You are tasked to become a leader, at the very least, once in your life. But it’s not at all easy being one! You are responsible to lead a group that is composed of people with diverse characteristics. The success or failure of the team’s goals relies mostly on your ability to designate tasks to the right persons on your team.
Sometimes you succeed as a leader, sometimes you don’t. And when you fail, you get blamed most of the time!
And so you ask, “How can I become an effective leader?
The following tips will certainly help you become one:
Know each member of your team.
Call them by their nicknames or first names and let them realize they’re welcome to the group. Allow them to inform you about their interests and skills. This way, you’ll have an idea on where they can best help your group accomplish your goals.
Then sometimes, you feel that you don’t like one or some members in your group. What should you do when you encounter this?
First, remind yourself that you are brought together not as personal friends but group mates. You just need to respect one another and treat each member professionally. Focus on your goals and on the tasks assigned to each member.
Review the goals of the team.
There is nothing better than realizing the purpose of the group, on why it was created in the first place. This will help you focus on things you must accomplish and the members who will be assigned to different tasks. Also, make plans in advance to serve as guide to accomplish goals.
Prepare yourself before meeting the team.
Review the agenda of the meeting and make sure you have already made a list of the actions to be taken even before the assembly. Likewise, prepare yourself so that you’ll have a ready answer for every question asked by the group members. There’s nothing worse than getting a blank look and groping for a response when asked by a member about the agenda, especially if he or she is an aggressive one.
Listen and consider suggestions.
An effective leader is a good listener. So always find time to listen to the ideas, suggestions, proposed plans of action and the like, of your members. Listen and apply the suggestions if you feel that they would be of immense help to the fulfillment of the team’s goals. But be decisive and at times, assertive. You are leading the group, that’s why. You are still the one to set things in motion. Yet allow your members the freedom to do assigned tasks their own way.
Be responsible enough to admit your mistakes.
Nobody’s perfect. You can still be an effective leader when you come to terms with the wrong decision you made. Lessons are often learned the hard way. Just make sure you don’t make the same mistake again. Forgive yourself for the mistake, but don’t get tired of improving yourself. You need room to grow as a leader too.
Appreciate the efforts of your team.
Every person needs the assurance that he or she has an important role to play in order to gain the confidence and the eagerness to accomplish his or her assigned tasks. By doing this, everyone will be given the chance to give her best, to showcase her skills and talents.
Support the personal growth or development of your team members.
Your team members may become future leaders too. Hone them to be effective members so that when their time comes, they are already equipped with confidence to accomplish tasks the best way they can. Train them to be responsible, loyal, honest and eager to do their work for the success of the whole team.
Don’t reprimand a member of your team in public.
Talk to the member personally and discuss the mistakes he or she made, and the ways to rectify or resolve the problem. That member may become disillusioned and insecure if you scold him or her in public. Just be firm on giving instructions and give the member the chance to do better next time. But if the whole team is at fault, that’s the time you should reprimand the whole group. Be professional with how you reprimand your team and don’t mention personal matters.
Maintain your composure during stressful moments.
This is really an important trait of an effective leader. Even when you are pressured and stressed, you still need to maintain your composure. This is because you need to still make the decision for the team.
Inject some humor and apply positivity whenever possible.
Your team members have personal lives too. They may be team members during the hours you’re with them as their leader, but they also have private lives. You don’t know what they’re going through when they’re done with their tasks as members. So as much as possible, be a leader with a sense of humor and positive remarks. It is important that when they are with you, they can look up to you and respect you, but they can also enjoy your company. This way, they’re motivated and happier to be part of the team.
Be a dynamic head to be an effective leader.
Times change, and there are times when you must change as a leader too, depending on the situation. Be flexible so that you can also adjust to the changing times. Also, you must be happy to lead the group so that things will be much easier to accomplish. A happy leader who appreciates his or her tasks can perform best. Love what you do. That’s really the start on how you can be an effective leader.
