16 How to Build Leadership skills
Begin this chapter by watch this 50 second video: 4 Essential Tips to Becoming A Better Leader.
Next, try this short activity:
Some people have the necessary leadership skills to lead, while others learn along the way. So leadership skills can be learned and developed over the course of time.
We need to work on the following core competencies to acquire leadership skills. Excellent leaders use the following competencies to achieve goals efficiently and effectively.
Communication
Image: (Adair, 2019)
Motivation
In order to motivate your team members, we need to understand the factors affecting team members’ needs. The leader should identify the team members’ needs and motivate them accordingly (e.g., by assigning duties based on strengths and interests). Leaders may use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to identify the stage and take decisions accordingly.
For more information about Maslow’s hierarchy theory read The Needs Theory article
Delegation
“Leaders who try to do too many tasks by themselves will often struggle to get anything done” (Important Leadership Skills for Workplace Success, 2021, “Delegating”). Instead, try to delegate tasks to other people. Doing so will allow you to focus on other important tasks. One of the most effective ways to do this is to identify the skills of each team member. Some skills that make a good delegator include (Important Leadership Skills for Workplace Success, 2021):
- Accepting feedback from employees
- Allotting resources for employees
- Assessing employee strengths and weaknesses
- Defining expectations
- Evaluating employee performance
- Identifying measurable outcomes
- Matching the task to the right employee
- Prioritizing tasks
- Setting expectations
- Time management
- Trust in employees
(Important Leadership Skills for Workplace Success, 2021, “Delegation”)
Positivity
Cultivating positivity is a skill that requires regular practice. “Positive leadership is modeling, facilitating, and purposefully influencing positive emotions that encourage team members and employees to excel in their work. Positive leaders cultivate an empowering environment through communication, accountability, emotional intelligence, motivation, and model-worthy work ethic” (Udoagwu, 2021, para 5).
Here are some tips to practice positivity every day:
- Focus on good things
- Practice gratitude
- Open yourself to humor
- Surround yourself with positive people
- Practice positive self talk
- Start every day on a positive note
(Santos-Longhurst, 2019)
Trustworthiness
Trustworthy leaders are approachable, accept responsibility for their actions, and mutually support everyone, not just the people they favour or who are like them. This leadership quality is an essential ingredient. Without it, a leader will not be viewed as ethical or having integrity (Kay, 2022).
For more information on how to build trust in teams please refer to the “Building Trust” chapter.
Constructive Feedback
Communication is a vital part of effective leadership. This is less about having frequent conversations and more about about continuously engaging with your team members and delivering feedback (4 Reasons Why Feedback Is Essential for Leadership, 2019). “Essentially, no task is complete, no objective is reached, and no successes can be experienced unless – and until – feedback has been given and received” (4 Reasons Why Feedback Is Essential for Leadership, 2019, para 5).
For more information see the “Ability to Provide Feedback” chapter.
For more information on how to develop leadership skills read: Develop your Leadership Skills: Fast, Effective Ways to Become a Leader People Want to Follow.
REFERENCES
4 Reasons Why Feedback Is Essential for Leadership. (2019, November 4). Leaders Edge Inc. https://www.leadersedgeinc.com/blog/4-reasons-why-feedback-is-essential-for-leadership
Adair, J. (2019). Develop Your Leadership Skills: Fast, Effective Ways to Become a Leader People Want to Follow [E-book]. Kogan Page. https://kpu.skillport.com/skillportfe/assetSummaryPage.action?assetid=RW$2193:_ss_book:145396#summary/BOOKS/RW$2193:_ss_book:145396
Forbes. (2015, May 4). 4 Essential Tips To Becoming A Better Leader [Video]. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/video/4215973209001/4-essential-tips-to-becoming-a-better-leader/?sh=2eaa8f7a1924
Important Leadership Skills for Workplace Success. (2021, March 18). The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-leadership-skills-2063782
Kay, M. (2022, March 8). Leadership Skills #1: Great Leaders are Trustworthy. About Leaders. https://aboutleaders.com/leadership-skills-1-great-leaders-are-trustworthy/#:%7E:text=Trustworthy%20leaders%20expect%20the%20best,quality%20is%20an%20essential%20ingredient.
Santos-Longhurst, A. (2019, February 21). Benefits of Thinking Positively, and How to Do It. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-think-positive#tips
Simply Psychology. (2007). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs [Photograph]. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Udoagwu, K. (2021, October 25). Understanding the 4 P’s of Positive Leadership | Wrike. Wrike. https://www.wrike.com/blog/understanding-4-ps-of-positive-leadership/#What-is-positive-leadership
