Work With the Team, Not Above
First, you should work with the team and not above. Being a good leader involves listening to your team, involving them in the decision-making process, delegating work and creating a team-based mentality. This means that you need to break down barriers between employees and management while still being able to command respect.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
As a leader, you are the one that sets the tone and the others will follow. This is why it is so important to maintain a positive attitude, which should help to lift people’s spirits and keep them happy and motivated at work. This is particularly important during the colder months of the year when productivity can dip due to shorter days and bad weather.
Listen to Your Employees
Good listening skills are essential as a leader. You should always be gathering feedback from your team and making adjustments based on their ideas – this helps you to make improvements while also helping them to feel valued. You should also have an open-door policy and encourage people to come forward with ideas, questions and concerns.
Try to Seek Better Solutions
A good boss is one that is always looking out for solutions to make work easier for their team. For example, investing in good quality tools and new systems for admin work that can simplify tasks can make a big difference, such as HR software for your team.
Own Up to Your Mistakes
A good leader is also one that can hold their hands up and admit their mistakes. You are the one that has to make the tough calls and you will not get all of these right, so you need to be honest about your mistakes and learn from them.
Have Everyone’s Backs
A leader should always have their team’s back and stand up for them when required. This will help to create a strong bond that is key to success in business.
Recognise & Reward Good Performances
You should also recognise and reward good performances to help employees to feel valued and to lift morale. This will also motivate others to lift their performance too.
Don’t Micromanage
It is also important to avoid micromanaging and instead encourage autonomy. People will feel trusted when they can find their own way of working and this will also free up time for you.
Hopefully, the advice in this post will be useful and give you a few ideas to become a better leader.