Team leadership skills and leadership skills for manager are critical to a highly efficient and successful business.
Effective leadership skills can be built, molded, and improved through leadership skills training.
This article is a comprehensive guide on developing essential leadership skills for managers.
It explains the importance of leadership skills and how to develop them for managers.
It also highlights the 14 key leadership skills for managers.
Why is it so important?
Studies support the predictive power of the combination of key traits, skills and experience which shape managers for future performance success – One of the aspects is the ability to lead teams effectively and improve their performance.
Leadership skills have become an important prerequisite to obtain a managerial position and build a strong career.
Such skills are often weighed while appraisals are done.
For Employers
These days, employers understand the importance of key talents and managers, especially those that have the potential to lead the company.
Employers try to develop leadership by practicing key employees go through a set of new, challenging, unique experiences that require different skills in order to develop potential to lead in the future.
Leaders with solid leadership skills are a key component in the workplace.
What are leadership skills and how to develop these skills for managers?
Read further.
What Are Leadership Skills?
Leadership skills are a set of management skills that help an individual to motivate a team towards achieving a common goal or objective.
These are interpersonal skills that help teams work in tandem under the authority of a leader.
Effective leadership skills can enable managers to bring out the best in their team members and improve their overall performance.
Leadership skills will:
- Align your team members around the values and strategies of the company.
- Used to train others.
- Build unity.
- Guide and direct your team during times of change.
- Provide stability and cohesion among team members.
14 Key Leadership Skills for Managers
There are various kinds of leadership skills for managers, and it is virtually impossible to spot all of them.
However, there are a few skills often brought to use by leaders across industries and nations that are most effective for leadership in the workplace.
Here are some examples of these key leadership skills:
1. Persuasion
The capacity to influence others and guide them in a particular direction is a very important leadership skill.
How persuasive you can be is directly related to how much you are trusted and how good your communication skills are.
2. Integrity
Integrity is based on your own internal principles that guide you and that cannot be compromised.
It’s about treating others in the same manner you’d like to be treated. There’s a strong sense of right and wrong that acts as your compass. While integrity cannot be seen it is felt at the instinctual level.
3. Planning
Plans provide guidance and direction. It allows the strategic placement of the focus. As a good leader you have excellent planning skills but because planning is highly fluid you are able to adapt and change.
4. Vision
As a leader you have a clear vision of where the company is going and where your team is headed in terms of dollars, sales, budgets, clients, etc.
You have a long-term vision and the ability to guide and direct to accomplish that vision.
5. Decision Making
As a leader you must be able to make decisions based on the information at hand.
Your decisions must be timely in order to not affect the effectiveness of your leadership.
6. Relationships
The ability to network and develop relationships requires good communication skills, but it requires so much more.
As a leader you need to be able to initiate, grow, and build relationships. Relationship building has little to do with position power and everything to do with personal power.
7. Adaptability
Being flexible and adaptable is key to a strong leader, who must be able to move from one situation to the next, from one plan to the next, and to take the unexpected in stride and embrace it.
8. Teamwork
Even the best leader cannot do it all by themselves. A strong team is necessary, and a good leader can nurture and build that team.
9. Communication
This is the second most important skill of a leader. Once one has envisioned strategic decision/steps, s/he should be able to communicate the same to the team.
If the manager cannot communicate the messages effectively, it is bound to be a failure, for only a dedicated team can achieve success.
Moreover, a leader needs to be able to inspire the team mates to work for a common goal.
10. Coaching
As a leader you must be able to coach and guide others and you must not feel threatened if others possess skills that are equal or superior to yours. Good coaching skills are essential.
11. Strategic thinking
Strategic Thinking enables a leader to critically analyze the situation, bring forward the relevant facts and information, chalk out a plan and finally take a strategic call.
It is many times, referred to as ‘visionary capabilities’.
12. Political savvy
A leader utilizes this skill to form collation in the organization. This ability enables him to understand the viewpoints of various stake holders and their respective weightage in the decision-making endeavors.
Once he has understood this, he involves all stakeholders in a way that helps him bring about a synergistic effort towards the goal.
