It’s important that when you are a leader of a business that you are a leader who continues to learn and educate yourself. Excelling as a new leader isn't as easy as it sounds, and that means that you need to do what you can to keep doing better.
From undertaking facilitator training to be a better leader, to asking some of your team to undergo the same training, there is a lot that you can do to ensure that you are excelling as a leader in the eyes of your team. That’s the most important thing to remember: your team is watching and learning from you, and if you want to be effective as a leader then you have to walk the talk and not just open your mouth. So, with this in mind, here are some things that you can do to help you to excel as a leader:
- Remember that management extends to above you, not just below you. You might not think that you can or should manage people above you, but you can. If you can manage up correctly then managing down will be a breeze. You have to manage your relationships properly from above so that you can show this is the way to be, ensuring that your approach aligns with your company values.
- Work out what your boss needs. To be able to excel as a leader, you need to ensure that you decode your boss and adjust your management style accordingly. You don't want the people around you to have to decode you, though, so making sure that you are the type of leader who can give back without having a poor attitude is vital. Excelling as a leader means learning from your boss – you don't want to make the same mistakes that they make, right? You can be far more effective as a result.
- Get on top of office politics. Effective and happy leaders are those who can master office politics and that means making sure that you aren't playing a game. There are those who treat the office like a school playground and the sooner you understand that those rules are to be dismantled the better. You need to get on top of the office politics and stop them from ruining the relationships of all in the office.
- Start telling people you’re good at leading. Want to excel as a leader? Toot your own horn from time to time. Why do you deserve to be a leader? Why do you deserve to continue being ahead? You have to make sure that you are telling people what you’re good at and why so that they know why you are most deserving in your space. It’s not about bragging, but it’s about showing that your skills matter to all.
To excel as a leader you have to show you are worthy of the space. Take your time to master this one, though, as it takes some time to truly step into this position and love it!
