It seems not everyone is cut out to be a leader. A large number of new leaders fail within months of assuming leadership roles, and of those who do not fail outright, a significant number perform poorly
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The Centre for Creative Leadership estimates that between 38 - 50% of leaders in new roles fail within 18 months; and of those who do not fail outright, a significant number perform poorer than expected!
This is partly because many who are new to leadership roles fail to appreciate the importance of cultivating leadership ability. These skills and qualities, though not the sole prerequisite, are nonetheless essential to your success as a leader.
In this article, we will explore key skills and qualities that have allowed managers and leaders to perform their roles effectively and efficiently. Some are fortunate enough to be naturally adept at leadership. However, more often that not, leadership is a set of skills and qualities that is perfected over time through focused practice.
The best place to start is to introspect and look inside yourself. Reflect on your everyday experiences to identify an area where you lack in confidence. For example, if you were the only one in your department who wasn’t invited to a team outing, the most likely reason would be that the organizer(s) missed out your name. Or did you think it might be because you aren’t so friendly with others on the team or because you constantly lose your temper at work?
This kind of self evaluation can provide you valuable clues on behaviours that are potentially holding you back. These gaps, then become the areas that you work on to unleash your true potential as a leader.
Some common areas where leaders self-report significant gaps between their ‘current’ state and ‘ideal’ state include:
Lack of honesty while giving feedback
As a team leader, you shouldn’t try too hard to be nice and please everyone. While negative feedback and bad reviews are an unpleasant experience for both the manager and employee, it is important to remain honest, transparent and objective for the greater good of the team and organization.
Do you struggle with giving feedback honestly? You might want to check this book out.
Selfishness with sharing credit
All good leaders pull more than their weight and are generous about sharing credit. Thoughtful leaders do not hog the spotlight. They empower their team to shine through by themselves.
Lack of trust
A culture of trust has to be cultivated for every leader to grow. The basic requirement for this is to follow through and deliver on your promises. When people see that your word can be valued, they will value you too.
Not being open to ideas
Leaders should welcome change, new ideas and growth if it’s for the benefit of the organization. While your ways may be tried and tested and proven infallible, you can still learn a lot for others’ inputs and suggestions. Show that you are open to ideas and recommendations.
Low emotional intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is very important while building and maintaining relationships. Relationships are important because, ultimately behind every hard target and metric, it is people who make things happen. You need to value people, show empathy and compassion. Likewise, EI also allows you to be more aware of yourself and your leadership behaviours.
Lack of modesty
Leaders should always view every person and relationship as an opportunity to learn something new. This doesn’t not mean that they should not be confident about their abilities. Rather, they should view every interaction as a means of gaining new perspective and value everyone’s opinions.
Unwilling to help others succeed
A good leader should empower others to achieve incredible results for themselves and the team. Struggling with others’ success is a sign of poor confidence and insecurity. Leaders should be passionate advocates for collaboration.
Did you notice a similarity between all the above listed areas of improvement? None of them had anything to do with technical expertise, or workplace seniority. As a matter of fact, those things are secondary to your leadership skills. Therefore, an extra degree or advanced diploma that’s relevant for your next career step may only help you tick a few boxes. You have to demonstrate your suitability for a leadership role by embodying leadership behaviours.
The next step is to take action to bridge those gaps. You can bridge the gaps through strategic coaching, stakeholder engagement and aligning organizational goals with your personal goals.
Leadership assessments, for example an Executive Presence Assessment, allow you to benefit from a more holistic understanding of your strengths and areas of improvement. Alternately you can engage an executive coach to help you navigate your critical career transitions or take on your first leadership role as a high potential employee.
