Ever wondered why you aren't confident leading others? We'll try to unveil the secrets and most important skills in leadership and how to work on them.
This presentation wiill be available shortly in spanish. Meanwhile you can check some of our articles on our blog: www.dopsi.es/blog.
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Leadership for today. Train yourself easily.
1. Leadership for today.
A set of skills and knowledge to help you improve
and become a better leader right now.
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2. The six leadership styles.
Daniel Goleman defined six different approaches in Primal Leadership, back in 2004.
He then divided them into two different groups according to their effects on work
climate:
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Positive effect:
Coaching style.
Democratic style.
Affiliative style.
Visionary style.
Negative effect:
Pacesetting style.
Commanding style.
3. The six leadership styles.
Coaching style
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The Coaching Leader connects wants to help people grow and develop for the future,
helping people find strengths and weaknesses and tying these to career aspirations and
actions.
It is best used when individuals need to build long-term capabilities.
It has a highly positive impact on the climate.
4. The six leadership styles.
Democratic style
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The Democratic Leader tries to get consensus through inputs and commitment via
participation, listening to both the bad and the good news.
It is best used to gain buy-in or to get inputs from valuable employees.
It has a positive impact on climate.
5. The six leadership styles.
Affiliative style
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The Affiliative Leader creates connections and emotional bonds which bring harmony
within the organization. It is a very collaborative style which focuses on emotional needs
over work needs.
Done well, it is often used alongside visionary leadership.
It is best used for healing rifts and motivating people through stressful situations.
It has a positive impact on climate.
6. The six leadership styles.
Visionary style
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The Visionary Leader moves people towards a shared vision, telling them where to go
but not how to get there. They openly share information, hence giving knowledge
power to others.
They have to be careful not to fail when trying to motivate more experienced experts or
peers.
This style is best when a new direction or vision is needed.
Overall, it has a very strong positive impact on the climate.
7. The six leadership styles.
Pacesetting style
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The Pace-setting Leader sets high performance standards. They identify poor
performers and demand more of them. If necessary, they will take care of the situation
themselves.
They tend to be low on guidance, expecting people to know what to do. They get short
term results but over the long term this style can lead to exhaustion.
It is best used for results from a motivated and competent team.
When done poorly, which tends to be usual it has a very negative effect on climate.
8. The six leadership styles.
Commanding style
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The Commanding Leader gives clear directions from a powerful stance, commanding
and expecting full compliance without the need for agreement. They need emotional
self-control for success and can seem cold and distant.
This approach is best in times of crisis when you need unquestioned rapid action and
with problem employees who do not respond to other methods.
However, this leads to a very negative effect on climate if the style is held for too long.
9. The six leadership styles.
So which style should I choose?
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Overall, you should keep in mind that flexibility is a key part of leadership and take two
things into account:
The condition of the company or project you’re leading.
The personality and traits of both the leader and the employees.
So, for example you could head a project that has been having bad employee
performance and decide to go for a fast start with a pacesetting style, which over time
could morph into a visionary, coaching or democratic style, to maintain motivation and
satisfaction.
10. Leadership skills.
What should I improve?
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A good leader should always thrive to become better, so here you can see the most
valued skills for leaders according to both managers and employees:
• Self-Awareness.
• Trustworthiness.
• Empathy.
• Ability to delegate.
• Knowing how to give and receive feedback.
• Communication skills.
• Knowing how to set goals and be consistent.
11. Leadership skills.
Learning Self-Awareness
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One could argue that being self-aware is the core of improvement, as it allows you to
understand and assess your strengths and weaknessess. Goleman describes it as the
center of emotional intelligence, which leads to self-regulation and empathy.
When you’re aware of yourself, you’re more comfortable and confident with each
decision you make.
In order to build this important skill you should get the habit of regularly practicing
mindfulness and keeping notes regarding your daily routines in order to analyze them
and improve them.
12. Leadership skills.
Learning to be Trustworthy
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According to Amy Cuddy, Bussiness School professor from Hardvard, being trustworthy
is more important in a professional setting than being respected, despite what people
may think.
In order to transmit a trustworthy image, the first thing you should do is give your
employees some degree of freedom and autonomy, to show them you trust them.
Sharing personal experiences might make you feel vulnerable, but people will perceive
you as more trustworthy and will open up to you.
Try to get on the ground with your team and share some time with them.
13. Leadership skills.
Learning Empathy
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Empathy is one of the most important skills, whether you are a leader or not. In this
context being empathetic is just as simple as treating everyone in your team with
respect, and in order to do that you have to understand them. That’s where empathy
comes into play.
Empathetic leaders are perceived as better leaders and their teams show better
performance.
To train yourself in this skill try to take five minutes a day to think about the life of your
employees and what they may think, problems they’re facing or what makes them
smile.
When you’re speaking to them make your best efforts to listen more than you talk.
14. Leadership skills.
Learning to Delegate
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This might be the most difficult skill to develop, but it pays off in motivation for
employees and team members. If you can make them feel competent and trusted,
they’ll be highly motivated.
One of the most common mistakes and the one which has the worst impact on workers
is saying you’re going to give them responsibilities and then not doing so. Try to avoid
this whenever you can.
Learning how to delegate is a difficult thing to do on it’s own, but if you develop skills
like empathy or trustworthiness, it should come as something natural for you and your
team, further increasing their commitment.
15. Leadership skills.
Learning how to use Feedback
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For managers and leaders, learning how to give feedback might not be an issue, but
receiving it is a beast on it’s own. Many people tend to get defensive and negative
when someone gives them their true opinions, but if you don’t start taking into account
the opinions of your team, you’ll realize you might not be seeing half of the story.
In order to give and receive feedback in a better way you should try to be honest and
upfront with your employees and ask the same from them.
Just listen, try not to speak and defend yourself, don’t think of this as an attack, but as
an improvement chance.
Give and ask for feedback on a regular basis and practice it.
16. Leadership skills.
Learning Communication skills
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Some of the biggest issues in the workplace come from lack of communication or
miscommunication, often during stressful times or when people are involved in some
kind of argument.
In order to avoid this mistakes, you should try to work on your body language, try to
show yourself as open and friendly.
Speak clearly and slowly, having thought in advance and avoiding filler words like um
and trying to use a peaceful or neutral tone if possible.
Teach your employees to use this methods and encourage them to try.
17. Leadership skills.
Learning to Set goals and be consistent
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Michigan State University found that having a boss that’s too unpredictable is ‘too
stressful’ for most workers, making them feel dissatisfied and emotionally drained at
work.
Consistency is the key to make your employees know what direction you’re headed and
thus get them more involved and improve their trust in both the company and you as
their leader.
Try to be honest when setting your goals and expectations and take the time to explain
them to your workers.
Ask your team for feedback and new ideas for the company or project.