The Different Methods That You Can Use to Improve Leadership Skills Articles | Leadership

By: Leaders Pages

It’s been said before and at one time or the other we will have heard it: “There is room for improvement”. Leadership is no different. A need exists for the education and development of a team and leaders in such teams to and this need is important in order improve and maintain effectiveness. Instructional means that impart the different qualities of decision making, problem solving and communication are equally important to both the leaders as well as the follower.

The best form of leadership is the type of leadership that enables people and motivates them to do what they have to do to the best of their ability. The simplest style of leadership is that of the problem solver, a problem solver is a person who knows whatever it is that they have to do and gains the necessary respect from this knowledge and deciding on the route to follow. Leaders who are sure of themselves can easily inspire the necessary cooperation that is needed from other members of the team. In order to improve a leadership style beyond this most basic of levels, you should understand how to structure your approach to different situations as well as various human needs.

Raising someone’s feeling of importance engenders great self-esteem which in turn helps the person to perform better. This is actually because the better we feel about who we are, then the better we interact and perform as well. You should take the time out to listen to people and whatever it is that they have to say. A complement that is expressed sincerely can be uplifting. You should show some respect to individuals and the ideas that they have. If you use a person’s name when you can, that would be an excellent thing to do. People have a need to be acknowledged for who they are.

Last of all there is the issue of personal comfort zones and you should remain inside such comfort zones. Make sure that you refrain from behaving like a cheerleader if that sort of behavior isn’t your style. When you think of doing better with your style of leadership, you should ensure that you remain within the limits of your own personality. You tend to lose respect if the leadership style that you exhibit seems artificial.

• Communication as well is an essential part of leadership and so is listening too.
• Make sure that people informed.
• Do not be afraid of delegating to others as you can’t do everything yourself.

Components to put into practice:

• Reward those who perform highly and this isn’t strictly about having those who bring in the best financial results.
• Have meetings and surveys regularly but within reason to get input from your employees for decision and policy formulation.
• Ensure that assessments for performance are tied into rewards as well.
• Creating the necessary atmosphere for recognition by person’s peers is an important aspect of motivation. Those leaders who are best at this sort of thing may make use of varying methods in order to accomplish this. These methods include: letters, awards, mention of their achievement on the intranet or in newsletters and a whole lot of other means.

Time management - The 80:20 Rule.  

This concept is nicely explained in the Pareto Principle which is otherwise known as the “80:20 Rule”. This rule states that 80% of our unfocussed efforts generate 20% of the needed results, 20% of focused effort however generates 80% of the needed results.

Brainstorming techniques:

• It is essential that we remember to refrain from criticism or debate
• We should use simple and efficient methods to bring good ideas to the forefront
• Building team trust is also essential
• Listening to the ideas of one another and the development of solutions is equally necessary
• You should also ensure that you listen to the creative ideas of people and develop the necessary solutions
• Motivating the group is another essential technique