The Art Of Being A Leader

“Am I a good leader?”

It is one of those questions that have crossed almost every leader’s (experienced or about-to-be) mind. And in most cases, the answer is — maybe.

Now, if I tell you that I know the secret to moving from “Maybe” to “Yes, indeed!”, what will you think?

I bet you will be interested.

When you’re a part of a team or running one, it feels you’re pushing past your limits and taking on newer, progressively harder challenges every day. In this day-to-day scenario, you and everyone else in your team need a bit of motivation from time to time to get going and get more done.

Let me get straight to the point.

Being a leader myself, I have some valuable insights about the art of being a leader — especially, a good one. So, doing my part, I am going to share with you leadership tips and strategies that I have learned (and still learning) here at ProofHub.

Still searching for ways you can up your leadership game? Here are a few that will definitely work.

1. Read to lead

Being a leader is tough. I say that from experience. You face all sorts of new, unexpected obstacles on a daily basis. And there is a chance that someone else — most probably, someone more experienced than you — has handled obstacles similar to the ones you’re facing and wrote down the wisdom gained after successfully navigating them. Now, you can access that wisdom passed through the ages by reading popular leadership and management books. You can start with the classics and biographies.

2. Set the rules of productive meetings

As the popular saying goes, time is money. So, as a leader, you should think about limiting every possible time-waster. My suggestion is that you should start with your meetings. Trust your team to do their job and stop micromanaging them in meetings. Just make them run swiftly by setting some ground rules for productive meetings:

• Note what it is you hope to accomplish at the start of the meeting
• Try to limit your meetings to 50 minutes or less if at all possible
• During the meeting, expect and encourage everyone to contribute
• End you meeting with a summary of decisions and next steps

3. Bring a little humility

It’s easy for leaders to get too caught up in their success or trying to convince others of their greatness. But the fact is, no one is inspired by braggers or showboats. Stop bragging about your accomplishments and find ways to earn more respect and admiration in the workplace. Use your skills, experience, and knowledge to connect, attract, and inspire people and contribute to their community.

4. Invest in technology

Organizations are facing technology maelstrom these days. The Internet of things, automation, virtual workspaces, business productivity tools (such as team chat app, project management software, note-taking app, time tracking tool, etc) — all promise to do things faster, cheaper and — more autonomously. As a leader, you can use technology and automation to amplify human insight and talent. Just make sure you pick the right set of tools for your organization and your team — and you’ll be good to go.

Need a tool to effectively handle any management situation that may arise? Try ProofHub!

5. Put your employees’ interests first

A great leader always understands the problems of his/her team and fixes them by putting their interests first. They believe in providing clear direction by eliminating all expected/unexpected problems and making the workplace free of distractions. Find ways to streamline the work process, discover resources, and keep interruptions at bay.

6. Know when change is needed

Great leaders — and great people — are constantly looking forward to learning new things and always try to improve themselves in terms of behaviors and skills. Just remember that there is always something that you (and your team) can work on. And be sure to keep your mind open to new ideas that others might bring to the table.

7. Be wrong, but be wrong decisively

As a leader, you have to be fierce enough to get stuff work done but also humble enough to be a good leader. Don’t be too afraid of being wrong. Just remember what Greg Creed once said: “you won’t always be right and that’s OK…just make sure you are always clear”.

There is a huge difference between “being a boss” and “being a leader”. Be the latter — be the one who inspires devotion, trust, and brilliance. Keep working hard, stay curious, and remember that great leaders don’t just tell others what to do — they also show how it’s done the right way.

What do you think it takes to be a good leader? Share with us in the comments below.

If you enjoyed reading this article:

Clap: so others can find it
Comment: if you have a question/suggestion you’d like to ask
Follow: ProofHub to read all the articles