, articles; listening to leadership tapes. The other way to get a coach is to hire one. This will help you learn things that you will need to do to be effective in leadership.
A personal mentor or a coach will work with you according to your needs. He or she will help you formulate attainable goals. You will be given tasks to do to help you be in a position to be an effective leader.
4. Be a good listener
Successful leaders are great listeners. They don't depend only on their on own intellect and experience to lead. They listen to their people so that they can align their leadership according to the frustrations, needs, concerns and challenges of their people.
Listening involves the willingness of a leader to understand other people's struggles, challenges, frustrations, disappointments and their tears. It also involves the ability of a leader to consider and respect people's opinions and views on issues of the team, the division, the department or the organization. It doesn't mean that a leader must agree with whatever people are saying. It means that people are given the space to voice their opinions and views without being suppressed.
Great leaders know that people close to the work know better than anyone. It is for this reason that they are open to what their people have to say. When you listen to your people, you put yourself in a better position to make a difference through your leadership.
5. Be unselfish
If you are going to be effective in your leadership, you need to be prepared to put the interests, and the needs of your organization ahead of your own personal interests and needs.
Effective leaders are people centred. They are not self-centred.They do not advance their personal agenda but that of the organization.
6. Believe in the best of your people
Leadership is about believing in the best of other people. Successful leaders believe in the best that their people can bring out. They are interested in knowing the strengths, talents, skills, expertise and potential of their people.
When your people perform well, praise their contribution to the fulfillment of the mission of the organization. This will motivate and inspire them to give their best shot to the accomplishment of major goals for their team, their division, their department or their organization.
Effective leaders know that people tend to perform better when their contribution to the big picture is recognized and appreciated. Believe in the best of your people and you will be effective in your leadership.
7. Invest in your people
Effective leaders know that their effectiveness in leadership lies in giving their people growth opportunities. They send their people to conferences, seminars, workshops so that they can be in a good position to learn new skills. This ultimately adds value to their team, their division, their department or their organization.
If you really believe in your people, give them growth and development opportunities. This will make them see that you have confidence in them and they will thank you by being more productive in their work. It will also motivate them to perform to their fullest potential.
8. Set up the standard of excellence
Great leaders are excellence driven. They have set up the standard of excellence in their organization. They are competent in their work and they demand excellence from their people. They hold their people accountable.
You cannot and won't be effective in your leadership if you don't demand excellence from your people. Bear in mind that you must demand excellence from yourself by doing what is needed to be done to excel before you demand it from your people.
9. Know the vision and mission of your organization
Leaders who are effective in leadership, know the vision and mission of their organization. They have positioned themselves to pursue the fulfillment of organizational vision and mission.
Leadership is about understanding and knowing where your organization is coming from, where it is and where it is going. This is what I call the past, present and future conglomeration of vision.To be effective in leadership, you must know and understand the vision and mission of your organization. You must also know how to communicate the vision effectively to your people so that they catch it and make their contribution towards its fulfillment.
10. Keep improving and developing your leadership
Effective leaders don't stop improving and developing their leadership. They know that challenges, needs, attitude, motivation, morale, performance, and problems are always issues of leadership, therefore they focus on improving and developing themselves so that they are ready at all times to rise to the occasion.
If you really want your leadership to be effective, you need to keep improving and developing yourself. Expose yourself to leadership lessons that are taught in seminars, workshops, and conferences.Put aside certain amount of money to buy leadership material in the form of books and tapes. This will surely challenge you to redouble your efforts to be an effective leader.
Conclusion
Embrace and follow the ways of effective leadership explained above and you will surely experience the success in leadership. You can't afford to stay at that level where you are. You need to make the mark that will never be erased. Effective leadership can be the name of your game. Go for it and make it happen because you can.