Inspire, Engage & Empower: 5 Tips to be a Better Leader

 

Exploring the question, "What defines a great leader?" uncovers a wealth of insights, which can be daunting to sift through.

Leadership, a multifaceted realm, often lacks explicit instruction, leaving novices and those seeking skill enhancement inundated with information and advice. Consequently, overwhelmed individuals may find themselves paralyzed, unable to take action.

While there are a multitude of skills, I wanted to share 5 tips to help any leader. Though not exhaustive, these suggestions provide a solid foundation for growth and development.

#1. Effective Communication

Communicate clearly, openly and transparently.

While there are things you won’t be able to share with your team, be honest and tell them that. Trying to hide information diminishes trust. Poor leaders hold information private as they believe it makes them more valuable or important if they have all the information, but keeping unnecessary secrets negatively affects your ability to lead effectively.

Listen actively.

Pay attention to non-verbal cues such as body language and tone. Look for incongruencies (like when someone says their fine, but their tone or body language indicates differently). Put away your phone or device give the person your full attention. If this isn’t possible at that moment, arrange a different time when you can focus completely.

Follow Up.

Close the loop whenever possible. If someone asks you a question, or gives you feedback, ensure you circle back to them to tell them what came of it. This is especially important when you can’t implement their idea; help them realize why it wasn’t possible. Often leaders skip this step, as they think it’s easier to avoid than to tell someone “no,” however trust grows when they are open and honest.

#2. Emotional Intelligence

Practice empathy.

We can not rationally deal with anything if we are caught in emotion. The electrical impulses that enter our brain need to go through the limbic system (emotional brain) before reaching the neo-cortex (rational brain). A great example of this is a toddler who is upset or throwing a tantrum; telling them to calm down or trying to solve the problem at that moment does not work. Practicing authentic empathy builds stronger relationships and trust.

Brene Brown has a great video on empathy. She talks about how you do not need to identify with the exact situation, but rather, with the emotion that the other person is experiencing. She offers great advice for displaying empathy too.

Adapt to the audience.

People have different communication preferences (written, oral, high-level, detailed). Understand your audience and adapt your communication to what they want. (A DISC report gives you a road map for how to do this).

Validate their feelings.

You do not need to agree with them, but give them an opportunity to feel heard. You can validate their feelings even if you do not share them.

Know your triggers.

There will be situations and triggers that upset you. Being able to recognize these before you get caught in emotion, and possibly do or say something you regret, allows you to take space and time when you need it.

Seek feedback.

Ask others for feedback on you and listen with an open mind. Do not respond or defend, rather, ask questions to understand better if you do not agree with what they’ve said.

#3. Empower and Delegate

Your job as a leader is to empower those around you so they learn and grow (which might mean they take over your job when you move onto something new). Empowering and delegating creates a culture of autonomy, innovation, and collaboration.

Trust but verify.

Delegating does not mean you hand someone a task and wipe your hands of it. You should meet with them regularly and check in on their progress and determine possible obstacles, and then help them overcome them.

Offer support and resources.

Ensure you understand any resources they need and then make sure they are accessible. Meet regularly; they should know they can come to you with any questions or challenges.

Empower through coaching.

Try not to simply give them all the answers or tell them how to do something. Ask great questions to hep them solve the challenge. Some possible questions include:

  • What would you do if I wasn’t here?

  • What do you think?

  • How do you see this working out?

Promote collaboration.

The world has changed a lot since Gen X went through school. Education today focuses on group collaboration (it’s way easier to do online than having to actually gather in person like the 1980s and 90s). There is incredible power in brainstorming challenges and solutions, so encourage collaboration and provide opportunities for your team members to do this.

Encourage calculated risk-taking.

Calculated risks that push you just past your comfort zone can be valuable. Ensure your team knows that they can ask for help and make mistakes without fear of punishment. You do not want them hiding errors.

#4. Continuous Learning and Growth

Leaders need to have a growth mindset. Carol Dweck has a great TED Talk where she describes this. A growth mindset is bigger than just learning; it includes embracing feedback and seeing failure as a growth opportunity.

Offer learning opportunities.

If you work together in person, you can have a mini library with books and resources available for people. Share great newsletters (have you signed up for mine?) or blogs. I worked with a leader who is a ferocious reader and we often emailed with other with great books or blog posts we’d read. Offer training and development opportunities, and create mentorship or peer shadowing programs.

View failure as a learning opportunity.

As young children, we understand that learning takes time and practice (ever watch a toddler learn to walk; they don’t give up when they fall). Somehow, as we grow up, we change our view of failure into a reason to give up or quit.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
— Samuel Beckett

Build Career Path Plans

You should have a professional development plan that will help you grow towards your next career goal. As a leader, you should support your people to create these too. They do not need to be complex; determine the next goal and identify the skills and knowledge gap and then list learning and development ideas to close the gap (eg. Courses, books, mentorship, TED Talks, webinars etc). Delegate tasks which help them grow into the next career step.

#5. Lead by Example

Did you grow up with the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do?” That doesn’t fly today. People will judge you if you say one thing and do another. Model the way.

Demonstrate Integrity

Integrity is evident when you act in congruence with your values. Employees, especially younger generations, put a lot of emphasis on this. They want to work somewhere that aligns with their values and they will not tolerate leaders and organizations who act in a hypocritical manner.

Work-life balance.

People are watching you; if you say that balance (or the newest word: integration) is important, but then you are a work-a-holic, they will see that balance is not important.

You are an example.

People learn by watching others, and your actions are demonstrating to those around you how to be a leader. You are growing and building the next generation of leaders, so ensure you are cultivating the kind of leaders you want working for you.

Next Steps

 

 
Jacquie Surgenor GaglioneBrene Brown, Leadership Skills, Course: MistakesComment