Effective leadership is more than just telling others what to do.
A true leader understands the importance of enabling others to feel they have a say in how something is done and that providing this type of atmosphere improves job satisfaction and productivity.
Too often, leaders are not aware what the keys to effective leadership that provides this atmosphere actually are, however.
Invest in Strengths
Good leaders know how to leverage their strengths to meet the challenges they face when leading others. They know where they are the strongest and focus on improving those strengths in order to effectively guide those around them.
It has been said that leadership consists of four domains that include executing, influencing, relationship-building and strategic thinking. Surprisingly, effective leaders are rarely strong in all four of these domains. In fact, one of them may actually be a weakness. However, effective leaders know how to focus on the domains where they excel in order to motivate others.
A leader who attempts to excel in all four domains is often a mediocre leader.
Surrounded with Greatness
The key to becoming an effective leader is to surround yourself with those who are strong where you are weak. If you have difficulty selling ideas, but excel in uniting a group of diverse individuals into a team that works, you want to be sure that someone on your team has strong influence skills that will work well with your relationship-building skills.
Because good leaders know what their weaknesses are, they are able to choose team members who excel in those skills and can support the team in an area where the leader cannot. Too often, leaders choose teams based on technical skill when what they really need are more leaders in order to make the team effective.
Understand the Needs of the Team
Effective leaders have the ability to meet the following four needs in order to create a good team:
- Trust – The members of the team trust the leader and the leader trusts the team.
- Compassion – It is critical that the team believe that the leader cares about them.
- Stability – An effective leader is dependable at all times.
- Hope – Team members want to feel as if their work matters and that their future prospects are secure.
Unlike leadership domains, an effective leader must meet all four of these needs in order to build an effective team.
A leader may possess many skills that will benefit them when they guide a team, but an effective leader not only understands what strengths they have, but also where their weaknesses lie. This allows them to build a team with members who may fill in the areas where the leader lacks ability.
If you want to learn more about becoming an effective leader, contact Strengths Zone today. As a Gallup Certified Training and Coaching organization, Strengths Zone creates strategies and solutions based on natural talent, not by eliminating weaknesses. Visit us online or send us an email today to learn more about our training programs.
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