To become a great leader, you must first become a good follower. It’s one of the most famous quotes when it comes to leadership, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a huge difference between being a tyrant and being a good leader. Tyrants use fear and intimidation to make their subjects follow them, which is a quality that a good leader should never possess.
There would come a time in people’s lives where they would be tasked to lead, whether it’s a small group, or manage an entire branch divided by teams, whether from school or work. Regardless, the task would still be extremely pressuring, especially if it would be your first time tasked with such a huge role. But there’s no need to worry if you’re a soft-spoken individual and isn’t used to delegating tasks towards other members; there are ways to improve your interpersonal skills, like going through a workshop facilitation training course or simply just faking confidence until you finally mastered it to perfection.
But what other skills must you possess to become a great leader? And what can you do to improve them?
Be Open to Criticisms; Encourage Others to Communicate
The first step in becoming a great leader is to encourage open communication within the group. It’s important to remember that just because you’re the leader, it doesn’t mean that the opinions of the other members of the group are invalid. Encouraging them to open up would give way to smooth teamwork, and it would encourage them to be creative with the ideas they want to share and improve the group’s dynamics as a whole.
Be Unbiased towards the Members; Value Opinions Fairly
Once you’ve established that you are an open leader who listens to ideas and opinions other than your own, it’s important to exercise fairness within the group. Always favor those you think would improve and benefit the entire work, not because of any other reason. Always try to be impartial, and do not let your personal opinions of the person sharing the idea influence your decision-making, especially if it’s crucial to the entire output of the group.
Keep a Positive Attitude and Encourage Growth Individually and as a Team
As the group’s leader, the members would naturally come and look to you for motivation and support. There would be moments where your group would perform below what’s expected or not reach your supposed goals, and it would affect the entire team’s attitude. Your job is to be that strong foundation they can cling to when needed and encourage them to always get better and improve. It’s your job to boost the morale of the team, especially during crucial moments.
Give Honest Feedback About the Group’s Performance
To improve, criticisms and feedback are needed. Be honest and open about your feedback to the whole group’s performance and their performances individually. Phrasing your feedback properly is also encouraged since it would lift their spirits and be motivated to be better. But don’t sugarcoat what needs to be pointed out; always maintain a professional manner when speaking, and being direct with what needs to be changed would provide clearer instructions to your team members and save time.
Leading isn’t an easy task, but once you’ve grown to gain the trust of your team members, then everything shall start falling into place. Establishing team dynamics at the start would ensure cooperation and make you and your team believe that you can achieve just about anything you set your minds to.