10 LEADERSHIP SUCCESS TIPS.
Many want to be leaders and when they reach leadership roles they struggle to achieve the results that they are capable of delivering. So what 10 leadership success tips should leaders and emerging leaders consider?
Tip 1: Focus
If you are leading a team, department or even an entire organisation, you need to focus on:
o What you want to achieve in the short term
o What you want to create in the longer term
o What you want to create for others
Tip 2: Learn from others
Much is made of lifelong learning. While some might see it as an HR initiative, continuing to learn is no longer an optional extra for leaders. No matter how well you are educated, how much experience or knowledge you have and skills that you possess, you can always learn from others. Many leaders discover that simply by listening more and talking less, they can learn more from others.
Tip 3: Keep things simple
We all like to think what we do is complicated. In fact, the best leaders know that one of the keys to success is keeping things simple. At the end of the day, most things in business come down to:
o Attracting clients or customers
o Selling enough at a price which is higher than costs
o Producing or delivering your service in the most efficient way
o Looking after your staff and keeping them motivated
o Looking after your customers, clients or users of your services
Tip 4: Be reliable
People who you lead want to know that you can be relied on. Demonstrating your reliability and showing that you can be depended on to help others achieve and defend them when the going gets tough are two simple ways of demonstrating your reliability.
Tip 5: Respect others
If you want more respect as a leader, start respecting those that you lead. Earning respect of others takes time and commitment.
Tip 6: Work hard
It is all too easy to look at those who achieve success as a leader and believe they had it easy. The reality is that those who achieve success as leaders are willing to work hard to achieve it and to maintain their success. If you want to achieve success as a leader you need to be willing to work hard.
Tip 7: Recruit the best people
Leaders, no matter how good they are, know that that real success comes from having the right people in their team. The true test of this is when the leader can be away from the business for a period of time but it continues to prosper.
Tip 8: Communicate with clarity
As a leader you want people to come on board and help you to achieve a vision. People will always be slightly cautious and as a leader, you need to be able to communicate with clarity:
o Where the business is going
o Why it is going in a specific direction
o What it means for people in the organisation
Tip 9: Build teams
Effective teams are not an optional extra. They are essential to your success as a leader. Take the time and make the effort to build teams that focus on results and improvement.
Tip 10: Accept mistakes
Mistakes are made by everyone, including leaders. How you respond to mistakes is what differentiates you as a leader. Are you someone who sets out to find the culprit and make an example of them or do you accept mistakes as part of the process of achieving success? Leaders who achieve success recognise that allowing mistakes to happen encourages a degree of risk taking. Risk taking encourages people to aim higher and go for bigger success. Punishing encourages avoidance and playing safe.
Leadership success is not something that is achieved overnight. So what tips could you implement to achieve more success as a leader?