Being a boss, manager, or supervisor doesn’t make you a great leader. Anyone can get a promotion and be in charge of a team. However, it takes commitment, self-awareness, and focus to become a quality leader.

Excellent leadership skills are something most people can develop over time. While some people have a few natural talents to support becoming a great leader, others need to build their leadership skills from the ground up.

If you’re in a position where you need to start showcasing your leadership side, don’t worry. The following tips could give you the guidance you need to build your position as a strong influential leader. One key element in this process is the character of a leader. Therefore, it is important to examine your motives and ask yourself whether you simply want to be a leader to be seen, or you want to genuinely make a real difference in the world.

 Try these strategies:

1. Embody the values you want to see. Leaders are there to guide and inspire the people around them. If you want to see incredible things from your staff, give them a model to replicate.
   
   
   • Although it can be difficult to see yourself as a role model, particularly if you’re new to leadership, it all starts with understanding your values. Think about the kind of things that matter most to you as a leader and what you want to see in your followers.
     
   • When you begin to showcase the things that you ask for from your staff, you’ll notice that they can more often imitate the actions you want to see. For instance, if you want your employees to be passionate about their roles, be sure to show evidence of your own passion often.

2. Know what sort of leader you want to be. It’s difficult to become a powerful influential leader if you don’t know what one looks like. You need a general idea of how you’d describe a strong leader, so you have a benchmark to aim towards.
   
   
   • A good way to start is to look into some inspirational figures in your industry. Think about the kind of leaders that appeal most to you and your values and find out what kind of leadership styles they use.
     
   • Transformational leaders stand out because they’re empowering, positive, and inspiring, but each person needs to approach their role with integrity to who they are.
     
   • If you’re not sure what your leadership style is, or what your core values are, you can conduct some research and take reliable online questionnaires to help you find out.
     
   • Once you know what kind of leader you are, and who you want to become, you can start planning a route to success.
     
     
3. Encourage creativity. If you really want to achieve incredible things, it’s important to collaborate and encourage those around you. A creative team is more likely to come up with positive ideas on how to grow your business and generate new opportunities.
   
   
   • With that in mind, be sure that everyone in your staff feels comfortable sharing their thoughts with you.
     
   • Offer challenges to your team members and ask them to support you with their best ideas. You could also ensure that it’s easy for people from all over your business to provide feedback about the ideas they like most.
     
     
4. Invest in Communication. Strengthen your communication skills wherever possible. This includes ensuring that you can effectively communicate when you’re chatting to people over video conference, the phone, and when you’re communicating in person.
   
   
   • Good leaders should always make time to talk to, and build trust with, their key colleagues and team members.
     
   • This includes leaving the lines of communication open, so your staff can come to you with any feedback that they haven’t been able to share in a group meeting or recent session.
     
   • Ensure that no one ever feels nervous about coming to you with insights or questions about what to do next.
     
     
5. Encourage and motivate your team. As a leader, you can judge your success by the accomplishments of your team. Ultimately, the wins of the people you lead are your wins too. It’s important to constantly encourage, motivate, and inspire your team members to achieve the best outcomes.
   
   
   • Avoid taking all the spotlight in any situation.
     
   • Ask your team members to give their input as often as they can. You can also make it easier for people who are less extroverted to share ideas.
     
   • Providing a digital environment where people can submit insight anonymously might be a good idea in some business landscapes.
     
   • In others, it might be helpful to sit down with staff members face-to-face every so often, so you can discuss their goals and how they align with the overall targets of the business.

Strengthen your leadership skills with these strategies and become the leader you aspire to be.

John Hardy