What are the effective leadership skills that allow leaders to get things done?
- Their work ethic?
- Their keen ability to communicate?
- Their dedication to a project or specific company?
Effective leadership skills are desired day in and day out by businesses. Some may assume that effective leadership is simply an innate quality that you either have or don’t have.
In reality, truly effective leadership skills are actually learned and can be learned and practiced by almost anyone.
Whether you are looking to become more effective at budgeting your income or to become more effective in your job performance, if there is a will, there is a way!
For many years, I have pondered the concept of true effectiveness and have been practicing “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” which is a book and an approach developed by Stephen Covey.
The “seven habits” philosophy aims to guide people towards setting personal goals and enhancing their communication and relationships with others, all while helping to promote higher levels of effectiveness in both work and play.
Effective Leadership Skills
If you’re looking for a way to revamp business practices and improve overall effectiveness within your company, check out the leadership tips below, derived from Covey’s core seven habits.
The first three habits focus on independence, the next three move on towards interdependence, and the last habit is all about continuous improvement.
1. Be Proactive
Being proactive is about making positive and value-added choices. For instance, a proactive person will seek out ways to prevent something from happening before it happens.
On the other hand, a reactive person will “react” or make changes after a problem has occurred.
2. Begin with the End in Mind
It’s all about having a plan. You need to envision your goals and the steps that you need to take to get there.
If there is no “endpoint” or desired destination, then it’s like shooting an arrow in the dark: you can’t even see where to aim.
3. First Things First
This habit focuses on priorities. It is important to finish the important stuff first. I always remember this habit of saying “work first, then play.”
If an important task arises while on the job, sometimes you need to re-prioritize your day to handle the most important stuff first.
4. Think Win-Win
Many situations have a clear winner and loser. However, does it really have to be that way?
Can’t we find a solution where everyone can be satisfied, and that can be considered a win-win situation? The answer is yes! When enough collaboration occurs, a win-lose situation can be transformed into a win-win situation.
To do this, employees, managers, and employers need to work together so that options can be weighed, decisions can be made, and everyone’s voice can be heard.
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
This is a difficult concept for some to accept and practice, especially when it comes to managers and other people in leadership positions.
Many times, it is these people who talk “to” their employees and not “with” them.
To nurture an environment of rich ideas and true teamwork, it is important to listen to and understand people and situations before jumping in and fixing or judging them.
6. Synergize
In order to achieve the highest levels of success, teamwork is key. Without teamwork and general cohesiveness between employees and staff, your team is like a battery that is just about to die.
There really isn’t any power.
However, a well-aligned staff creates a buzz that will radiate throughout the business and set the stage for unparalleled levels of success.
7. Sharpen the Saw
Don’t forget to balance. Everyone’s life is a delicate balance of work, home, social life, family, etc. It is crucial that people get the time needed to renew and recharge. As the old saying goes, “you have to take care of yourself before you can help take care of others.”
The same mentality applies here to work. Don’t overwork employees to the point of exhaustion; not only will quality suffer, but employee morale and general work practices will begin to suffer as well.
Once that begins to suffer, it is more difficult to bring positivity back.
Effective leadership skills do not have to be innate; they can be taught and embraced.
To enhance the overall value of all business practices, take some time to help motivate employees by implementing some of the key elements that contribute to an effective workplace.
My tip: The Seven Habits are a great place to start on the journey towards an effective workplace.
Related Articles
What Do You Consider Effective Leadership Skills?
If you have ideas you feel like sharing that might be helpful to readers, share them in the comments section below. Thanks!
Would you like to contribute a post?
it was really good topic the young generation need to have learn leadership management and i request u please provide some topic about good governance