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Most business leaders realize the importance of improving team communication, cross team functionality, productivity and efficiency. While all these team-centric aspects are most definitely important to your organization’s growth and prosperity, it is important to note that in reality, your team’s improvement starts at the top with you, the CEO, business owner, President, General Manager.
When you, as an individual, start to take steps to improve yourself as a leader, others will notice. You will naturally become more effective in what you do. You will work less and get more done. You will see others step up and get more done. You and your team will come up with creative ideas for how to get more done with the resources available regarding things like quality improvement or customer experience.
Want to improve your leadership skills? Here are five ways to take it to the next level:
Know your strengths and weaknesses. Write them down. Communicate them to your team and seek help in areas that aren’t your strengths. If you are trying to do something that isn’t in your wheelhouse, it will likely take you longer, the quality may suffer, and you will be distracted from focusing on the things that you are good and that help to grow the business.
Be an active listener. Listening and hearing are two different things. Ask questions, engage your stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, vendors, the communities where you live and work, etc. – if it is an in-person meeting, make sure to look the individual in the eye as you are engaging them. Let them know that you value their feedback and are genuinely interested in what they have to say – good, bad or indifferent.
Inspire and motivate others to act. One of the true marks of a great leader is getting people to follow you, inspiring them. Think Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Julius Caesar, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, to name a few.
Part of inspiring and motivating means having a clear vison for your company that everyone understands, has bought into and can see what is in it for them (or their beliefs) as well.
Another key component to inspiring and motivating people is to understand what drives them. While some people are motivated by money (not as many as you think), others are driven by knowledge – they want to be challenged, to learn as part of their contributions to the organization. There are other drivers and motivators – make sure you understand your team’s behavioral styles and driving forces.
Lead the way. It is your organization. People are looking to you for leadership and guidance to pave the way to move the organization forward. You must be bold and take initiative in order to take the company from where you are today to where you want to be. These are the more strategic activities required from you as a leader. You are typically the only one in your organization who can do this so…
Take care of yourself. If you don’t nurture and take care of yourself personally you will most likely have a hard time leading your company. Get plenty of rest, eat well, drink lots of water, exercise regularly (walking meetings at the office are very effective), take time off. There is truly no value to anyone individually or organizationally in you being a martyr who never takes vacation and works 80 hours a week. In fact, you should be scheduling time off during the week – time to play golf, ski, family time, etc. By taking care of yourself, you will be refreshed, more efficient and more energized when you are at the office.
Let us know what you are going to work on as a leader who is dedicated to always improving. If there are other things you would suggest, share those too.
By Blair Koch
