Inspiring Teams With Exceptional Leadership
Contributed by Brian Ochsner
There are a lot of books and information written about leadership. Here are some essential leadership keys that you can put into practice to get the best results:
- Make sure the people you want to lead know you have their best interests at heart. You’ve probably heard the old saying “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” I think that’s especially true today. I realize business is probably more competitive than ever. I also see the level of trust at or around an all-time low in the business world. If you don’t have the trust of team members, employees, or customers, you won’t get very far as a leader. You must be honest, open and sincere in your communication to gain and keep that trust. Maintaining trust is an ongoing process , not just a one-time event.
- Know the basics and details of the work and industry you’re in. This may sound kind of obvious, but I’ve seen business people that thought they could just talk a good game and not really, truly know the ins and outs of their business. I know someone who lived in a Colorado mountain town, and ventured into the tree-trimming business. I worked with him for a short time, and one day I was talking with one of his customers. This customer was a man in his 70s, and I could tell he didn’t think this new tree-trimming owner knew what he was doing. And he was right. If your team members, employees or customers don’t believe that you are competent in your core business, such as computer programming basics, or computer learning software, they probably won’t trust you. Even if you’re sincere about wanting to grow a business and take it to a certain level.
- Have a clear vision of where you want your team and company to be in the future. It’s difficult–if not impossible–to get people to follow you, if you don’t have a specific goal or destination in mind. It’ll also make it difficult for team members and employees to keep following you, if they feel you’re leading them on a rambling path with no clear destination in sight. It’s a big reason why you need to map out a specific, measurable, attainable goal that you want your team to reach. Along with knowing what this goal is, you need to know how to…
- Effectively communicate your vision to members of your team. Even if you have the sharpest, clearest business vision, it’s worthless if you can’t communicate it effectively to your team. I recommend communicating it to your team verbally and in writing. This way it minimizes misunderstanding about what your goal or vision is, and the role each team member will play in helping you attain that goal. If your speaking or writing skills need some help, I recommend taking action to help you improve in both areas. Joining a local Toastmasters® chapter is a great way to practice and improve your communication skills. You can also hire a business writer to put your thoughts and vision more clearly in writing.
- Constantly monitor your team’s progress, and listen to their feedback. A good leader not only communicates well to his team, but should be receptive to feedback from team members and customers. If there is a problem that’s affecting someone on the team, or someone in your customer base, this will affect your team’s progress towards reaching your goal.
- Take action to remedy any problems that prevent you and your team from reaching your goals. It’s not enough to know about them and acknowledge them. You have to take steps to correct the problem or challenge. If you don’t, then your credibility will suffer. If you don’t listen to them, they won’t listen to you.
Remember to develop a clear vision, communicate it effectively, monitor your progress and listen to feedback from team members and employees. If you stay focused on these leadership basics and put them into practice, you’ll improve your leadership skills and the performance of your team.
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About the Author:
Brian Ochsner is a freelance copywriter in Denver, Colorado.
His blogsite is: http://DenverCopywriter.Blogspot.com.
He can be contacted at: DenverCopywriter@hotmail.com.
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