7 Great Ways to Develop Your Leadership Skills
Leadership can teach you all sorts of helpful skills and result in a significant impact, sometimes on just one other person and others, on the entire world. Even if you don’t feel the urge to be in a typical leadership role, there will be times in your life when you will have to take charge of a situation. So whatever your current experience level, check out these seven ways you can develop the skills you’ll need to become an effective leader.
1. Seek out opportunities
As you seek opportunities to lead, try to find a way to involve your passions. When you really love doing something, you will naturally be more driven to engage and learn along the way. Extracurriculars such as clubs, sports, or music provide great situations for getting leadership experience since you are surrounded by peers and mentors, rather than professionals of all ages and experiences, making it easier to not only get leadership roles but also lead in a more nurturing environment.
2. Determine your leadership style
Depending on your personality, there are various ways to approach leading a group. Some people have a strong presence and like to lead with a more “tough love” approach, setting strict expectations and strict consequences. Others prefer a softer approach, leading by example and/or focusing on praise and encouragement. Still others take a more democratic approach, guiding the whole group to lead itself through shared input and equal division of labor. To determine your leadership style and what skill set might naturally work best for you, try this quiz.
3. Be a follower
One great way to get good at something is to consult with other people who are already good at it. Observe effective leaders that you look up to and consider what strategies or skills make them effective. What about them makes you want to follow? What might you have done differently? To get more insight, ask them questions or set up a time to meet and have a discussion. Leaders are often willing to act as mentors or at least offer some quick guidance, so don’t be shy.
4. Set goals
To ensure you make progress with your team and maintain a sense of purpose, set both short- and long-term goals for your team members, and yourself. As a group, perhaps you are working toward raising a certain amount of money or winning a competition. Establishing an overall goal can help provide a framework within which to check off smaller goals too. On a personal level, your goal might be growing student involvement in a club or improving your public speaking skills. As you go along, think actively about problems that may arise amongst the group members or obstacles that may come up on the path to your goal. Anticipating and developing a plan will help maintain order, move forward, and allow you to be the best guide possible.
5. Improve your communication skills
Think about your daily social experiences and assess your skills in writing, speaking, listening, and facilitating group work. What do you think needs the most improvement? Communication underlies all major operations of an organization. Being articulate and clear in getting your ideas across during meetings, when delegating tasks, or when interfacing with individuals can help avoid conflicts, mistakes, and confusion. Similarly, writing unambiguous, action-oriented emails can go along way in keeping everyone informed and working collaboratively.
Don’t forget that part of being a good communicator is being a good listener. If a group member doesn’t seem to be happy or has a complaint, listen. Don’t let being the leader convince you that you that you need to do everything yourself, your way. Others may have fantastic ideas and at the very least, want to feel heard. When people feel heard, and valued, they are more likely to continue contributing their all to the team.
6. Empower others
A group’s success ultimately depends on its individual members. Practice paying attention to what others are good at and what they may need to work on. Good leaders, rather than doing everything themselves, empower the other members of a team to integrate their strengths into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Some strengths are easy to spot in others, but others can be a bit buried, so be on the lookout for skills that, with some coaching and practice, can become assets to the team.
7. Keep learning
As with most skills, there is always more to learn, more room for improvement along your evolutionary path as a leader. Each situation has new people, challenges, and goals. Be open to learning constantly from both your mentors and your followers. To take a more active role in your learning, consider the following strategies:
Solicit feedback from everyone you can so that you can get clarity about how you’re doing.
Set intentions for which skills to work on or which new avenues to explore.
Experiment with different leadership styles and problem solving techniques.
Take on new responsibilities, especially when you feel intimidated doing so, as stretching your limits of comfort tends to lead to the most growth.
When you, as the leader, are at your best, the rest of the group will more easily be at their best. So keep actively working to improve your skills and then bask in the fulfillment that comes with being part of a well-functioning group, infused with enthusiasm and purpose.
Kiley A. teaches SAT/ACT Writing and leads College Application Workshops at Elite Prep Rowland Heights. As the Elite Community Scholars Coordinator, he also works to spread this college preparation guidance to low-income, first-generation students who may not otherwise have access to such support. Above all, he wants his students to know the far-reaching power of their own self-assurance.