You’ve seen your fair share of leaders. People who expect their teams to be efficient are the opposite of precisely that. People who have high expectations but rarely try to live up to them, themselves. Leadership is supposed to be about all those qualities you can implement to guide or LEAD better. According to many leaders like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or our very own Jason Hare Kingston, the best way to lead is to do so by example.
Methods and Strategies of Leadership
Following are some of the methods of leadership we believe will help you become a better leader and gain respect among your peers and team:
● Gain Experience
As a leader, you must have experience in what you hope your team will achieve. For instance, if you want to market a product targeting a specific audience group, instead of letting your team do all the work, make sure you have your fair share of ideas too!
You should be aware of what tools your team can use to enhance their work, and you should be able to manoeuvre the team in a specific direction by giving concrete ideas, not orders. In other words, make sure you also contain enough knowledge about the work-in-hand instead of expecting your team to swish their hands and become experts.
● Be Transparent
While getting your hands dirty or having experience in a particular field is a must for a leader, it is also advisable not to step on everyone’s toes and claim expertise in everything. Be transparent about your work. Be open and communicate when you feel at a loss. Encourage your employees to offer their opinions. Be a part of the team and connect with your employees by creating an environment of transparency and honesty.
● Encourage Diversity
When hiring your team, make sure you do so based on the talent required. Include diverse backgrounds to create an environment of equality and respect. Every member is an asset regardless of their background; make sure you show your team that by encouraging differences in opinions, ideas, work, and ethnicity.
● Show Before Ordering
If you want your team members to follow specific rules or respect their work and maintain a “we” instead of “me” behaviour, you have to show or exhibit the same before ordering.
This means be early, be neat, leave on your respective hours, work hard, and focus on including your team wherever you involve yourself. For instance, approach a particular project by involving your team in it. Don’t just make decisions of your own accord; let your team know what’s going on and listen to their stance regarding it. With this, your team will feel like part of your company, and they will work with a mentality involving “WE”.
● Work on Solutions
When encountering specific problems, do not focus on the ‘why, who, what, how, etc. Work towards a solution first, get your team to brainstorm how to escape the particular hole as Jason Hare Kingston would have done with his team. After your rut is over with, then you can start by giving your team ‘the talk.’
● Accountability
Continuing with the above point, before holding your team responsible for a blunder, acknowledge your part in the mistake as well. You are a leader; you are supposed to sign off everything that goes on in your workspace, so instead of pining it all down on your employees, hold yourself accountable as well. This is something that every workspace avoids, and it causes more conflicts. When you hold yourself accountable, your team doesn’t completely lose their morale, and they strive to do better in the future!
Final Note
Above all are a few of the many leadership strategies you can partake in to lead by example. When you, yourself, are diligent in your work and honest in your profession, people around you will automatically adopt the same, hence paving the way for a successful future. So follow the above, and let us know how they work out!
