How CEO’s Can Be Better Leaders
As there are many young entrepreneurs entering the market space, it has become abundantly clear that most of them lack leadership skills. Due to the fact that the barrier to entry is much easier now to start a business, it has become quite evident that a lot of these new startups do not understand how to be an effective CEO. Here are some factors a young entrepreneur must consider:
Teach leadership
Effective leaders know how to motivate others by giving talks every now and then. But what makes a good leader is not their ability to talk, but to act. Leadership is sometimes made about being a team member or becoming the employee of someone else.
However, in order to be a great leader people must trust you and believe in your vision. You have to show yourself to be trustworthy and they will take that step into trusting you and your abilities.
Consistently showing yourself to be accountable (i.e. doing things you say you are going to do) will build confidence in you and your capabilities. Once people start relying on you, they will also begin to rely on your word and promise.
Thus, being a leader doesn’t mean that you shout and make threats, instead you need to create an environment where everyone can find freedom and creativity within their roles. By having open discussions, finding solutions and working together, all without management looking over their shoulders, you will build a loyal team who will continue to succeed even if you leave.
Therefore, in order to lead a team better, first need to learn how to manage and motivate others. Then, practice it on them until they feel comfortable with you and your skills.
Provide role models
The best way to boost productivity in your organization is to help the people inside it learn from successful outsiders.
That is why top leaders in companies worldwide have started something called the “top leader effect”. It describes how learning from the top leader of an organization can increase motivation, teamwork, and leadership capability in everyone else.
In fact, studies show that when the top leader changes, so does the entire atmosphere of the company. Others also notice a change in the energy level of the place.
This happens because the top leader setting example inspires more commitment and effort from others. As a result, overall performance improves.
Here are some other reasons why the top leader can be the most influential person in the organization:
- They share the values of the company with their team.
- They set the tone for the office environment (e.ation).
- Their reputation is worth millions or billions in revenue.
- They attract cooperation from management, staff, and shareholders.
- They lead by providing responsibility and support.
- They motivate and inspire creativity and success in others.
- They represent the company externally; thus, they need to appear professionally at all times.
To develop these qualities, organizations should hire good top executives to train their team and provide opportunities for development. People like working for themselves and being independent. Therefore, if a top leader wants to improve certain abilities, they must work on them independently instead of reporting to
Establish a culture of challenge
In 2017, there was a huge debate about leadership. On one hand, we have someone like Donald Trump who seems to be challenging everyone around him and refusing to accept consensus or cooperation. He creates a “make it happen” atmosphere where people feel as though they can speak their minds and try new ideas.
On the other hand, we have people who say that everything done with respect online is because we don’t know how to meet each other in person. They insist that all relationships are better in person and nothing can replace that.
While I agree that things are generally easier in person, I believe that our ability to connect through conversation has been exaggerated. I am not sure that conversations make people feel more connected than emails do, nor do they give people the opportunity to ask questions or get advice.
Conversations limit your response space, whereas with email you can write a complete sentence versus a short note. Email makes it harder to connect with another person and understand them on an emotional level.
I read somewhere that when we talk to each other, we share 85% of our information and only 15% stays private for others to see. But when we communicate via text message, we share 90% of our information and 10% remains private.
This essentially means that when we send messages instead of speaking to each other, we leave room for misinterpretation which leads to lower quality communication. Speaking professionally, Ive found that when employees
Be a good listener
In my opinion, being a good leader means more than just listening to other people. It also requires that you listen well. I have seen many leaders in business who were very passionate about their ideas but did not pay close enough attention to what others were saying to make sure those ideas were well received.
In his book “The Leadership Test”, Robert Hogan has some examples of how things can go wrong when leaders don’t hear them well. One example is when a leader told her team to work for two days without stopping. Of course, the team finished early and discovered another way to do it faster. Unfortunately, the leader didn’t know this until after they had spent several weeks developing the idea. By then, everyone was so used to the current approach that they forgot how much time it took to get there.
Another reason why leadership fails is because someone needed to create an environment where people could offer suggestions and try new approaches. However, he or she never provided that opportunity because they were too focused on getting things done themselves.
By hearing all of the concerns and needs of your team,you will be able to find ways to improve your methods and programs. This will also allow your team members to feel more empowered and responsible for their actions.
Teach people what they need to know
In his book The INBiz Guide to Running A Successful Business, author Eric Raymond recommends that new employees contact the boss or other leaders to get information about the company rules and procedures.
He also advises that managers teach their employees how to do their job so there are no mistakes and things go wrong.
Finally, he says that employers should never leave an employee in the dark about something without specifically briefing them on it.
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