{"id":398,"date":"2018-04-29T22:12:43","date_gmt":"2018-04-29T22:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/?p=398"},"modified":"2018-05-02T01:25:10","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T01:25:10","slug":"be-a-better-leader-by-doing-these-5-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/on-the-job\/be-a-better-leader-by-doing-these-5-things","title":{"rendered":"Be a better leader by doing these 5 things"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best managers know they can be even better.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When it comes to leadership, some qualities are intangible. But others can be directly assessed. For instance, research has linked effective leadership to the amount of sleep executives are getting. (Not surprisingly, the more sleep they get, the more effectively they lead.)<\/p>\n

Another meta-analysis\u00a0found that extroversion and conscientiousness were great predictors of leadership success. (Neuroticism, as it happens, was not so helpful.)<\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably pretty set in your extroversion or introversion, but what else can you do to be a better leader for your team? Try these strategies to improve your management game.<\/p>\n

1. Be self-aware<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\u201cAs a leader, you are an orchestrator who needs to be focused on how to help the members of their team to perform at their best,\u201d says Patricia Thompson, Ph.D., a corporate psychologist and president of Silver Lining Psychology. \u201cTo do this, you need to understand your strengths and weaknesses,<\/a>\u00a0stress behaviours, values, and triggers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding where you excel allows you to leverage your strengths intentionally. For instance, if you\u2019re a great relationship builder, use that to your advantage. But also understanding what challenges you allows you to be aware of your weak spots so they don\u2019t hold you back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you tend to have an excessive sense of urgency or impatience, you can be mindful of those times when your impatience is getting the best of you, so that you don\u2019t have any unintended consequences when leading others,\u201d Thompson says.<\/p>\n

2. Focus on coaching and developing people<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Strong leaders know they can\u2019t do everything by themselves, and they are only as good as the teams around them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really put an emphasis on developing their people to help them grow their skills,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cAs a leader, you should know each individual\u2019s career goals, and be mindful of what motivates them. Then you can be intentional about giving them projects and feedback that will help them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach not only gets work done now, but also prepares them to get even more work done in the future.<\/p>\n

3. Be willing to talk about uncertainty<\/strong><\/h5>\n

When companies go through big changes, the executive level sometimes decides that every communication needs to send a strong signal that this is the \u201cright\u201d way forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, leaders purposely avoid discussions where there is any hint of the unknowns, of which there are always many,\u201d says Rick Lozano, a keynote speaker and talent development professional. \u201cOrganisational transformation is a messy business, and there is often ambiguity, lack of clarity, and a bit of building the plane while we are flying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the absence of information, employees\u2019 minds fill in the gaps. And sometimes those stories cause unnecessary stress, misdirection, and suspicion that kills engagement and productivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay for a leader to say, \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d Lozano says. \u201cIt is okay for a leader to say, \u2018We don\u2019t have every single detail figured out, but here\u2019s what we are trying to accomplish and we will figure it out together. People would much rather have a leader who is honest and willing to have the hard conversations than the leader who is certain but silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Be empathetic<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Research has found that executives who are conditioned to see the world from someone else\u2019s point of view produce better outcomes. \u201cEmpathise by finding common emotional experiences,\u201d says Nate Regier, a psychologist, communications expert, and CEO of global advisory firm Next Element, and author of\u00a0Conflict Without Casualties<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For Carlota Zimmerman, a success strategist and career coach in New York City, an empathetic leader made a strong impression twenty years ago after one of her cats died. \u201cIn the midst of a busy morning, the reality of a dead cat hit me, and I burst into tears,\u201d says Zimmerman, who at the time was working in network news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget my manager taking me into his office and gently soothing me as I wept. I apologised, and he smiled and said, \u2018For what? Being human?\u2019 After that, I was his. I worked my tail off for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Learn to laugh<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Any executive looking to move up the ladder would do well to cultivate a strong sense of humour.<\/p>\n

In one study by the Bell Leadership Institute, employees asked to describe the strengths and weaknesses of senior colleagues mentioned \u201csense of humour\u201d twice as much as any other phrase, along with \u201cwork ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumour is what breaks the ice,\u201d Zimmerman says. \u201cHumour is a great way to connect with employees and colleagues. In a demanding office or profession, a sense of humour can save the day and make people feel as if they\u2019re part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s what you need to know to be a more effective manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,42],"tags":[69,70],"class_list":["post-398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-on-the-job","tag-leader","tag-leadership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":425,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions\/425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}