Report: Leadership Can Be Learned
Do you often hear co-workers refer to an employee as a natural
leader?
While the debate as to whether someone is a born leader or
learns the skills continues, there are certain commonalities that
successful leaders share, and learning these can strengthen one’s
leadership skills.
Below are a list of successful leadership characteristics, as
noted in “The Manager’s Intelligence Report,” published by Lawrence
Ragan Communications, Inc.
- Effective leaders make others feel important. If your goals and
decisions are self-centered, followers will lose their enthusiasm
quickly. Emphasize their strengths and contributions, not your
own. - Promote a vision. Followers need a clear idea of where you’re
leading them, and they need to understand why that goal is valuable
to them. Your job as a leader is to provide that vision. - Follow the “Golden Rule.” Treat your followers the way you
enjoy being treated. - Admit mistakes. If people suspect that you’re covering up your
own errors, they’ll hide their mistakes too, and you’ll lack
valuable information for making decisions. - Criticize others only in private. Public praise pushes others
to excel, but public criticism alienates everyone
involved. - Stay close to the action. You need to be visible to the members
of your organization and staff. Talk to people, visit other offices
and work sites, ask questions and observe how business is being
handled. Often you will gain new insights in your work and find new
opportunities for motivating your followers. - Make a game of competition. Competitive drive can be a valuable
tool if you use it correctly.
Learn to set team goals, and reward members who meet or exceed
them. Examine your failures, and celebrate your entire group’s
successes.