Each of us has the chance to land in a leadership role, but it requires good leadership skills to thrive in this position. You would feel the excitement and overwhelming feeling of happiness, and it’s normal because you deserve it. You’ve worked hard for it.
Moving on to a leadership role is not the end glory of your goals, in fact, it’s a new beginning. That’s when new responsibilities, new approaches and considerations towards work takes place. Previous work skill-set is a lot more different than what requires you to have for leadership roles. Preparing for this is the least you can do to kick off a new challenging role. Here are some of the few tips I can share with you.
1. Infuse knowledge towards Self on the New Role
Accepting a new role starts off as a research study. Finding resources that educate how to face responsibilities, studying the culture of the people you will lead, training oneself on critical thinking and developing time management, are just a few of the knowledge that a leader needs to instil in themselves. However, while infusing knowledge, it necessitates to know thyself first and be aware of one’s full potential and the skills needed for further development. It is a responsibility to develop and be committed to doing it.
2. Seek Advice from Other Leaders
Handling people is a much bigger responsibility than handling a specific task or work. Get advice from somebody who has been in your position. That somebody could be anybody you see as a mentor or a role model. Learning from these people is a great opportunity for development. Through their experience in facing roadblocks, they could teach you a lot. A few of the things you can learn from them are conflict management, negotiation, consistency and organization, which are among the skills that leaders must learn.
3. Team Relationship Building
Conduct group meetings and utilize this opportunity to get to know more about your team and for them to know you as well. Discuss the team’s goals and strategies, listen to their opinions and ideas are a great way to start your conversation with them. This would also give them an idea on how they can help as a member of the team. This motivates them to become more engaged and passionate to do the work as part of the team. Distribute tasks to members, mentor them, improve motivation through constant recognition and schedule team building activities to strengthen team relationships.
4. Walk your Talk
Living out the values you impart to others is a quality of a good leader. It’s easier for members to follow you if they can see that you conduct yourself with ethical values. Be a good role model to them as they see you as someone they could lean on. If there are problems and challenges, always see the good side of everything and press on. Being optimistic is the key. This shows your strength and your members will start to trust you.
Those are the things I know that would help you start your leadership journey. Always believe that you have landed in that position because people believed in you. Being a leader is not an easy task. Leaders face a lot of problems. Never stumble easily with the setbacks you may encounter, face it and learn from it. Success through hardships is the most rewarding one
Author – Michelle Amarante, Sales Associate – AUH Chapter Team Head
A professional with a heart for human resources, an advocate of Enhancing People skills and talents, and loves to write persuasive articles to share opinions and encourage people.