Good Leaders Cultivate Good Habits

In today’s post, my friend Sam Cyrus shares his thoughts on the importance of good habits and leadership.

When you are in a leadership position, your employees are evaluating your competence as a leader with every decision you make. The success of your leadership is directly tied to your leadership traits such as decisiveness, awareness and compassion. It is only natural that you should focus on improving your leadership skills, which you can do by developing some of these habits, in order for you to be a good leader for your team.

Clarify your vision

As a good leader, you need to present your team with a clear path they can follow. Make sure that your team understands why your strategic plan and goals are valuable to them. Devote enough time to explain to them how your vision benefits them as much as the business. Plan your strategies together with them and always ask for feedback, so that they feel like they are truly a part of your vision and plan. Your team needs to feel like they are taking a part in the building of your company’s future.

Keep your mind open

You need to understand that being decisive is not the same as closing your mind to other ideas. Be open to alternate possibilities and ideas that aren’t your own, in order for you to understand the challenge from more than one perspective. You won’t always have all the answers. In order for you to really understand the wants and needs of your customer base, you need to open to feedback, and make sure that they feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts on your product with you. Always be open to criticism, so you know what you need to change.

Be ready to be held accountable for others’ mistakes

Remember that at the end of the day, this is your business and your responsibility. Therefore, there are times when you need to take up the responsibility for the actions of others, be it your employees or your customers. Be aware that sometimes taking over someone else’s responsibility for something small is key to building your relationship and strengthening your team or your customer loyalty. Handling the consequences of certain actions is an important part of being a good leader.

Learn to delegate

One of the most important leadership skills is learning to delegate. Make use of your team constructively, train them to do what they do best on their own, and show trust in them to do more. You can unburden yourself by assigning work according to individual strengths. This will also empower your employees, because they will feel like they are truly making a difference and are valued for what they are good at.

Be passionate about your work

You employees will not look up to you and seek your guidance if you don’t show that you really care about the goals you have set. Great leadership isn’t based merely on making sure that your team finishes their given tasks and that your goals are managed, but on sincere enthusiasm and passion for your work and your vision. Think about various ways that you can make your team aware of your devotion and care about the task, and let them know how much their progress means to you and your project. Make sure each individual contribution is supported and valued.

Learn how to properly discipline

It is difficult to deal with employees who are struggling with their work, but problems that come up need to be dealt with right away, or else they will turn into habits and bring about even bigger problems as times goes by. It is much easier to find a solution to the problem while it is still fresh. When you point out a problem to your employee, make sure you give them the chance to explain themselves first, even if an explanation is not what you’re looking for. When your team members know they have been heard, they will also feel more respected. Avoid embarrassing your employees publicly and always show them respect in public, even if they need to be reprimanded for a mistake. Never make a public example of someone.

Don’t be a solutions provider

Your team will be most successful if they are able to think and find solutions outside the box. You may be the expert in what you do, and it might be faster for you to do things yourself or tell your team how something needs to be done, but in the end you will do more harm than good to your team’s progress. When you always provide solutions, you eliminate the challenge and strip your employees of the opportunity to learn and improve themselves. Take a step back and let your team grow and find better ways to do their job without you interfering. Help your employees learn to learn.

Never stop learning

It is essential both for you and your team to always keep improving and never stop learning. These are just some of the habits that you should keep in mind for yourself to become a good leader, but you should never stop thinking ahead and taking new advices and incorporating new practices into your routine. A good leader is always growing and learning something new.

 

Author bio: Sam Cyrus is CEO and co-founder of Agseosydney, an innovative online marketing agency based in Sydney which is focused on Digital Marketing. Sam is also a creative writer and his interests are entrepreneurship, business, online marketing, SEO and social media. He currently advises companies about Website Design in Sydney, he always recommends people to look for a SEO agency if they feel their site is not giving the results in should be giving.

 

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