When it comes to inspiration and motivation, it’s no secret to anyone that we live in a time of scarcity. Our current world brings day after day of news and discoveries that are increasingly discouraging from the state of global health and the environment, such as the demoralization of once-respected public figures. For whatever reason, it is increasingly difficult to believe in something. This is why we need leadership.
Precisely for this reason, it’s more important than ever to find reasons to motivate yourself and maintain the willpower to progress day after day. We all have something within us that we can contribute to this, but if social researchers agree on one thing, it is one thing: good leaders are needed.
Leaders are that figure that serves as an inspiration, as a guide, almost like a guru, for any team or group of people on the path to carrying out a task. And not only on a spiritual level but also in a practical way. That person who inspires you to do a good job so that the company is increasingly successful, and in turn, you with them. The person who leads by example, and motivates you to want to be better and better.
And as we all know, every day we have fewer true leaders in the world. And as they disappear, they are even more necessary.
Do you feel the vocation of leadership? If you consider that you have the qualities to become a great leader, or if you urgently need to do so, I invite you to read this article to discover five simple tips to start on the journey toward becoming that figure of inspiration that your team so badly needs.
What Is A Leader?
To start the path to becoming a good leader, it is necessary to understand what we are talking about. Setting a clear goal, with a clear definition of what we want to become is crucial to meeting our goals. Therefore, to conceptualize, what is a leader?
A leader is a person capable of encouraging, motivating, and influencing the thinking or behavior of the staff of his team to work for a common benefit.
Their functions include:
• Transmitting the vision of the company and integrating it into the team
• Guiding and mobilizing staff towards the achievement of goals
• Reinforcing events and correcting mistakes
Among many others, which will depend on the environment and circumstance that the individual leads.
To complete in our minds that image of what is normally associated with being a good leader, it is convenient to examine some of the most common characteristics of the people who play this role in a team or company. These are:
Communication Skills
This soft skill is crucial for the good performance of a leader since they need to be able to express themselves in a way that makes their team understand them and also feel inspired to carry out the objectives or requests that the leader makes according to the goals of the company. Also, if it is necessary to make a correction or give a congratulation for the good work, a leader must know how to communicate it in the most empathetic and appropriate way possible.
Discipline
It goes without saying why a leader needs to be disciplined, however, it is worth highlighting the importance of discipline when setting goals and executing them. Only a certain person can, through their example, inspire an entire team to do the same.
Empathy
Something that many bosses, unlike leaders, overlook is the all-important empathy, which is what makes the biggest distinction between these two. A leader must be empathetic, know how to put themselves in the shoes of their employees, and, in this way, understand how to handle the emotions and feelings of those involved in the team.
Ability to Define Goals and Objectives
A leader must be an innovative person, skillful, and without fear of taking risks to grow and expand the possibilities of success of their company, but they must also have the ability to set specific goals and objectives so that, when communicating this information to their team, they can guide them towards their fulfillment.
Now that we have defined more specifically what a leader is, you should have a clearer image of what you aspire to do with your team. We can start talking about steps and recommendations to get there.
Improve Your Soft Skills
Many leading magazines, such as Forbes and the Harvard Business Review, have published articles, essays, and research on leadership and the importance of soft skills in leadership performance. And all agree that the most important of all is communication.
This tool is of total importance since it allows the leader to inspire, move, and incite the people of his team to cooperate and achieve the collective goals.
Communication must always be effective and empathetic to improve and maintain good relationships between team members and the leader.
Be Proactive and Productive
Every leader must be an example of productivity and responsibility, to generate excellent results and thus inspire their team to do exactly that, boosting the productivity of the company.
Aside from setting short-term goals that the team must meet, a good leader must also remain willing to envision a future outlook in which to set long-term goals, a little more flexible but just as important. Thus, there will be a healthy and productive balance for the company.
The leader must also have a proactive approach when designing strategies and plans that lead to the fulfillment of all objectives set by the company. However, they must focus on both the results and the people on their team and how they are doing their work.
This leads us to the following tip:
Care for the Team Members
We have talked a lot before about the importance of team members’ mental health for productivity and their commitment to the company. If a leader ensures that their team members are comfortable, they will feel a special commitment to the company and an incentive to be more productive. In conclusion, it is a win-win deal: the workers are comfortable, and the company grows by having more production.
At present, many companies implement work cultures that favor the care of the mental health of their workers, however, rather than having a protocol on this, it is important to have a real interest in employees and to be aware of their comfort.
Some recommendations to improve this are: create a personal development plan, have a suggestion box that works, and occasionally stop to chat with them to hear what they have to say.
Lead, Don’t Control
For the team member to feel motivated, you must show them that you trust them to carry out the tasks that correspond to them, that you delegate responsibilities, and that they are free to decide how to carry out their work as long as they stay within the rules and guarantee good results.
Being a controlling boss who monitors each of your workers’ processes, from the macro to the micro, will only lead to problems in the long run and will definitely wipe out any comfort a team member may feel.
What you need to do is keep everything in balance: don’t be controlling and obsessive about every little detail, but don’t neglect these processes either, and make sure you’re there to guide your team to get things done as needed.
Be Inspiring
Inspirational leaders help their team members to cooperate, connect with each other and with themselves, and find a way to empower themselves individually, to grow both as people and as professionals, understanding that this evolution is beneficial for everyone involved.
A leader should understand the importance of the balance between productivity and comfort that every company needs to guarantee good results and a successful and pleasant work environment. And take an approach not just in the short term, with results that increase production, but also in the long term, in which you help your team to develop, and become the best version of themselves.
For this, a leader must know the members of their team personally or make the best effort to achieve a rapprochement and show through their example how important is the determination, will, and empowerment of each individual, as well as show tools to get this.
A leader must integrate all their skills, both technical and emotional, to pour this knowledge onto their workers and together walk towards the healthy success of the company.
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