How to step confidently into a leadership mindset
Leadership can mean something different to each person you ask. To some, it's simply about if you are a people manager with employees reporting to you. To others, it can be about your level of impact in an organization. What we're talking about today is a more holistic view of leadership. My favorite definition of it is...
Leadership: to lead, influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.
Maybe you're already a leader or you want to be seen as a leader within your organization. These tips will help you to be more intentional in your workplace interactions to set you and your team up for success.
1. Shift from a reactive to proactive mindset
One of the biggest differentiators in a leader is someone who is looking at the bigger vision of the team and/or organization within their everyday decisions and actions. It's thinking strategically and planning strategically about the long term, instead of getting hung up reacting to the day-to-day actions or tasks.
A leader does this by prioritizing the team and/or organization's vision, mission, and goals. Then helps to be a guiding light to those around them to do the same. They are always thinking about the bigger picture impact instead of simply reacting to what is happening around them.
2. Understand that it's not just about you
People tend to forget that being a leader isn't about you. It's about the people around you and how you're helping and guiding them.
You understand that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, or in other words, that we will reach our goals better and faster together, than we each could on our own. You offer care and support along the way to make sure everyone has what they need to be successful.
A leader does this by encouraging cross-team or cross-department collaborations. They create opportunities for open communication, brainstorming, and innovation. This creates new levels of cohesiveness, efficiencies, and ultimately, trust.
3. Communicate directly and effectively
A leader is often communicating across multiple layers of the organization so they need to be able to intentionally communicate. They understand that the people they work with have various communication styles, so they adapt to fit who they're speaking to.
When an effective leader communicates, it is explicit so that there is little or no room for misinterpretation. This looks like:
succinct emails with a clear purpose and request
specifically asking for what you need and by when
not making assumptions, implying something, or avoiding the hard conversations
4. Always take responsibility
Leaders always need to take responsibility for their actions, the actions of their team, and the outcomes.
They can manage this effectively by prioritizing workflow and properly delegating as needed. They have built relationships with their coworkers, teammates, or partners to have open dialogue about workflow and are responsible for making sure that projects continue moving forward.
Leaders can take responsibility by aligning their words and actions, or in other words, staying in integrity. They follow through on their promises, follow up on timelines, and are keeping an eye on the total view of the team.
They don't blame or point fingers. Instead, they discuss results openly with their team, reflect on what's working and not working, and make changes as needed.
5. Offer stability, even during uncertainty
This can be one of the most difficult yet most needed skill of a leader. It ultimately comes down to having emotional intelligence, or the ability to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, while handling interpersonal relationships.
This is what allows leaders to handle difficult situations most effectively. Having emotional intelligence enables you to be a guiding light to others during times of uncertainty.
Leaders show their emotional intelligence by not taking things personally, not being defensive, and not getting caught up in their own or other's emotions.
This looks like offering a safe space for someone to open up to you with no judgment, to be able to de-escalate highly charged situations, and to stick to the facts during difficult conversations.
If you’re ready to confidently step into your next level as a leader, explore the Lead with Confidence Program.
Brittany Canaski is a highly-rated Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hello Velocity where she builds confident leaders and high-performing teams. When she's not building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure with her husband, watching Formula 1 racing, or volunteering in her local community of Charlotte, NC.
