Good leaders are made, it’s not something you’re born into.
These leadership skills can be honed and developed just like any other ability.
But they do take time.
However, if you want to fast-track your own development into being a good leader, we have some great ideas of how to do so.
We believe that good leaders are split into the following:
- Effective communication
- The ability to motivate their team
- Being able to handle and delegate responsibility
- Offering positivity
These skills can be developed over time, and our bespoke banking and financial services recruitment company have some ideas on where to start.
1. Communication
A big skill that every leader needs is the ability to communicate.
This ranges from explaining to your employees specific tasks to clearly communicating goals.
And communication isn’t just limited to talking to one person, it can include anything from talking over the phone, social media, and full team conversations.
Another thing to consider about communication is that it goes both ways. You should be able to effectively listen as well as talk.
Therefore, aim to establish communication from yourself, and your team members. Perhaps introduce an open door policy, or hold regular meetings.
Make yourself available to discuss issues, or the concerns of your staff.
Communication also includes:
- Storytelling
- Reading body language
- Presentations
- Public Speaking
- Explaining
- and more.
2. Motivation
For any successful leader, the power to motivate your team is a high priority on the necessary skills list.
Although a good wage is especially important to your teams motivation, building self-esteem through recognition or new responsibilities offers them a chance to be more invested in the work they do each day.
This in turn, will allow them, over time, to be more invested in the company you work for.
Learning what motivation works best for your team is a crucial step to encouraging their passion and productivity in the workplace.
Motivation opportunities can include, but not be limited to:
- Assessing your staffs interests
- Taking the opportunity to mentor them
- Being open to their concerns, and providing work that reflects their skillsets through recognising their differences
- Setting goals, and regularly thanking your team
3. Positivity
Take the opportunity to brighten the space, even during stressful periods, such as impending deadlines.
You can spread positivity by asking your team about their weekend plans, or by cracking the occasional joke.
Creating a positive workplace can also include:
- Showing you care
- Encouraging them through hard times
- Managing any conflict in the office
- And overall, just being friendly and empathetic.
4. Responsibility
Whilst you may be responsible for any success in your team, you should also be responsible for the failures too.
The good comes with the bad.
Be willing to accept the blame when things don’t go according to plan.
You don’t want to be the type of leader who blames others, as this will cause your team to lose respect for you.
Once accepting the failures, aim to create solutions for your teams improvements to avoid the issue again.
Responsibility also includes:
- Being open to customer feedback
- Evaluating best solutions
- Learning from past mistakes
- Listening to feedback from employees and managers
- Transparency
5. Delegating
We’ve covered why delegating is important in one of our blogs you can find here.
But to summarise, whilst we know some leaders fear delegating tasks, it’s actually a sign of a strong leader.
Plus, delegating can help you focus on other, more important tasks, while your employees thrive.
Aim to use delegating to:
- Gain valuable feedback from your team
- Assess your teams strengths…and weaknesses
- Evaluate employee performance
- Train your team
- And improve your trust in your teammates
6. Commitment
You’ll need to be committed to your work, and your team.
If you have to finish a task with an upcoming deadline, you should be willing to stay behind and put in the extra hours.
If you promise your staff a reward, follow through with the reward.
Expecting your team to commit to their responsibilities when you’re not completing your own can affect workplace morale.
Workplace commitments can include:
- Being a team player
- Prioritising your workload and team
- Follow through with your tasks
- Embrace your own development
- Keep your promises
- Show passion to your work
Our final notes
By following the tips above, we have no doubts you’ll succeed in becoming a great team leader.
Remember…the easiest way to earn your colleagues respect is always to be good at your job!
If you’re still looking for a role, remember you can speak to our finance and banking recruitment team about what role you may be best suited to.
