Whether you are leading a group of peers, or the entire management of an organization, there are certain tick boxes to check to ensure that you are a good leader. The best part of ensuring your performance as a leader in an organization is by simply looking around you and observing how things are progressing on your watch. The real-time observation of the effectiveness of all operations in an organization is sometimes considered the best litmus test to check your own skills.
A number of researches and surveys have been conducted in the past few decades to come up with a reliable explanation that defines how to become an effective leader. Disengaged employees, little contribution in discussions, and decreased motivation to showcase their true potential are some of the key factors that indicate a severe lacking in one’s leadership.
Allow Two-Sided, Open Communication
Two-sided communication is where the employees are encouraged to speak as the leader himself in an organization. The extent to which employees are willing to take an active part in a discussion while putting their ideas forward highly reflects a leader’s effectiveness. On the contrary, if employees are afraid to speak their minds and instead willing to follow your orders blindly, it shows that the leader is only interested in being an autocrat and is not considerate about the employee’s growth or the organization’s long-term success.
Open and honest communication between the leader and employees fosters a sense of trust among the lower-hierarchy and the higher-hierarchy people. Leaders should be willing to listen to other ideas that may even contradict their own beliefs. This shows that the leader is not adamant about being right and giving command at all times; instead, they are more than happy to admit their mistake and praise employees for their genuine involvement in their jobs.
Inspire Growth
A good leader is not only focused on generating the highest revenues and increasing the share prices of an organization. However, a good leader genuinely and whole-heartedly invests his or her time, efforts, and money to promote the emotional and financial well-being of their employees.
Surveys in the past years have shown that leaders who keep their employees motivated with the help of motivational speakers to take on new challenges while providing constructive feedback and offering sufficient incentives are more likely to be promoted to higher levels due to their excellent leadership skills.
Stay Optimistic
The way in which a leader deals with a stressful situation says a lot about their effectiveness. Things are bound to go wrong in an organization, at one time or another. Good leaders are able to process the obstacle effortlessly in their minds and, therefore, direct their minds to find an appropriate solution. Rather than delving deep into the repercussions of the barrier, a leader quickly shifts their focus onto the solution and is optimistic with the workforce to encourage productivity.
Guide and Specify
One primary objective of a leader is to behave properly with their employees. The word ‘guide’ refers to showing the employees how things are done, rather than simply ordering them to do things differently. Employees often report feeling a sense of inferiority and worthlessness when they are told to get things done instead of being given the proper guidance. Leaders need to teach their employees to be better at their jobs by showing how things are done and clarifying any conceptual task while addressing any query that comes their way humbly. This way, leaders are not just leaving behind people who are trained to follow orders. Instead, they leave behind new leaders for the organization.
The second word, ‘specify,’ refers to the extent of clarity an employee has about their job. Whether employee accomplishes all tasks effectively or not depends mainly on the specificity given to them by their leaders. Employees should be given the correct number of instructions regarding what they need to do, what is truly expected of them, and how their efforts will be reciprocated.
Provide Clear Feedback
To maximize the performance of employees, leaders should give regular feedback. Feedback needs to be accurate, well-formed, realistic, and lastly, constructive in order to have a lasting impact on the worker. In quarterly appraisals, employees should be told of all the outstanding performances they gave, all the loopholes that were observed in his or her work, and also offer genuine motivation to them so that their personal growth is not hindered and they continue performing and improving for the organization.
Be an Open Book
While you, as a leader, give feedback to your workers, you should also present yourself as an entity that can be challenged and whose mistake can be pointed out by the employees, without any fear of judgment or threats towards their job. Giving this liberty to your employees gives you an edge to develop meaningful and profitable relationships with your workforce. Meanwhiles, your employees will also respect you as an equal and do not feel hesitant to put their opinions on the table.
Grow Yourself as a Leader
As a leader, your job is not only to evaluate the performance of those around you. It is also the identify the shortcomings that are hindering your own personal growth. Perhaps you are not patient with your employees, which brings out your negative, aggressive side. Or else, you are preoccupied with your personal life, which might be influencing your performance as a leader. Keeping track of your own progress every once in a while and evaluating your strengths and weaknesses allows you to grow and be better. After all, there is no end to being perfect, and there is always something you can do to be better at your job.
