Through coaching, Matt O’Grady has helped many business leaders create the impactful, fulfilling, and successful lives they’ve always wanted. Investing in coaching services is a powerful way to avoid some of the most common mistakes folks make when they are trying to become leaders in their field. Still, there are a few other ways to strengthen your own leadership skills, and these include the tips below.
Prioritize Self-Care and Improvement
How can you expect your team to be the best when you don’t feel like the best version of yourself? This is why confidence is so important when it comes to being an effective business leader. Now, that’s not to say that your self-confidence should venture into the realm of arrogance, which can derail your efforts altogether — but you do need a healthy dose of it.
One way to build your confidence and improve yourself? Go back to school. Earning your MBA from an accredited university will give you the additional skills and know-how you need to thrive as a leader in your field. MBA programs from WGU will provide you with development in the areas of strategy, management, leadership, self-awareness, and self-assessment.
Leaders also need to make time for self-care. If you don’t, you could end up overwhelmed by stress, and that can cause you to become irritable and snappy — not to mention that burnout can impair your judgment and productivity. Prioritize yourself to avoid this.
Practice Gratitude and Empathy With Others
If you’re not thanking the people who help make your business a success, you could also be making a common leadership mistake. Too many leaders think that showing gratitude makes them appear weak, but the opposite is true. Being grateful and respectful of others is one of the most important steps needed to build strong relationships.
Gratitude can also make you healthier and happier. When leaders express gratitude to workers and others on the outside, they are also improving their physical health. You are likely to sleep better, feel better, and get sick less often when you practice gratitude in your life.
To forge even stronger relationships and understanding, it’s also crucial to practice empathy. When empathy towards others is absent in a business, people tend to fall through the cracks and lose their ability to manage stress. Leadership without empathy can eventually lead to more burnout and bitterness. If you want to be a better leader, keep this important fact in mind.
Know When and How to Ask for Extra Help
A tip for those who want to become successful leaders: You can’t do it all on your own, all the time. Not only will trying to fly solo lead to burnout for you, but this bad business habit can also make your team and colleagues feel undervalued. People want to feel useful and helpful, and asking for help is one of the best ways you can help them accomplish this.
How you ask for the help you need is also important. For example, you could bark out commands and demands to your team, but this isn’t the best form of motivation. To avoid being a boss and work towards becoming a true leader instead, formulate your needs into questions. Be mindful of others’ current workload, and remember to be truly grateful for the help they provide.
One last note on asking for help — it’s also paramount that leaders be willing to look outside of their teams and themselves for the help and guidance they need to thrive. This could mean forging relationships with other successful leaders as mentors, or it could mean working with a proven business coach like Matt O’Grady. It’s an investment in yourself with maximum ROI.
There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes. In fact, the best leaders know that mistakes are part of business. But there are some missteps you need to avoid if you want to become a leader who is respected. Taking care of yourself and learning to care for others are both essential, as well as knowing how and when to ask for help. These are all traits of truly great leaders.
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