By: Stan Popovich
Do you find yourself getting stressed out when you are a leader?
Stress and anxiety can sometimes overwhelm you when you are in a management role.
Fortunately, there are many things that you can do so you can be an effective leader in your professional and personal life.
What Is Good Leadership?
The best leaders consistently possess certain fundamental qualities and skills. Here are 12 essential leadership traits that make up a great leader.
- Self-Awareness
- Respect
- Compassion
- Vision
- Communication
- Learning Agility
- Collaboration
- Influence
- Integrity
- Courage
- Gratitude
- Resilience
How You Can Be an Effective Leader
To improve overall effectiveness, professionals in leadership roles should take the time to improve their relevant skills and adjust their style to suit the needs of their teams.
Here are some tips on how to manage the stress and anxiety of being a leader:
1. Know yourself: Leaders understand themselves and what they offer to the organization. Each leader has a distinctive style, and each leader recognizes that they may need to make changes in a way that reflects their style. Learning how to take and seek feedback from others is essential for developing as a leader.
2. Communicate on a regular basis: Start any discussion with what’s most important at hand, making sure that others understand the context of the conversation so that they can follow up with any questions.
Communicate upfront about what you expect from your team. It is important that everyone is on the same wavelength. The last thing you want is to have some members do one thing and others do something different.
3. Learn to listen: Active listening helps build rapport and create stronger relationships. Be focused on what others are saying. Provide constructive feedback. Criticism doesn’t have to be negative and, when handled appropriately, it can have a positive impact on professional growth.
4. Be decisive: Every situation has several potential solutions, and when it comes time to make a final decision, you should be confident in your ability to guide the team toward the proper outcome.
Effective leaders do not hesitate when it comes time to act or make these impactful decisions. They can inspire a shared vision among colleagues and stay true to that vision when faced with difficult circumstances.
5. Put people first: By taking the time to know your team and understand their individual work styles, goals, and personalities, you will develop better strategies for management and create an environment in which your team feels heard, respected, and cared for. Recognize everyone’s contributions and accomplishments and look for opportunities that can help your employees develop and succeed.
6. Set goals: Setting goals is crucial because they provide a clear direction for your team, fosters motivation and accountability, enables you to measure progress, adapt to changing circumstances, and ultimately drive the organization towards achieving its vision.
7. Know when to delegate: As an effective leader, it’s important to know when to delegate tasks, and when to complete them yourself. Assigning responsibilities in this way will allow you to decrease your workload, which helps you focus on the most crucial tasks you need to complete.
8. Stay on top of things: Do what you can today. You never know when something may come up that might need your immediate attention. Being efficient can prevent future business problems down the road.
9. Adapt to change: The ability to adapt is crucial for effective leadership. Practical implementation involves actively seeking out changes in the industry, technology, or market trends and adjusting strategies and processes. As a leader, you should encourage a culture of resilience within your team by embracing change as an opportunity for growth.
10. Track your progress: Learn from your past mistakes. Reflecting on your past experiences can reveal knowledge that can be applied to your position as a leader. Every mistake can be turned into a learning opportunity if you take the time to find the lesson. Understanding how something went wrong will better equip you for handling similar situations in the future.
How You Can Grow as a Leader
The world is constantly changing with new technologies, methodologies, and challenges. Continuous learning is the process of consistently updating and improving one’s skills and knowledge.
1. Learn from your mistakes: Finding areas of improvement and constantly seeking ways to better yourself is the mark of an excellent leader. You should have enough self-awareness to define any underdeveloped skills or potentially problematic characteristics that you may have. Getting a second opinion from others might help uncover negative traits that would otherwise be ignored.
2. Develop new skills: Research which skills other professionals on your career path recommend. Developing new skills for your specific profession lets you expand your knowledge base, giving you the chance to be more productive and have a successful career. Expanding your skills can often help you develop core strengths for the workplace, helping you achieve your goals.
3. Observe other leaders: Learn from successful leaders in your organization or industry. Having a strong sense of awareness is a helpful skill that all leaders should cultivate. It’s up to those in leadership positions to notice, address, and solve problems in the workplace.
4. Seek constructive criticism: Learning how to take and seek feedback from your superiors is essential for developing as a leader. If you have particular skills you wish to build, then ask for specific criticism on those areas and see if those providing input have any recommendations for how to strengthen those skills. The feedback you receive will indicate which skills you should prioritize improving.
5. Keep an open mind: Try to stay open-minded about new ideas for the workplace. These ideas can help you improve a company’s workflow processes and better understand the value of your professional skills, which can inspire confidence in your leadership abilities.
6. Challenge yourself: Leaders should be constantly evolving as professionals and developing their skills. One way you can do this is by always challenging yourself in the workplace.
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