Let’s face it, leadership is tough, especially as you first step into a leadership role.
There are often too many things to learn and too little time to implement everything. Then there is the assumption that to become an effective leader, one must master all the skills and excel in every area.
Trying to do it all and be the best at everything, though, will take its toll and could leave you burnt out.
You’ll know the signs and feel the physicality of exhaustion when you’re behind on work and think that working harder would help meet the job’s demands and expectations.
However, the problem is that the harder you try, the tougher it becomes.
It has taken a lot of experience and painful stories to realise that good leadership is not merely a gift of superhumans or those with extraordinary skills.
In reality, there is not much to master at all, and it only requires you to practice these three important skills.
Three skills to master as a leader.
1) Give your people a voice
Some leaders believe that their role is to provide guidance, instruct their team on what to do, offer suggestions, and generate new ideas before determining who is responsible for what.
And it is not about this unless you are leading through a crisis.
However, most leaders fail to stop and listen outside of crisis mode. And when employees don’t feel heard, they also refuse to listen. Being unable to express what they need to say leads to feelings of isolation, resentment, and rejection, which also impact their productivity and performance.
When you listen more and speak less:
- Team members feel heard and respected to voice their opinions.
- Real problems are addressed instead of wasting time on inconsequential problems or issues that don’t deserve your time and attention.
- Such conversations are deeper, more productive and have a higher likelihood of building better relationships in the long run.
To give your people a voice, encourage them to speak up. Demonstrate that you value their thoughts.
Don’t just say that you respect their viewpoint; show it in your actions. Others are not fools; they can see the difference between fake talk and a genuine desire to listen.
The greatest problem with communication is that we don’t listen to understand. We listen in order to reply and force our thoughts upon others.
2) Lead with questions, not answers
A manager who acts as a know-it-all may assume they’re helping their people by answering their questions and giving them solutions. However, leading with answers solves temporary problems while creating bigger problems in the long run.
When employees fail to learn how to think and solve problems independently, they become overly reliant on their managers to do their thinking for them.
Asking open-ended questions is a great way to encourage your team to think creatively, which can help to find solutions to problems and turn obstacles into opportunities.
3) Care personally, challenge directly
Many leaders either lean too far towards caring for their people, which can negatively impact their team’s growth and performance, or, on the other hand, they become so focused on driving business outcomes that they forget what it takes to be human.
Caring personally for each individual on your team is important, but equally important is to speak your truth without twisting your words to make them feel better or avoid hurting their emotions. Let them sulk, be mad at you or even feel angry. Facing the reality of their situation will make them stronger, while avoiding it will only hurt their performance.
When you care personally but also challenge directly, your team members:
- Don’t take criticism personally. Knowing that you have good intentions at heart makes them focus on learning and improving, rather than proving.
- They learn to embrace conflicts rather than avoiding them.
- Makes them more open to admitting when they’re wrong and fixing mistakes.
- They feel accountable for delivering on their promise and driving outcomes for the organisation.
A great way to do this is to give a damn—shift from being strictly professional to making it personal. Tell them, as they need to hear, not only when they’re doing well but also when they aren’t. Don’t settle for less or keep low expectations. Raise the bar, expect nothing but excellence.
Becoming a manager that your people trust and respect is not hard once you create a safe space for employees to voice their opinion, help them build creative thinking skills by leading with questions and strike the right balance between challenging and personally caring for them.
Summary
- To be an effective manager, master these 3 most important skills.
- Encourage your people to speak up and share their thoughts. When your team feels safe to voice their opinions, they feel heard and respected, and do not shy away from addressing real problems that require time and attention.
- Help them solve problems on their own by asking questions rather than spoon-feeding them solutions.
- Care for them personally, but at the same time, act tough when they don’t meet expectations.