Being the boss may sound like a good thing but it's more often a headache when you actually reach the top. This is because, like the employees at the bottom, leaders face a unique set of challenges that is comes part-and-parcel of being where all the decisions are made. Nowadays, leadership development course are all the rage – this is because the people who are in upper management are usually the same people who have the drive to make themselves better to improve the bottom line.
This is because most often the key to a succesful business is good leadership and having a style of leadership that enhances company performance is what most executives and managers are looking for. Here's some steps to follow to get your commanding skills up to par:
1) Self-Assessment Is Where It Begins – Knowing yourself and your capabilities is always at the root of developing your skills. How else can you know where to improve? Start by thinking about what type of person you are – how do you view problems and how do you deal with them? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do a simple tally of what you think are your positive and negative attributes.
Next, move on to your skills – ask yourself what are you really capable of; how good are you at dealing with people? Do you know how to write a proper report or plan a proper budget? Would you be able to do your subordinate's job in a pinch?
2) What Are You Going To Do About It? - By this time, you should know exactly what you're capable of and your limitations. This is where you need to get planning. Look at your negative traits – how can you offset or eliminate them? Are they really negative traits for your job?
Are the positive traits that you listed really positive? Being aggressive is nice and fine for a sports meet but may not exactly jibe well with calm negotiations. Next, look at your skills: Are there any holes in your knowledge? Do you need to be familiar with something to be able to work at your maximum efficiency? Developing yourself is mostly about asking questions and coming up with answers to them. While you're doing all of this, write it down – this is important for the next stage.
3) Getting It Done – You've got the plan in hand, now you've got to make it happen. Implementing your plan may be a bit difficult – change is never easy, after all. The first thing to keep in mind is to not give up; self-improvement always pays off in the end as long as you stick to your guns and get the desired results you'll be fine. The other thing is you need to have someone else checking your progress. An independent evaluator makes sure that you are not cheating yourself of your development.
There you have it, the first steps to good leadership development. It can be a bit trying at times but it is rewarding all the same. In the end, remember that improving yourself can only help your business.
The problem with leadership development programs nowadays is the expense for bringing in outside consultants or initiating the program. This can be back-breaking for a small company or mid-level size business. The question that you're asking is whether it's worth it to institute such a program. The short answer is, yes! The advantages of leadership development will eventually outweigh its disadvantages. Let's see a few reasons why you should be setting up such a program for your business:
a) Better Employee Morale – the obvious result of having a leadership development program is the happiness of your employees. Good leadership inspires employee contentment. This is because they can trust in their leaders to the right thing for them. A bad leader or manager can be a disaster for a company. Employees should be able to believe that their superiors are looking out for their well-being and that they are competent. Bad leaders lower this confidence and wrecks the relationship between employees and management.
b) Lowers Employee Loss - One of the advantages of having high employee happiness is that they are less prone to leaving. This prevents the loss of skilled and trained workers and enables your company to work at a consistent level of performance. Training employees up to par is an expensive and time-consuming process and you would be wise to avoid having veteran workers leave.
c) Better Worker Performance – Happy employees work better. This is a fact. Having your people be content to be working their jobs is not just enough though. Good leaders can inspire their followers to work better and to do more for their company. Of course, they won't do it for free but with an inspirational head at the lead, they won't whine so much and sometimes they'll even be glad to do it.
d) Keeps The Company On-Track – Good leaders know the pulse of the company. This means they can see how issues can sometimes affect the companies' employees. Heading off any problems before they begin, they can keep the company focused on work and not be blindsided by petty issues or surprise problems. This also gives them a chance to plan for the future and give the company a clear set of goals that the company can aim for.
e) Cultivates New Innovations – Effective leaders encourage a culture that develops talent. This is because good leaders recognize that they cannot see everything and do everything. Their team members have to do their part. An open environment that encourages feedback and independent thinking is exactly the right sort of place for future innovations and prospective leaders to shine. This will help your business in the long run.
f) It's Cheaper Than It Looks – Finally, leadership development is not as expensive as you think it is. Good books like John Maxwell's “101” series can give you the basics that you need to develop your own leadership skills. The other half of the know-how is the willingness to do it – and that costs almost next to nothing.
Leadership development is the wave of the future and you should get your company on that wave as soon as possible.