Seven ways to become a great leader
posted 31 Jul 24
Do you have the potential to be a great leader?
The foundation skills of every good leader consist of good communication, organisation, problem-solving, delegating, and the ability to navigate challenges and demands from the business as they arise. However, exceptional leaders have qualities beyond these skills. These qualities are learnt from experiences where they have had to show resilience and adaptability and often step outside of their comfort zone.
Discover seven qualities successful leaders possess — along with ideas on how to cultivate them.
1. Authenticity
Being true to yourself is fundamental to succeed in any role, but more so as a leader. For leaders, people want to trust your character and connect with you to be willing to take risks with you. Embody the version of yourself that is most effective and capable of inspiring others.
Be your best authentic self: Understanding how people perceive you is crucial for growth, so start by asking for feedback from peers in low-pressure situations. Say something like: “I’m trying to understand my impact on those around me. Can you give me a sense of what I should keep doing, start doing, and stop doing?”. Remember not to dwell on the negatives and focus on the positives.
2. Curiosity
Curious leaders are willing to explore new ideas and solutions, stay informed on the latest trends and best practices, and understand challenges from other perspectives, enabling them to make more informed decisions.
Nurture your curiosity: Look at situations from an external perspective, for example, a customer or competitor, and ask yourself: “What could we be doing better?”. Be open to new experiences and people outside your immediate division, function, and industry. Don’t be afraid to ask basic or naive questions.
3. Analytical mindset
Leadership requires you to develop your analytical skills and be attentive to patterns and trends. You cannot lead and make decisions without evidence that your work is achieving the objectives you set out to achieve. Combine your experience and judgement with analytics to make sound decisions.
Be data-driven: Where possible, lean on others in your team to source the information required. As a leader, your job is to decode the data and create a narrative to share with your team alongside recognition of what went well and recommendations to learn and improve.
4. Adaptability
With the constant emergence of new technologies and trends, leaders need to be able to adjust to these ever-shifting demands. Adaptability fosters an agile team culture, allowing you to pivot when needed and embrace new opportunities and challenges.
Embrace change: Actively seek out and engage with new experiences and challenges. Push yourself to work in new environments with different kinds of people to expand your personal growth and development and ability to adapt.
5. Creativity
Creative and dynamic workplaces create a culture of innovation and problem-solving where team members feel motivated and inspired. Your role as a leader isn’t necessarily to come up with all the great ideas by yourself, but rather to nurture the team's creativity.
Cultivate creativity: Create a safe space for ideas and creativity to blossom through open communication, celebrating ideas, and setting aside time and resources for ideas sessions and experimentation.
6. Resilience
Resilient leaders navigate challenges, adapt to change, and withstand setbacks effectively and calmly. They set a positive example for their team and foster a culture of perseverance which is much needed in today’s world.
Build resilience: Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, breaking down goals that feel unachievable into manageable steps. Identify people in your team who are resilient and positive and can help you ride the storm when communicating change to the wider team.
7. Empathy
Developing your emotional intelligence gives you a deeper appreciation of the challenges others are working through and enables you to connect with them on a deeper level. Employees feel valued and understood, leading to higher engagement and job satisfaction.
Develop empathy: As humans, we tend to gravitate to others who are like us, that’s why as a leader it’s imperative to seek out and understand people from different backgrounds. Ask questions about others’ work preferences, the pressures they’re under, and their strengths and weaknesses, and pay attention! If someone strikes you as illogical, it’s likely you don’t understand what matters most to them.
At Search, we believe that becoming a great leader is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It’s a process — one that thrives on embracing challenges, seeking feedback, fostering connections, and cultivating understanding.
For further advice on how you can develop and grow your team or if you’re looking for a new role to flex your leadership skills and qualities, please contact our dedicated recruitment specialists.
