20 Tips for Managers to Develop Leadership

If you see yourself as a future leader or manager of a company, you should begin to cultivate these leadership traits for success in your role or even instil confidence in the directors so that you are promoted to that position.

If you are already in a managing or leadership role, it is even more important for you to develop leadership qualities and continuously improve yourself.

1. Empathy is a superpower.

‘Put yourself in the shoes of other people.’ It is a common saying in the United States. This way, you can empathize with the people in your team and create a better conversation. This will also help you understand your co-workers better and instil confidence that you know their position. So, they will have more faith in you.

2. When you don’t know the answer, admit it and try to find a solution

It is best to let your team know when you need their inputs and looking for a solution.

When you are out of ideas, it is no use pretending that you know what to do because sooner or later, the co-workers will find out. So, do not try to look perfect as no human being has all the answers. However, you have to look for the solution and provide it.

3. Do not forget people in the game of numbers and metrics

As a leader, you are expected to get the best out of other people and push them to achieve more; better and this might reflect in their results such sales figures, tasks completed and so on. However, they might be lacking the necessary tools to be successful. Therefore, despite their best efforts, they might not get results if they do not have the right tools for it.

4. Learn to create goals and not just targets.

We create a target that takes us towards a specific goal. However, sometimes, leaders have only targets and do not know the purpose of that target. The leader must have a “pole star” and work with the team to reach that destination. It does not matter what kind of leader we are: supervisor, business owner, parent, basketball team captain. Without goals, we are not going anywhere.

5. The team is not just hands but brains as well. Use them.

Your team might try to tell you something, but you are not listening as it is your task to create solutions, or you feel that you have all the answers, but they do not know anything. “If they had this much knowledge, they would not be there.” It is unwise when managers think like this. Shared experiences, knowledge, and ideas are powerful. Yes, there are times when we will need to make executive decisions. Until then, teams go further when they work together.

6. Learn to be a coach.

Coaching is the most powerful technique in a leader’s toolkit. It is not about telling someone what to do. It is about guiding them to make their own decisions and use their will to achieve their goals. Coaching is about listening, setting goals, extracting the correct information from them, and sticking with them as they go through the steps to achieve the described purpose.

Learn: How Coaching Can Empower Leaders and Up Their Game

7. Connect with them often.

Let’s always make sure to take some time to talk to your team, kids, teammates, or whoever is leading. You would want to know about the person, what motivates them and how you can get the best of them. We can only do this through constant communication and training.

8. Lead by example.

If you have to tell someone that you are his or her leader, you have already failed. We can instruct someone as much as we want, but if your actions must match your words. You cannot tell others to be on time if you are never on time. You cannot punish someone for missing deadlines when you did not meet them either.

9. Ask others to help, but help others achieve their personal goals too.

All of us have goals that we need to achieve. You can contribute to their lives. You might think that you cannot make a difference. However, you would be surprised if you try how great it is to help your team reach professional and personal goals. If our team sees that we care about them as people, they will do anything for you.

10. Practice it before preaching it.

We have to learn how to do the job before we can tell others how it should be done. We can “hit it” without knowing the job, but indeed they will discover it. As a leader, you must increase your skills and those of your team. It gives you the ability to see whom you are working with daily.

11. Show them the way and then be away.

Nobody likes a micromanager. Even if you have some competition, we must give people the space to perform in their way. Give them space and the freedom to work.

12. Give them space, but keep observing.

Giving people the space to work is excellent, but you still need to make sure they are headed in the right direction. Let’s not be afraid to check the work and confirm that what they are doing is what you want.

13. Be friendly but not a friend.

This opinion may be a bit suggestive, but leaders should not be friends with those they lead, especially in business. It becomes a challenge to make decisions that affect them. Being friends can also cause leaders to cross social lines that can cause problems for them.

It’s hard to come back from the animosity generated when you do something your friends don’t like. Let’s be friendly, attractive, and compassionate, but keep the lines clear.

14. Communicate, even when it is difficult.

If there are problems, you should tell them straight and on the face. If we lead a team, we must inform them when things are going well and also when they are going wrong. You must be able to notify someone when their performance is not adequate. And communication is essential when it comes time to “let go” of someone. If you are afraid to speak, you can complicate things.

15. Keep learning.

Learning should never stop. As we encounter more experiences, successes, and failures, we become better. Books are a great way to get training on a budget. In addition to books, let’s look for courses, coaching, and tutoring to take our leadership skills to the next level.

Enroll Now: Leadership and Coaching Certification Course

16. Work on your insecurities.

Some people become leaders with the expectation that others will finally respect and love them. Sad to say, it does not work that way. Money, power, and leadership only expose more of the type of person you are. Work on our insecurities because you will project them onto your teams.

17. Be yourself

Being authentic is the best way to work on your insecurities. It is exhausting to maintain the facade of a demanding boss or that of a friendly boss. There are good and bad things, but those could become ugly if you pretend what you are not. So, do not be afraid of being vulnerable.

18. Set big goals

Do not be afraid to set big targets that could look unachievable to your team for once. If you are communicating, training, and motivating constantly, you will likely achieve the goal. That is the power of a well-trained and managed team. Find ways to advance to the next level.

19. Punish less, reward, and recognize more.

You can see bad in everything and be quick to punish and slow to praise, a quality that hurts most leaders. A pat on the back and a few kind words go a long way, as long as we mean it and can show them why we do it.

20. Train others to be leaders.

The ultimate goal of any leader is to create more leaders. When you become a leader maker, you advance to the next level. You are a change maker. If you can teach leadership to your team members, you will have a team that manages itself over time while you can keep focusing on training, strategizing, motivating, and organizing.

Even some of these tips can transform your influence, results, and satisfaction as a leader. You will realize that it is all about people, leading by example, and continually growing. If you are a new leader, it can be the most incredible learning curve that you will encounter.