What is a Great Leader? We’ve all worked for someone that is a Great Leader That person for Whom We’ll ‘Run Through Walls for’.
These Leadership Tips will help you to be a great leader:
Tips 1-10
- 1. You ain’t great at everything, so don’t pretend to be by showing humility with, ‘I’m not great at this, you are. Please can you do it’.
- 2. Say no for you, for your team, and sometimes to your clients because great leaders know when it is not right to do.
- 3. Be clear on the important targets and have one that is paramount that everything else is a second to.
- 4. Don’t ask anyone to do something that you would not be prepared to do yourself.
- 5. Help your team celebrate the wins, especially when those wins are few and far between.
- 6. When people are speaking to you make them feel as though they are your whole world for those moments.
- 7. Be the music for your team.
- 8. Stop promoting the notion that working until you’re exhausted is the right way.
- 9. Be the meerkat, the one looking over and above everyone else to see what is coming ahead.
- 10. In uncertain times people particularly look for what a leader does, so know when those times happen and choose what to do, don’t dither.
Tips 11-20
- 11. ‘You cannot pour from an empty cup’, which means that you need to take time for you.
- 12. Ask for feedback.
- 13. Show that you are willing to try new things without consequences.
- 14. Accept that you will make mistakes.
- 15. Be as transparent as you can.
- 16. Micromanaging is the death of productivity.
- 17. Manage people according to the agreed targets, not by their task list.
- 18. Be the example that you want others to follow.
- 19. Understand the trust formula and use it in your relationships with your team and encourage them to use it across the team.
- 20. Identify what you disliked about a bad leader you worked for and avoid doing the same things.
Tips 21-29
- 21. Identify what you liked about a good leader you worked for and do the same things.
- 22. Share your learnings, whether it is training, a tip you learnt, best practice – share, share, share.
- 23. You need to be able to delegate effectively, so research how people delegate well and do it.
- 24. Don’t be afraid to make decisions because not making a decision is making a decision, a decision to do nothing.
- 25. Knowing what you want to achieve is very important as a leader and once you do, share it regularly with your team.
- 26. ‘Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there’, Josh Billings.
- 27. Understand the situational leadership model.
- 28. Understand Herzberg’s model.
- 29. Believe in your people and tell them that you do.
A lot has been written about what a great leader does and leadership tips are available in abundance. Don’t try to read it all, but instead be the very best leader you can be, by adopting 3 principles, like leading by example, showing humility, and believing in people. Begin there and don’t stop improving.
Action: For even more useful content on leadership, check out our ultimate guide on Leadership Skills.
