It’s important to note that leaders aren’t necessarily born. They develop themselves.
They don’t settle or languish. They evolve by constantly assessing their progress for improvement.
Here’s how to grow into a leader:
1. Know and hone your strengths
Leaders aren’t perfect in all aspects of business. At the top of the ladder of success, they are usually generalists with achievements in key areas that matter.
Leaders are confronted by many broad issues, so it helps that they’ve had many different experiences earlier in their careers. That’s important to qualify for a C-level job.
2. Understand your weaknesses and that of your organization
Your personal weaknesses need to be turned into strengths by studying successful people and seeking the help of a mentor — someone who has qualities you want.
Otherwise, your shortcomings will counteract your strengths. They’ll also adversely impact your ability to identify and solve problems. One major key to business problem-solving often means compartmentalizing.
3. Be genuine and honest for employee trust
You can inspire others to higher performance, if you ask open-ended questions. Wait for the answers and actively listen to your employees.
Remember you can power your brand with employee empowerment. Only then, is it likely that they’ll buy into your vision for growth.
In all, there are 18 leadership strategies for employee respect.
4. Be heedful and stay focused
That means being attentive. Prepare for your leadership role with strategic planning. Anticipate new trends. Be ready to modify your approach when conditions change.
Otherwise, you risk falling behind the competition or you’ll miss opportunities for growth and business profit.
5. Don’t get lost by focusing too much on business
Striking a balance between career and personal life is important. Remove stress factors to energize your career.
6. Stay informed
Leaders are constantly learning in self awareness and marketplace competition. They’re contemporary in that they stay relevant and change with the times. That’s why leaders and potential leaders constantly read about trends and successful people — no matter what industry — successful strategies in one sector are often applicable in others.
They focus on critical thinking for thought leadership. They know the differences between actual leaders and mere caretaking managers.
7. Develop a succession plan
Think ahead. Look into the future. Companies that promote their chief executives from inside vis-à-vis recruiting from the outside have a much higher financial-success rate.
Leaders identify and nurture their human, intellectual capital. Indeed, there’s a link between financial performance and succession planning.
8. Have an exit strategy
Change happens. You might hit a tsunami. You might decide to try a different venture. You might want to retire. Whether you’re planning for your career or your business, develop an exit strategy.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are related articles:
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HR Management – 8 Best Practices in Employee Delegation — Avoid frustration in delegation. Save yourself time and develop your staff for the welfare of your organization. Delegation is a fundamental driver of organizational growth. Managers who are effective in delegation show leadership. They know they’ll be more effective in management and that they’ll develop their employees.
Leadership and Planning Tips for Successful Project Management — History shows one of the planet’s leading “project managers”, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the ideal person to end Nazi tyranny as general in World War II and to protect Americans as president in the 1950’s cold war. He’s famous for saying: “”You don’t lead by hitting people over the head. That’s assault, not leadership.”
Management — 5 Frequent Causes of Cost Overruns and Failures — Extensive research shows how and why corporate projects result in cost overruns and failures. The academic study is entitled, ‘Yes Men’ Are Killing Corporate Projects. The research reported rampant misreporting of project statuses at all levels of the companies. The errant information is prompted from cultural predispositions to career aspirations.
How You Can Eliminate Destructive Conflict for Better Teamwork — There are two types of conflict. For better teamwork and higher performance, it’s true that constructive conflict works. Usually, the best ideas evolve when ideas are discussed and debated. But when employees fail to exercise self control and their egos get in the way, emotions flare and cliques are formed in the workplace. That’s destructive conflict.
“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.”
-Peter Drucker
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