Effective Leadership Skills

Why People Give Their Best Effort?!

Effective leadership skills are so important in an organization. It's not rocket science, but it's the real reason why managers need to make the effort to develop the people skills and personal strengths that will make them better leaders.

Why is it so important for a manager to be have effective leadership skills? To me, the answer is simple.

If all you ever wanted was for people to come to work on time and do what's specified in a job description, you could just manage them the way you do anything else, such as funds, tools, equipment, supplies, etc. You wouldn't need people skills.

But what most managers really want is for team members to do their best work - both individually and as a coordinated effort.

People have talent. They have energy. They have the potential to be creative. They can be bold, patient, persistent, and a lot of other things as they work through tough challenges.

The problem is, even if they're capable of delivering this kind of effort, they don't have to. There's a certain level of performance - and they know what it is - that's specified in their job description. To keep their jobs, that's what they have to do. When the boss tells them to do something, that's what they have to do.

But this level of effort is what managers recognize as "business as usual." It's not the kind of high performance team members are capable of. What managers want most are things that can't be specified or measured: courage, compassion, commitment, composure, optimism, decisiveness, and dozens of other aspects of performance. You can't demand these things and you can't hold people accountable for them.

To get what you really want in the workplace, you have to lead others. You have to grow them into the kind of people who do these things. You have to inspire them to do it. You have to support them and encourage them. You need effective leadership skills. Eventually, when they know the leader, like the leader, respect the leader and trust the leader, then they may choose to give that level of effort. And if they do, day in and day out, work will become very satisfying to them. And of course it will be satisfying to the manager.

Effective Leadership Skills

Four Vital Things Every Leader Must Do

Even though "leadership" is one of the most common words in the English language, people's interpretation of it varies widely. But understanding a few basic concepts about leadership opens the door to leading more effectively.

First, people in charge are typically called "managers," but they're expected to both manage and lead. Managing and leading are two totally different activities. Managing involves the effective use of resources such as funds, supplies, schedules, systems, tools, equipment, and so forth. It takes special abilities to administer these resources, but none of these skills applies to working with people. On the other hand, when managers lead, they influence the performance of team members to perform at their best, both individually and collectively. Simply put, you manage things, and you lead people.

Another basic fact about leadership is that it's not just something executives do. Most books on leadership are about presidents, generals and CEOs and the more strategic things they do. The truth is, foremen, section chiefs and team leaders are leaders, too. Their success depends mostly on how they deal with their direct reports. All managers need to have effective leadership skills: from first-line supervisors to middle managers to executives.

Also, leadership isn't about personal qualities, attributes or traits. It's about what you DO. Yes, having good judgment is important, but in the end, it has to translate into effective action. When you lead, people can see you doing it.

So what actions are we talking about? How do effective leaders get people to perform at their best?

#1 - DEVELOP. To work at their best, people need know-how. As a manager, you optimize their abilities by helping them get stronger on the job. You do this by stating expectations, setting an example, instructing, giving feedback, coaching lessons from experience and supporting learning activities.

#2 - INSPIRE. Team members may know how, but do they want to contribute their best work? You influence their desire to work by tapping into their motivation. Not with rah-rah speeches or monetary incentives, but by setting an example, getting to know their values, needs and interests, expressing the team vision, assigning the right tasks to the right people, and showing appreciation for jobs well done.

#3 - SUPPORT. Think of yourself as a "servant leader," the one who gives team members what they need to succeed, removing barriers and allocating information and resources. These are things they don't have access to except when empowered through the chain of management. This happens during delegation, when responsibility, authority and guidelines are shared along with the assignment. It also happens during execution, when you trust someone with freedom of action.

#4 - ENCOURAGE. Work isn't easy. People nearly always encounter adversity-problems, mistakes, shortfalls, and failures. When it happens, they could lose energy or quit. You need to give timely encouragement so that people work through the adversity and continue striving.

As a manager, you're responsible for all four of these areas of leadership. Doing it all will require effective leadership skills and personal strengths. You aren't born with these behavior patterns. You ingrain them by applying the best practices every day. So a big part of your job will always be to grow stronger as a leader.