15 Tips to Improve Your Leadership

When you hear the word “leadership” what comes to mind? There are numerous definitions of leadership. For me leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. Effective leadership comes down to people. It is about the ability to successfully engage and maximize all human resources for the attainment that vision.

Here are some tips for being a good leader in your company.

KEEP YOUR WORD. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

BE FAIR TO ALL. A good leader shows no favorites. Don’t allow friendships to keep you from being fair to all members of your company or department.

BE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR. You don’t need a commanding voice to be a good leader, but you must be willing to step out front with an effective “Let’s go.” A good leader knows how to get and give information so that everyone understands what’s happening.

BE WILLING TO ACCEPT IDEAS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. It encourages other leaders to offer suggestions and ideas you may not have thought of. Their ideas may help deliver a better program for the company. When you are open to their ideas and willing to adopt good ones, the other leaders will have more ownership of the final plan than if you (or an adult) simply dictate to them what the company is going to do.

BE FLEXIBLE. Not everything goes as planned. Be prepared to shift to “Plan B” when “Plan A” doesn’t work. Think about “Plan C.”

BE ORGANIZED. The time you spend planning will be repaid many times over.

DELEGATE. Some leaders assume that the task will not get done unless they do it themselves. Most people like to be challenged with a task. Empower your team members to do things they have never tried, because they want to be trusted to perform their duties.

FOLLOW UP. When people are given assignments, follow up at appropriate times to make sure they haven’t forgotten what they are supposed to do and when. This can avoid problems when a critical aspect of an outing hasn’t been planned or supplies weren’t obtained. However, be careful not to micromanage others to the point that they stop doing things on their own and simply wait for your instructions.

SET AN EXAMPLE. The most important thing you can do is lead by example. Whatever you do, your employees are likely to do the same. A cheerful attitude can keep everyone’s spirits up.

BE CONSISTENT. Nothing is more confusing than a leader who acts one way one moment and another way a short time later. If your employees knows what to expect from you, they will more likely respond positively to your leadership. If you need to change the plan or change your instructions in light of things you didn’t consider earlier, explain this to the company so they will see the need to follow you.

GIVE PRAISE. The best way to get credit is to give it away. Often a “nice job” is all the praise necessary to make a employee feel they are contributing to the efforts of the company.

ASK FOR HELP. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. You have many resources at your disposal. When confronted with a situation you don’t know how to handle, ask someone with more experience for some advice and direction.

CRITICIZE IN PRIVATE. There will be times when you must provide an employee with critical feedback. Pull the employee aside and quietly explain what they is doing wrong. Add a suggestion on how it should be done correctly. Criticizing in public will undermine the employee’s self-esteem and may cause them to quit trying. Never criticize a leader in front of their department. Doing so will undermine their authority and make it more difficult than ever to carry out their role.

ACCEPT CRITICISM AS A GIFT. You may get criticism from other employees and possibly from the adult leaders. If someone tells you that you aren’t doing a good job, ask them what they mean and how you might improve. Criticism, when offered and received properly, can give you ideas for performing your role better. Being open to suggestions and adopting those that will benefit your company are signs of a good leader.

HAVE FUN. Most of all, have fun learning to be a leader. Your joy and enthusiasm will spread to other employees and will help energize the activities of the company.

Good leadership is not reflected in the leader’s actions, it is reflected in the impact and effect of those actions on the team. The best leaders don’t put people in a box – they free them from boxes. Ultimately, a leader’s job isn’t to create followers, but to strive for ubiquitous leadership.

While there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, I believe that people can learn to become leaders by concentrating on improving these leadership skills with the tips outlined above.