When working to hone leadership skills, you cannot go wrong by staring with honesty. When you are a leader, your goal should always be to try to lead your team in the right direction. Your followers will recognize honesty and you will be appreciated for that quality. You need to remain honest, because that will encourage them to stay honest with others, too.
Be honest when dealing with employees, customers and clients - this is extremely important. Work every day to build trust with your employees. While you build your skills in leadership, try to keep a precedent of trustworthiness and honesty. You'll be respected more if you are seen as trustworthy.
Spotting talent in other people is a sign of a good leader. It should be easy to determine who benefits you the most, when you are looking for helpers. This also carries over to hiring contractors for individual jobs.
Be as approachable as you can. Some people think that a good leadership style should involve fear and intimidation. That is false, and people will fear you and not respect you either. Be sure to let coworkers understand that you're always there to talk to.
Incentives are a great way to improve output. While it is true that people get paid to work, they will put in even more effort if they have a reward goal to aim for. If a team member works particularly hard on a project, reward them with a gift or cash bonus. A good leader isn't a cheapskate.
Acknowledge any mistakes that you make. Everyone makes mistakes. But, what make someone good at leading is allowing themselves to learn from mistakes and then tell everyone what went wrong. You can make mistakes, but as a leader, you must have the power to correct them. Making mistakes is not something you would expect from a leader but showing your human side is definitely an efficient strategy.
All leaders need to learn how to communicate precisely and succinctly. Make sure you're taking the time to help teach your team what needs to be done while giving them good information and deadlines. Check on your team from time to time to see if they're still following the plan.
Keep all your professional promises. Any leader should always follow through on the promises they make. If, for some reason, that is not possible, tell others the reason why. You will not gain respect from anyone if you make last minute changes to your strategies without justifying your reasoning.
Always make sure you're communicating with people. Ensure that they have an understanding of the path you want to take, and if there should be any changes to that direction. Failing to let people know all pertinent information is counterproductive and can only hurt the team's goals. Besides, poor communication will make your team look bad, especially if customers ask questions.
Always show confidence and sincerity with everyone that you work with. Remember that confidence is not about being arrogant. Nobody is a fan of arrogance. Sincerity can build a bridge of trust between you and the people you work with. Employees will also notice when you're lying to them.
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