{"id":8533,"date":"2017-03-09T05:16:53","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T13:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corevalues.com\/?p=8533"},"modified":"2017-03-09T05:16:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T13:16:53","slug":"the-best-ways-to-polish-your-leadership-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corevalues.com\/dev\/2017\/03\/09\/the-best-ways-to-polish-your-leadership-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Ways To Polish Your Leadership Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"leadershipNew leaders, seasoned leaders and everyone in-between have one thing in common: they can improve their leadership skills through team building and team development strategies and additional training. Proper onboarding and training strategies probably seem obvious for new leaders, but Gallup research finds that only one in 10 managers possess the natural talent needed to lead a team. This means that 90 percent of managers aren\u2019t necessarily meeting all pertinent requirements for their leadership positions and could greatly benefit by identifying the best ways to polish their leadership skills with good leadership team developmentstrategies<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Leadership team development strategies for improved leadership skills\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Build empathy skills. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Empathy, one of the six common-sense and research-based principles required for high-functioning group behavior, is an essential element for leading with emotional intelligence and for resolving conflict so leaders can grow the company rather than dealing with drama and grudges. According to the book, TIGERS Among Us \u2013 Winning Business Team Cultures and Why They Thrive (Three Creeks Publishing, 2010), empathetic leadership is so important that when leaders don\u2019t place enough value on it, companies suffer in terms of customer satisfaction, profitability and employee engagement. When senior leaders lack empathy in their positions, companies also experience higher turnover rates, increased absences and lower productivity. To improve empathy in the workplace, leaders can implement a number of strategies, including focusing on areas of customer, employee and vendor relationships. Both internal and external relationships function better with empathy. Leaders are wise to invest time in both empathy and emotional intelligence skill improvement.<\/p>\n

Know what your team members want. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Great leaders inspire their team members because they know what their team members want to achieve. \u00a0With good facilitation and critical thinking methods, leaders can hold meetings where employees feel safe to raise issues with hope that their work is more streamlined and easier to perform. \u00a0In order to best motivate your team members to achieve goals, it’s important to understand what their goals are and what frustrates the accomplishment of them. Ideally, your team members\u2019 goals and your company\u2019s goals align, which is another sign of good facilitated meeting management and evidence that employees understand how what they do strategically aligns with company initiatives. \u00a0When goals don\u2019t align, it\u2019s the leader\u2019s job to identify team members\u2019 strengths and weaknesses and work with employees to streamline goals that work with company strategies.\u00a0 This is what strategic alignment is. As a leader, these skills are repeatable when you listen to and work with customers and vendors to address their needs as well. These long game actions help your company achieve strategic income and customer satisfaction goals.<\/p>\n

Productively manage stress. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Stress is part of life, but for many leaders, stress can turn into unhelpful and detrimental anxiety that inhibits progress and reduces productivity, notes Dianne Crampton, Founder of TIGERS Success Series, and author of the Melting Your Stress Within 30 Days management training program. One of the best ways leaders manage their stress productively is by opening up to others about their struggles. This could come in the form of confiding in a mentor or other trusted friend or loved one who is outside of the problem. When you are in the middle of a stressful situation, it\u2019s easy to blow things out of proportion and to see problems as bigger than they actually are. But when you consult with someone who is outside of the situation, you are able to see the problem with a fresh pair of eyes and potentially find new solutions that you didn\u2019t consider before. Whoever you choose to confide in, ensure that you completely trust them so that you completely open up to them regarding your concerns.<\/p>\n

Seek feedback. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

To improve as a leader, know how you are performing as a leader. A good benchmark group dynamic profile that reports on the collective behavior of your department or division need not be scary or intimidating when it is understood that you can\u2019t improve on something you do not know about. \u00a0Employees\u2019 feelings and impressions matter. They lie at the foundation of engagement and retention issues and whether your department regularly meets and exceeds goals. \u00a0It also forms the relationship dynamics of your department and company culture. \u00a0While it can be difficult to keep up with all of your employees all of the time, it\u2019s essential that you put an action plan in place to do just that. Starting with a good diagnostic that points to the first step in group dynamic improvement, you can build up from there with employee conversations and micro training that improves the group dynamic profile.\u00a0 You also have needed information for your own leadership performance goals. \u00a0Employees flourish when they feel valued. They also require a system that provides safe avenues for feedback. \u00a0When the feedback is structured for positive and strategic group dynamic alignment, many leaders are surprised how quickly workforce behavior dynamics improve and balance sheet cost line items are reduced. Examples are costs associated with turnover, risk management, waste and rework. More importantly, leaders who actively listen to their employees when they provide feedback and respond with empathetic understanding get to the root cause of problems that result in positive change that employees champion.<\/p>\n

Leaders who are new, seasoned or somewhere in between all have one thing in common: they could be performing better. This doesn\u2019t mean that you are failing as a leader. It does mean that no one is perfect and it is important to know what you do not know.\u00a0 It starts with good diagnostics that surface group behavior dynamics so you know where to start. When leaders become complacent, they flounder and many times unsupported.\u00a0 Therefore, seek out ways to improve your team leadership skills and for ways to improve your department or division behavior dynamics.\u00a0 These are long game leadership team building strategies that help you achieve your goals. Some strategies to implement include: focusing on empathetic skills to improve your emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills; know what your team members want in their positions; manage stress productively; and seek, and implement feedback from your employees.\u00a0
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