How to Be a Leader in the Workplace

Set your goals and help your staff embrace the vision to accomplish them.

Managing a business isn't all about numbers and profits; it's also about managing personalities. Leadership involves more than managing a staff and schedules. If you want the business to be successful, you need to establish goals, communicate them to the people you employ and be able to rally the troops so they'll work hard for the cause. As you develop your skills, remember to remain level-headed, flexible and open-minded to gain the respect of your staff.

Things You'll Need

• A management position

Instructions

1. Lead by example. If you're demanding solid work and honesty from employees, you must do the same yourself.

2. Display poise and confidence. The most effective leaders are those who work well under pressure. Confidence inspires confidence.

3. Have a clear vision about what you want the business to achieve. Put the vision in writing, share it with your staff and repeat your vision often.

4. Give credit to the right person. Nothing will make employees more disgruntled than not giving them due credit for work.

5. Congratulate employees on a job well done. It's nice to be appreciated, whether with words or a monetary bonus.

6. Listen to employees' concerns and suggestions. Don't just pay lip service to suggestions; actually use those that work.

7. Delegate responsibility effectively. This means prioritizing the most important work, finding employees who are best suited for a certain task and setting deadlines. A manager needs to recognize employees' strengths and weaknesses. Set realistic goals.

8. Keep an ear out for disagreements between employees. You may need to remove an employee from a project or find a method of reconciliation. Open communication is key.

9. Go to leadership seminars and training courses, read books about leadership and take an online leadership assessment test to get a good sense of where you stand and where you can improve your skills.

Tips & Warnings

• Think about having private meetings or group meetings-once a week, month, or something else. A more informal meeting can lead to a good relationship among employees and management. Even just a brief chat by the water cooler can be positive. A wall of distance should be avoided.

• In a very large office, it may be necessary to take notes on each employee's progress and personal life, so you can have discussions in the future.

• Set realistic goals so you don't come too hard on employees if the job doesn't get done in time.

• A work environment needs to be a balance between efficiency and relaxation. Too much relaxation and nothing gets done. Too much pressure and employees become tense and irritable.

• Go to leadership seminars, leadership training courses, read books about leadership, and take a leadership assessment test, which can be found online.

References

• Inc.: How to Assess Your Leadership Skills
• Free Management Library: Basic Guide to Leadership and Supervision

Resources

• The Trusted Leader: Leadership Self-Assessment Test