How to Be An Effective Leader In the Workplace with 5 Simple Tricks
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I never expected to become an office effective leader. I couldn’t run multiple companies at once. The road to leadership was never easy. I had to learn essential qualities like drive, passion, and humility.
With that said, leading a team on your own can be tricky, especially if it’s your first time in that role. Knowing what to do as an effective leader can make the difference between an influential group and a messy one. Luckily, I’ve picked up a few tricks to help you become the figurehead everyone looks up to. Here's how to be an effective leader in the workplace in five simple ways.
1. Stay Open and Connected To Your Team
I always take the time to talk with my teams every day. Whether in person or through Zoom, I make sure I can see them and talk to them. Every day, we run down everything we’ve done or plan to do for the week. We also discuss how we can better ourselves and improve our job. For example, if someone needs help sending work e-mails, I speak to them and other members to get their feedback and suggestions.
Why It Works:
Keeping an open line amongst your teammates is vital to establishing trust. They are your comrades in the world of business. The people you work alongside will be the ones helping you fulfill your daily tasks and objectives. No matter what job they have, whether a graphic designer or a financial analyst, you need them to finish the project.
Staying open and communicating with others can help you assess your team’s flaws. You can spot what they need to improve on and how you can help them get better. Not everyone is perfect, including you. Everyone has a different standard. That’s something you have to accept if you want to be an effective leader. As long as you can speak honestly about what objectives you can all accomplish, things should go smoothly.
How to Implement:
You can also use this time to approach others about their work. Constructive comments about someone’s output, like video editing or branding design, can help everyone improve. Together, you learn what mistakes to avoid and how to do your job more effectively. For example, I can use this get-together session to talk about the company’s social media presence. I can ask about our progress and how we can speed up or enhance our visibility online. My team members can then give me suggestions or comments about our options and tactics. Through their insight, I learn how to be an effective leader in the workplace and how to mobilize our strategy to be as productive as possible.
2. Keep Focused and Clear Goals
Have you ever heard of the 80s cartoon G.I. Joe? It was famous for holding multiple public service announcements (PSA) about proper conduct, like crossing the street and saying no to drugs. After every PSA, they would say, “Now you know, and knowing is half the battle”.
That quote can be a battle cry for all effective leaders who want to do a good job. Being an effective leader at work means knowing what you need to do and what the team needs to accomplish. Talent and skill are crucial, but understanding your goals is equally important. Otherwise, you might just lose track of time and waste your efforts on something meaningless. Knowing is indeed half the battle, even more so when it comes to making a profit.
That’s why the daily team meetings always help. I can always outline what we need to do for the week. It’s how I came to be an effective leader in the workplace. Once I started clarifying where I want to go and what I want to do, my team finds a focus that they can work towards. I also make sure that everyone knows what they must do and how much they need to do. Everyone has a quota that they have to meet, from design ideas to articles.
Why It Works:
A focused team will always take the first step toward success. Your team members can start fulfilling the necessary tasks by understanding the plan. Giving them a direction will help them focus their efforts on that goal. For example, if you need to boost your advertising presence, you can emphasize publishing more articles and videos for the week. In turn, your team will know what to prioritize and what can be postponed in their task lists. Being an effective leader in the workplace means knowing which priorities come first, and which ones you can do after.
How to Implement:
The first and most important thing is to outline what needs to be done. Define your objective and break it down into practical, feasible steps. For example, if you want to gain more followers online, discuss various social media strategies with your team and can explore options regarding platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can also ask for alternative options, like Twitter or YouTube.
Once you see the picture, you can start to divide the tasks accordingly. You can assign people to write down the content, modify your logo and banner, and plot out the release schedule of videos. Creating a roadmap can help you reach the different landmarks and milestones you need to get the job done.
3. Be An Ethical Role Model
I would not be a great leader if I did not act like one. Being a leader means being a role model and an example for the team members. How I behave on call and in-person is how I want them to behave, too. That’s why great effective leaders always seem so admirable and reliable. They should want others to follow their conduct and act appropriately.
Picture a room full of mirrors. You’re standing in the center, and all the mirrors face you. How do you want to be seen? Do you hide away in the corner or stand tall and proud? The response you choose is how you can apply yourself as a team leader. Your guidance indicates how each member feels and how hard they work. You want to be the kind of effective leader who can motivate and inspire them to do more and to do better.
