Today’s workplace is becoming more technologically advanced and complex. With this rapid increase of technology, the need for analytical thinking also increases. Analytical thinking is the ability to objectively assess the present state of your business, to determine where you want to be in the future, and what to do in order to close the gap between the present and the future growth of your business. The key is to know how to gather, review, and evaluate data that is necessary to formulate and express compelling arguments.
Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal. Leadership is also the ability to take charge, assemble, mobilize, and motivate teams. The key is to know how to forge long-term relationships with prospects, customers, suppliers, employees, and investors.
“When you need to innovate, you need collaboration.”
Effective Communication
Companies work with a wide range of people and other businesses, prompting them to communicate in a variety of mediums. To be effective, care is given to the tone and clarity of the message regardless of the communication method.
Communication in business is important to convey clear, strong messages about strategy, customer service and branding. A business building a brand reflects a consistent message tailored to its audience. Internal communication builds rapport among employees and managers and encourages teamwork and collaboration.
People who are good communicators are usually open to sharing ideas without judgment. When trust is built based on effective communication, team members are more apt to share with each other to inspire creativity. Effective communicators are more inclined to collaborate to find creative solutions, as well. When employees are keen to share ideas, companies can transform their approaches and find unique ways to serve customers and clients.
When communicating with employees, leaders should keep communication professional and clear. An example of this type of communication may include a memo regarding a new company operations procedure such as safety requirements and new regulations.
One of the main goals companies are trying to achieve by investing in internal communications is to improve knowledge sharing best practices.
Decision-Making Skills
A leader is tasked with making decisions all the time. To be an effective leader, those decision-making skills need to be top notch. Critical decisions affecting your organization on a large scale need to be sound, rational and solid.
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible”
In reality, your decisions as a leader will determine your – and potentially your organization’s – success. You need to stand by your decisions and be confident in them to convince the people involved affected by the process. Making an unpopular but necessary decision is probably one of the most difficult tasks as a manager, but it is, and will always be, part of an executive’s job description.
Networking
Some leaders will say they that they do not need to be loved in the workplace. This may be true, but to build a cohesive and more engaged team, great leaders need to learn the skills for building good working relationships in the workplace. If your team is highly engaged and happy in the workplace, you will likely be loved or at least well respected as a good leader.
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.”
You do not need an elaborately planned team building activity, a simple after office sport activity or a family day with your staff can be an effective way to connect with them. They will also get to appreciate that you are trying to support their work-life balance.
In close connection with relationship building, the ability to motivate your workforce is as important as keeping employee engagement high. One of the most effective leadership skills is knowing how to continuously motivate employees, regardless of their engagement level.
Self-Discipline
Self-discipline has the power to transform your life for the better. Imagine how much you would accomplish if you completed every task you set out to do; or if you established healthy, productive habits and actually followed through. Self-discipline very well may be the key to unlocking your untapped potential.
“Self-discipline is a key to many doors. Not least of which is one that leads to a better, stronger, and healthier version of yourself.”
If you want to be a disciplined person, you need to develop certain characteristics and build habits that will improve your willpower. Only when you have built these habits and improved your willpower will you be able to become a more self-disciplined person.
Understanding the role of a leader in our Digital Age is a vital starting point for your success. It’s really easy to confuse our digital world with a complete focus on technology. Our digital world is about people, mindset and behaviour utilising technology and creating new value propositions and ways of working. Developments like the automation of work and the digital disruption of business models place a premium on leaders who can land change quickly and effectively – and with less cost! I believe the role of a leader in today’s world is to create a high-performance environment where success is inevitable.
Inspiring Action
Purpose needs to be at the heart of everything we do, we need to serve, make a difference, have courage, go out on a limb, be bold, challenge, support, provide safety, tell stories and give examples that give meaning to inspire action and create a sense of real value.
This is all about our ability to be able to communicate vision and strategy with meaning, without a fan base it will die! It is about our ability to take a complex situation and distil it into something that will inspire action. It is about your ability to create the right culture to achieve the results you are looking for. As a leader, we are purpose maximisers, we create a sense of real value, we help people believe they can make a difference.
Whether you hold a management position or not, leadership skills are vital to workplace success. While some people think of leadership and management as one and the same, there’s a difference between the two. Whereas management is centered on implementing processes, leadership is more focused on the people and vision that guide change.