13. Resilience
This is yet another leadership skill that one needs to possess.
The skill enables a leader to overcome obstacles while pursuing a goal or a vision.
A true leader is able to circumvent the roadblocks and achieve the goal, only if he is resilient.
14. Learning agility
A leader needs to have strong learning abilities.
He needs to be aware what is working and what is not. If he is unaware of the changing business landscape, he is bound to make mistakes ultimately to pull things down.
This trait enables individuals to be always on their toes, for they keep updating their knowledge with new happenings.
Mastering Leadership Skills for Managers: Key Traits and Techniques
Knowing how to develop leadership skills for managers is paramount to creating good leaders.
Many companies offer ongoing leadership skills training. Take advantage of all the training you are offered.
Some of the skills can be shaped and gained through experience and learning process. Employers must develop/improve key leadership skills for their manager. Two examples –
What Effective Teamwork can Bring to a Workplace
Teams can be very effective in producing innovative solutions in the workplace. In jobs throughout every industry, employers always emphasize the need for “good team players.”
Teams can generate enthusiasm and increase communication between workers from different departments. “Teamwork” should be the mantra of every organization. Yet, we all know that creating a team can be a bit like creating a monster.
People working together can harness the talents and strengths of individuals to create quality results, yet they can also choose to spread negativity and destroy communication as well as enthusiasm in the workplace.
What is a Team Leader?
An effective team leader is someone who has confidence, enthusiasm, as well as organizational and communication skills.
With these skills you can lead a team to meet or even exceed its goals.
Through the team process you’ll be offering all those involved a fulfilling work experience. You’re providing both career growth and promoting good relationships within the workplace.
Companies may believe in team building, but it is teams that build companies.
Building Strong Leaders: A Training Guide for Managers
The first step you should take in leading a team is to take a good look at yourself and the qualities you lend to this role.
Do you know how to lead a team? If you can answer yes to these questions, you’re already ready to get started:
1.) Do you have a positive attitude?
Can you convey enthusiasm for a project and rouse it in others?
Do you have the ability to set a productive and energetic tone for a group?
If the leader isn’t passionate about achieving the goal, the team members won’t be either.
2.) Are you organized?
Starting a team requires strong organizational skills and you must be able to precisely communicate the results you are looking for.
A team needs strong direction. Kicking off your first team meeting with necessary details and clear goals allows others to feel confident about their roles as well as the team’s purpose. Staying organized throughout will help you to guide your team to success.
3.) Are you a good communicator?
Many people think they are effective communicators but aren’t fully aware of what communication is all about.
While providing direction is one important communication skill, listening is equally important – Be open to listening to your team.
It not only makes your team members feel confident, appreciated, and supported, but it allows you to follow progress and steer the team toward its goals.
4.) Are you confident enough to lead?
As a leader you must often step back and allow your team to progress without interfering.
If you are unable to let go of tasks and details and feel the need to be “in the trenches” so to speak, you are not fulfilling the role of a leader. If you have properly communicated the goals and set a productive atmosphere for your team, you should be able to delegate the work with confidence.
Check on progress from time to time and keep your door open, but don’t micro-manage your team – It will only stunt creativity and cause frustration.
5.) Active Listening – No just for the faith of hearing
The ability to listen to others is important for building relationships and for improving the decision-making process. It is a common adage – “even fools might know something that you might not know”.
The bottom line is to listen and not just hear. Listen to your subordinates and team members and try understanding their viewpoints for making sound decisions.
6.) Know how to follow to be followed
Learn to be a good subordinate to be a good leader.
It is a fact that the one who can take orders can give orders as well.
How come? Well, if you do not get tangles in ego issues and respect orders as they are meant to, it is quite natural for you to plan and place such orders that are accepted by your subordinates as well.
To Lead or Not to Lead, that is the Question! |
As you can see, creating and leading a team can be a risk. Yet, risk-takers often succeed above all others.
If you’re willing to rise above the challenges to lead a team, you should first prepare to lead your team effectively. Here’s how you can watch out for the pitfalls and maximize the advantages of this valuable method of working.