Why It Works:
Leadership does not start and end with you. I believe that every person in the team has the power to be an effective leader in the future. That’s why I want to impart what I know, so that they can also learn how to be an effective leader in the workplace. By showing how I guide others to do their job and confront those who need to do more, I demonstrate what attitude can empower others. Beyond setting an example, an effective leader who acts as an ethical role model can influence how others treat their team members now and in the future.
How to Implement:
A good rule of thumb is to set rules on how you want to discuss and approach others. How should you want your team members to appear when it’s time to work? For example, I ensure I can see everyone’s face when the meeting starts. This allows me to be completely transparent when I speak to them. I also make sure to wear the appropriate attire for every session. After all, how can you expect others to believe you if you don’t dress the part?
4. Hold Everyone Accountable
I believe that everyone should be responsible for their actions. Good or bad, people should be accountable for what they’ve done and how they do it. When we learn to accept responsibility for our successes and failures, we can start to improve. The only people who blame others for their mistakes are those who think they are perfect. And let’s be clear: no one in this world is perfect. Self-improvement needs time and failure to happen. If that person is willing to accept that they’ve messed up, I see someone willing to move forward and adapt from their past.
Why It Works:
If you want to know to be an effective leader in the workplace, you gotta start by taking responsibility. Accountability keeps everyone alert about their actions. When you hold someone responsible for a task, they feel more pressure to succeed. This pressure is where honest workers can shine. Those who accept it and fight hard will be valuable allies in your project.
How to Implement:
In my daily meetings, I ask everyone to discuss what they’ve done each day at work and what they plan to do for the next. I want them to verbalize their goals to help them be aware of their tasks. Instead of leaving them in the dark, I want to hear what they intend to do in the next few hours. This holds them accountable for their promise. If they succeed, it’s a job well done. If not, that’s the time you can ask why they fell behind and how they can do better.
5. Keep A Positive Atmosphere
How to Implement:
Lastly, I believe that I can inspire every team member to do better. Positivity in the workplace is more than smiling and enjoying our job. It’s also feeling that drive, that passion for excelling in whatever task we’ve been assigned. I believe that a positive atmosphere is one where the team thinks they can grow and become better individuals. The reason why I want to be an effective leader in the workplace is to help them become the people they strive to be, both at work and in their own lives.
I like to motivate my team by having them journal their thoughts and write down the three things they are grateful for. Whatever they write, I remind them to look at those three things whenever they feel tired or unmotivated. By seeing what they are happy with and what drives them, I hope to inspire them to keep going forward. I hope to push them to do one more write-up or one more video.
If I can motivate them to surpass their expectations, I feel my leadership is doing the right thing.
Why It Works:
A positive mindset does a lot for the brain. It can make others feel more energized when they feel more relaxed and appreciative of their work. A cheerful worker can accept challenges more readily than someone who hates their job. They can adapt to changes or revisions in their plan and take the initiative when suitable.
How to Implement:
An excellent way to stay positive is to celebrate the small victories. Take the time to congratulate yourself after a two-hour or three-hour working session. Simple things like coffee or a stroll down the street can help you relax. You’ve worked hard up to that point, so it’s fair that you deserve some respite. Just remember to take it slow and thank yourself for what you’ve done before returning to work.
In Summary
Knowing how to be an effective leader in the workplace requires the right mindset and attitude. It takes the proper mindset and dedication to take charge of your team correctly. These five simple tricks can help you become the kind of effective leader you and your peers want. This means being open to speaking and connecting with your colleagues. You must also have a clear vision of your goals and be a role model to your team. Once you hold everyone accountable for their job, you can inspire them to do better. By following these five tricks, you can quickly establish yourself as a worthy and competent effective leader for your team.
- Doyle, A. (2021, March 18). Important Leadership Skills for Workplace Success. The Balance Careers.
- Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, December 17). Top 10 Qualities of Effective Leadership (With Tips to Implement). Indeed.
- Page, M. (2021, April 6). 8 must-have qualities of an effective leader. MichaelPage.Com.
- Schooley, S. (2022, June 29). 10 Ways to Become a Better Leader. Business News Daily.
- Waters, S. (2022, April 8). How to Become a Great Leader: 10 Tips, 7 Traits and 5 Challenges. BetterUp.
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Being successful as a person can both be learned and taught, but you must have the willingness to overcome obstacles and create habits that will make you more successful . I will give you the systems that will do both.
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