Whether you are
already a part of a management team in an organization or you aspire to become
one in the future, you should know that leadership skills need to be learned
and polished throughout life.
Collaborating
with professionals and teams in different working environments will give you
the experience you need, but working on your own development doesn’t
necessarily have to happen in the office. Whatever more, you should take time
to work on your leadership skills in your free time, too.
Here are the
seven most important tools and activities that will help you develop some of
the vital leadership skills.
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses
Self-awareness is one of the most
important traits a good leader can have. Knowing what you can and cannot do is
crucial in the process of setting personal and professional goals, but this
isn’t the only reason. A leader aware of his or her limitations can have a
better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of other professionals
they work with.
If you want to know which
personality type you belong to and which advantages and limitations you
probably have, take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. It will help
you learn more about yourself, providing you with a detailed description of
your personality type.
Perhaps you think you already know
all there is about yourself, but the results of this test might surprise you.
Developing your communication skills
Your day at the
office probably consists of an endless stream of meetings and the constant flow
of communication with your clients, colleagues and higher management. To be
able to survive each such day, you’ll need to master patience, thinking on your
feet, and the secrets of effective communication.
Developing your
communication skills isn’t just about learning how to speak in presentations
and answer emails professionally. It’s about active listening, reading body
language, goodwill, and patience.
Activities such
as traveling to experience different cultures and involvement in social
activities and volunteering can help you learn a lot about other people and get
plenty of chances to develop and polish your communication skills.
Recognizing your leadership style
What kind of a leader are you, and
what kind would you like to become? Do you have clear, proven facts to support
your observations? With the USC's Leadership Style Self-Assessment test,
you will have both the answers you are looking for and the science to back it
up.
It’s not uncommon to believe that
you are a certain leadership style representative, only to find out that it’s
not really the case. If you’ve “diagnosed” yourself wrong, that might be the
source of a lot of frustrations and errors that can easily be avoided.
Boosting
your creativity and problem-solving skills
Every inspirational leader is
recognized by their ability to identify new solutions and new approaches to the
same old problems in non-traditional ways. Creativity, flexibility in thinking,
and problem-solving skills can be improved and boosted within your own
workplace, and there is a lot you can do to make your team included as well.
From a Shrinking Vessel and Egg Drop to Frostbite and Minefield,
games and activities that help you sharpen your brain are the best ways to
connect with your colleagues on longer breaks in the office or on team building
sessions.
Improving your delegation skills
It sure feels
empowering when you do a lot of difficult and time-consuming tasks on your own,
but sometimes doing it all by yourself is simply not the optimal solution.
Delegating some of your responsibilities to the colleagues you can trust to
take care of them is one of the most important things every leader must do now
and then.
Learn more about
how mastering six levels of delegation can help
you save time and become more productive, while at the same time providing your
subordinates the opportunities to develop their own skills and strengths.
Assessing your conflict resolution skills
To be able to resolve conflicts,
provide inspiration and motivation to everyone around you, and truly understand
and accept what you can and cannot expect from your colleagues, you need to be
a leader with a high emotional intelligence score.
However, although a good leader
needs to be emphatic, letting your emotions guide your every move can be quite
risky. The
IHHP Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Assessment is a test that’s created
to help you find out how able you are to identify, comprehend, and manage your
own emotions.
Do your emotions make you stronger
or more prone to making impulsive decisions? It’s time to find out.
Staying calm during a crisis
Our workplaces
are, unfortunately, often not the spaces where we can work undisturbed, in a
peaceful, nurturing environment. The higher the level of your responsibilities,
the more often you are likely to feel stressed out, tired, nervous, and
impatient when it comes to both your own mistakes and the mistakes of others.
Keeping your cool
and the ability to make quick decisions in stressful situations is vital, and
you can improve these skills by developing a unique coping strategy, limiting
your daily caffeine intake, and brainstorming with your team before making any
final decision.
Conclusion
Whether you’re
leading a team of specialists in a start-up, a large-scale company, or a non-profit
organization, a lot depends on your perception of yourself, your relationships
with teams and clients, and your leadership style. Working to improve yourself
on a daily basis will bring you a lot of benefits, both in the professional and
individual capacity.
Contrary to
popular belief, a good leader isn’t born. A good leader is created. Try out
these tools and activities that help develop your leadership skills, and let us
know which ones worked the best for you.
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