I believe that leadership is one of the most misunderstood concepts out there.
Most people that get promoted into leadership roles see themselves as the person that will decide anything and that they should be the centre of attention.
This assessment couldn’t be further from the truth. A behavior like that will result in micromanagement, a lack of appreciation and unmotivated employees.

Attributes of a great leaders are empathy, charisma and appreciation.

Last week we talked about the fact that many people are leaving companies because of bad leadership. Check it out here

What benefits come from having great leadership in a company?
The most important thing that happens is that motivation and happiness in employees go up tremendously.
Motivated people will automatically be more creative and willing to go the extra mile.
On top of that it is obvious that employees are much more likely to stay at a company for many years if they are happy with their boss.

What’s the common mistake?

Many believe being a leader is about being in charge. They believe it’s their job to tell everyone what to do by giving commands.

This assessment is not true.
It’s not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.
Unfortunately, many get this wrong.

Being a great leader is about having interpersonal skills and having an understanding of human psychology.

It's always easy to accept praise when things go well and even easier to blame everyone else when things don't go as planned.
As a leader it's your job to take responsibility.

In my opinion leadership can be taught if you have the character for it.
We can’t expect people to know how to lead if we don’t teach them how to do it.

There are four things that almost all good leaders do.

Leadership duties

1. Empowerment

2. Communication

3. Ownership

4. Appreciation

Empowerment:
What’s the reason of having a team?
The reason is to split the work and to utilise the strengths of each individual.
To do that you need to empower your employees to be creative and confident enough to take action.

Only people who feel empowered have the confidence to make their own decisions. Ultimately, that’s the reason they got hired in the first place.
What’s the reason of having a team, if you want to decide everything yourself anyway?

Empowered people who have the feeling that they can make a difference by contributing will be way more confident and motivated to take action and walk the extra mile.

Communication:
Your job as a leader should always be building a great team spirit where everyone trusts each other.
When it comes to communication there are two major things:

Right communication to your team
Don’t let your team stay in the dark. They don’t need to know every detail but giving your team insights into reasons, why certain things need to be done are a great idea.
Employees will have the feeling that they are being included and get a feeling of importance. Displaying the big picture helps everyone to understand why you do what you do.

Same communication between team members
Never make the mistake of favoring some team members over others.
Giving some information to a couple selected people will only result in distrust.
Not only will the rest of the team lose their trust in you, it’s also a very common reason why teams separate and start having disagreements and internal fights.

Ownership:
It's always easy to accept praise when things go well and even easier to blame everyone else when things don't go as planned.
As a leader it's your job to take responsibility.

If your team members know that you always have their backs, they will be willing to make decisions. If they are afraid that they will be held accountable for their decisions every time, they will stop making decisions eventually.
As a leader you want a confident team.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t address mistakes internally.
Criticism is important and you should never be afraid of giving it.
On the outside you need to be the one that’s taking the blame though.
That’s why you are a leader and that’s the only way that your team will respect you over the long run.


Appreciation:
Work is not only about money and being creative. It’s also about being appreciated.
Everyone needs the feeling that they have done a good job and that it’s important for the company that they are a part of the team.

Many leaders believe that appreciation is not important. That’s very wrong.
Many surveys have proven that showing not enough appreciation is one of the most common reasons why people leave companies.

If someone did a great job why not tell them?
You don’t have to praise them at any chance but showing some appreciation is crucial for motivation.

I bet that everyone of you worked extra hard after they have been praised and appreciated in the past.

In conclusion

Being a great leader doesn’t mean that you have to tell everyone what to do all the time. It means taking care of those who you are responsible for.
Empowerment, correct communication, ownership and appreciation are some of the skills that leaders must possess in order to lead successfully.
That doesn’t mean that you have to sugar coat everything. It’s not a bad thing to tell people if they made a mistake. In fact, criticism will prove that you have a backbone and that is crucial when it comes to being respected by your team.
Having a backbone also implies to be ready to take the blame if things don’t go as planned.
You should aim to be the leader you wish you had.

Thank you for reading.