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Tag: leading

July 20, 2020

What Failure Can Teach You About Leadership

As a leader, failure likely seems like the scariest thing to happen to you. Nobody enjoys failing but when you fail as a leader it hits harder than usual. This is probably due to the fact that you’re leading a team of people, and you may feel as if you’re letting them down. The thing is, failure is often necessary in life, whether you’re a leader or not. Failure teaches us valuable lessons about ourselves and our roles, and allows us to move forward with new insight which can ultimately shape our career and our future as a human being. No matter how hard you try, failure is ultimately inevitable and it’s important to understand what you can learn from it. Here are a few things failure can teach you about being a leader.

Don’t Get Complacent

When you’re succeeding as a leader and your business is doing well, it can be easy to put autopilot on and go with the flow. Why would you want to take a risk when things are going so well? The truth of the matter is that your complacency can be your downfall, and stop your business from ever truly growing. In this situation, a failure of some sort will end up being a slap in the face and help you realize that complacency isn’t always good. While risks can result in failure as well, they are all ultimately learning experiences, and you’re better off having that experience than letting things ride out as they are.

Appreciate Your Role

When you fail as a leader, you ultimately begin to open your eyes to what it is you do and how you make a difference not only in your business but for your team as well. This can help you get a better understanding of what your role is in the company and the difference you make everyday, which can ultimately make you want to become a more effective leader. Your team and your business rely on you to make the right decisions and realizing that will allow you to have a deeper appreciation for your role as a leader as well as the other leaders you work with in and out of work.

There’s Almost Always A Second Chance

One of the most important things you’ll learn about failing as a leader is that failure doesn’t mean it’s the end. Second chances are all around you, and you even if you fail doesn’t mean things are over. Understanding that you have a second chance will allow you to look at situations and opportunities in a new light and ultimately lead you to seizing success with those new opportunities.

May 8, 2018

How to Become a Better Leader in 3 Simple Steps

Keeping a business thriving requires more than just a solid business plan; you have to be a strong leader to keep your team progressing. Whether you are a novice leading a team for the first time or an experienced CEO, you can become a stronger leader by following these three simple steps.

1. Take total responsibility for yourself.
Most leaders are quick to take responsibility for their successes, but a true leader also needs to own their mistakes and failures. When you make a mistake, apologize and take ownership of it. This sets the tone for your team that the mission is more important than one person’s ego. Own each step of the process: if a member of your team has fallen short, recognize your own role in that failure. Even the most capable team member will fall short if not given proper training, encouragement, and feedback. Keep this in mind when addressing staff issues.

2. Show respect for your team.
It takes mutual respect between a team and their leader to reach goals, so ask questions about your team’s personal life to show your interest in them. Respond thoughtfully to their suggestions and show respect for new ideas. Recognize that you can learn from your team as much as they can learn from you. Humbling yourself actually elevates you as a leader because your team will have greater respect for you and your vision.

3. Make staffing decisions with intention.
Think ahead with each staffing choice you make. Look for the potential in each staff member and make a specific plan to mentor them and foster that potential. Consider promotions thoughtfully and make sure that each person is ready to be moved up before placing them in a role that could be beyond their experience or skill set. If more mentoring is required, take that extra time to coach them with that newly elevated role in mind. If it’s clear that a member of your team isn’t a good fit, let them go. To keep someone on your team who isn’t fitting into the company culture is a disservice to your company and to that team member.

While these three steps are simple in theory, putting them into practice can prove difficult. However, with practice, these steps can guide you toward being an effective leader capable of uniting a team and working toward your goals cohesively.

November 14, 2017

Being a Role Model as a Leader

Is a leader expected to be a role model or should his motto be, ‘do as I say and not as I do’?

 

Leadership involves motivating and directing a group of people towards achieving a set objective. A leader is a strong figure of influence within an organization who is looked up to for guidance, hence it is important for them to model behavior and actions that can be emulated organization-wide. For this reason, as a leader it is crucial to acknowledge that you are a role model; your words, actions, behavior, and attitudes set the standard for the whole organization. Therefore, to achieve organizational success, you must be a positive role model.

 

How to Be a Good Role Model

 

  1. Have a clear vision

 

Being a role model as a leader begins with having a crystal clear image of where you want the organization to go and how that will be achieved. This will enable you to create a strategy, provide direction, as well as organizing your team to achieve the set goals.

 

  1. Be Inspirational and Charismatic

 

A role model should be inspirational in order to bring out the best out of their followers, and charismatic in order to attract the attention of the members of the organization such that they willingly desire to follow the set example.

 

  1. Be a Person of Integrity

 

Positive leaders do not do the right thing sometimes, they do it all the time. Good character is key in leadership. As a role model, you must provide an example of the actions, behavior, and attitude you want in your organization. You can do this by modeling good work ethic and not misappropriating the organization’s time and resources.

 

  1. Be Humble

 

To be a positive role model, you have to have a high regard for your mission and vision, and as a result, respect the team which you essentially need to achieve these. A leader also needs to lay his ego down to a great extent so that he can trust that his team is just as competent as he is, and this, in turn, will help him achieve his vision.

 

  1. Honesty and Accountability

 

A role model should be transparent and genuine in the way he deals with both himself and others. He holds himself accountable for his actions and this rubs off on the team he is leading.

 

Conclusion

 

The leader sets the tone for the whole organization, and therefore being a positive role model is a highly effective method of leadership because it helps to shape the behavior of your followers without your coercion, hence increasing the success of the organization.