A true leader is the one who creates an impact with their leadership on their organization, employees, team, and stakeholders, as a result of their behaviors, attitudes, and actions. Qualities of a great leader include being appreciative of the good abilities of certain employees, patient, attentive listener, and thankful for accomplishments of their team as a whole. There are many ways you can create impact with your leadership and earn the respect of your colleagues and staff.
Following are some tips that will help you create impact with your leadership
1. Be a Role Model
Leaders must lead by example and walk the talk. Your team looks to you to lead them and show and communicate your expectations, particularly during change. You cannot expect your employees to change their habits if you are not willing to do so yourself. That’s why when you make some changes, make sure to follow them with the same action you expect out of your employees or team. If you are a role model and responsibly take the lead, your team will follow you.
2. Be a Coach
Respected and influential leaders put their staff ahead of their own needs by recognizing the employees who always give their best and that go beyond their job descriptions. If you want to create impact with your leadership, then you must find ways to enable your employees to reach their true potential. You will need to coach your employees in order to do this and share your wisdom, knowledge, and experience with them. With proper guidance, you will open the doors for continued success of your valued staff members.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks or Acknowledge Your Mistakes
Influential, strong leaders know that you have to take risks from time to time and even acknowledge when you have made any mistakes. These are the leaders who can challenge ideas and take risks to gain a competitive edge. They know when drastic measures are needed to be taken in order to keep certain operations within an organization moving smoothly and are always willing to act on their decisions. Unfortunately, sometimes the decisions a leader makes aren’t what are best for the team or organization. Respected leaders are the ones who acknowledge their mistakes and openly admit that they have made a bad call. This makes employees or team feel valued.
4. Reinforce a Culture of Accountability
Accountability is the key to creating an impact with leadership. When you, as a leader, hold your team accountable, it helps them understand that they are accountable in all things they do. Your words and influence will fall on deaf ears if there are no accountability measures in place. Your employees need to see the way in which you lead and do business. Cultural elements, and internal systems and processes are in place for a reason.
5. Create a Positive Executive Presence
When you are respected by your employees, only then you can create an impact and leave a long-lasting impression. Executive presence is a powerful tool which you can use to make your employees and team feel appreciated and valued. Influential leaders are the role models for their employees. When you create a positive executive presence, your employees will welcome the constructiveness and will be open to critiquing without worrying about the source that it’s coming from. This is the kind of presence that you can utilize to create impact with your leadership and create a positive influence for the whole organization.
6. Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Respected leaders recognize and reward colleagues and employees they are sharing the success with. Bad leaders hoard positive recognition and focus on themselves. In reality, those are the leaders who wouldn’t succeed without the help of their team and the employees working for them. When valuable efforts are recognized and rewarded, it encourages innovation, hard work, and stimulates new ways of thinking. Respected leaders make it their duty to focus and improve the progress of their colleagues and staff as opposed to themselves.
If you want to create impact with your leadership, then you must earn respect of your team and employees. Because without it, you are not going to see any success. Being a great leader is about being passionate about what you and your team do and being a navigational tool for all your employees and colleagues. Stay mindful of the ways to improve the working environment so that a better workforce is created and you stay competitively relevant.