7 Great Leadership Tips to Develop Managers

Becoming a leader doesn’t happen overnight. What is true is that people who demonstrate leadership have a way of elevating those around them to achieve.

They turn a group of strangers into a team that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Do you want team leaders in your company or do you want ‘bosses’? Here are seven ways you can be a leader in the workplace.

1. Find Inspiration

It always helps to have someone that can show you the way. A mentor is generally a well-experienced and trusted person that advises you on a variety of topics.

You can also draw inspiration from the actions and words of others. There are countless examples of people, famous and obscure, who demonstrate leadership.

Sun Tzu was a Chinese general and war strategist. He wrote The Art of War, an extremely influential work that is still popular. In it, he describes the power of knowledge and how to be a true leader.

2. Lead By Example

A ‘boss’ just stands around occasionally giving orders and berating people when things go wrong. And since they have a higher ranking than other employees, it doesn’t really matter if they aren’t punctual or respectful, right?

A true leader doesn’t demand anything that they wouldn’t do themself. Ideally, they should know how to train their employees by performing the task.

When the going gets rough, a leader has to be ready to roll up their sleeves and pitch in.

3. Mutual Responsibility

One thing that has to be avoided at all costs is finger-pointing and the blame game. When the team fails to meet their goals, responsibility is shared by everyone, including the manager and executives.

Of course, people make mistakes. It is the duty of a leader to recognize where mistakes are being made. Then, they have to identify what needs to be done so it doesn’t keep happening.

If you berate or otherwise harshly reprimand an employee, you might send the wrong message. The team might act similarly toward struggling employees or they might end up hiding things to prevent punishment.

4. One for All, All for One

Being a leader doesn’t mean that you get to have a group of inferiors working for you. It should be clear that you and your team have a shared goal that benefits everybody involved.

Everyone needs to understand that they are working together and not competing against each other.

That means if an employee is struggling to perform, others should be interested in seeing how they can help. The managers and other superiors should be the first to offer a helping hand.

5. A Foundation of Trust

It can be a dog-eat-dog world out there. Certain industries and workplaces are even more prone to be ultra-competitive, which can often lead to a toxic environment.

Sure, you might have the motivational poster with the synchronized skydivers that says “TEAMWORK”, but is that enough to get the team to trust each other?

Probably not. In fact, trust and confidence are earned over time through actions, not words. And remember, years of trust can be lost in an instant.

Trust-Building Activities

Obviously, it can be hard to trust a perfect stranger but, with time, people often end up getting to know their coworkers quite well.

You can speed up this process with teamwork and trust-building exercises. This is a fun way to break the ice and get your employees used to working with each other.

Respect Above All

If you want to receive trust, confidence, and respect, you have to show it. It goes without saying but, obviously, any form of abuse or discrimination is extremely harmful to the office.

Be sure to treat each and every person that way you would like to be treated. If you think anyone might feel uncomfortable or is being abused in any way, a true leader will step up to confront the situation.

6. Promote Communication

Communication is essential to any team. Since proper leadership requires you to be aware of the needs of your team, there must be an environment in which people free to express their needs.

This helps the team to work in a way that compliments each other instead of stepping on each other’s toes.

This will be helpful in virtually every facet of running a business. Communication leads to better efficiency and resolution of problems. Developing your emotional intelligence will allow you to remain calm while addressing anything that comes up.

7. The Strength to Do What’s Right

Doing what’s right isn’t always easy. There may be times when you feel tempted to cut corners. Maybe there will be days when you’ve run out of patience for dealing with everyone’s problems.

Despite this, you must continue to follow your moral compass. People around you will notice when you make decisions based on what is correct and not what is popular.

In the end, our reputations are extremely important. If we don’t keep our word, then it means nothing.

Leading the Way to a Brighter Future

Leaders build leaders. Once you get some managers who are willing to learn to be leaders, they will inspire all of your employees to better themselves.

No one said it would be easy to work with people. Leadership tips and skills can make the process a whole lot more effective.

Be the leader you would like your managers to be. Check out our blog for more articles about personal improvement and leadership.