We began discussing the foundation of leadership strategies and tactics like detaching from the situation and the role of humility in leadership. There are leadership strategies and tactics that enhance the productivity of your and of your team. One of the most important tactics to keep in mind is that your strengths and performance build leadership.
Lead With Your Strengths
Are leaders born or made? The answer is yes. Leaders are both born and made. People each have genetic physical potential that they are born with. Why wouldn’t you consider that people are born with cognitive abilities? The more a person reads and studies and trains their ability to think, the more they can improve up to their capacity. Leadership traits include articulation, challenge analysis, and Charisma. With charisma, subordinates naturally are drawn to follow, but loud can be helpful too. All leaders have strengths and weaknesses. Start with your strengths, while you train and practice on the weaknesses to improve.
Read more. If you lack articulation skills, practice public speaking. If you lack problem solving skills, practice with puzzle solving. The more puzzles you solve, the more you activate the portion of your brain that specializes in that particular type of thinking. Do you have trouble emoting confidence when you speak? Practice in front of a mirror to achieve the volume that captivates. There are training and practice options for skill strengthening, while you leverage the skills you innately possess. With that said, you may not reach the exceptional level in those weak traits.
You can still become an incredible leader by building up a powerful team with the traits you lack. Joe (not his real name) was a good leader, but softspoken. He needed to communicate directions in a loud manufacturing setting. Joe was nearly demoted for his inability to communicate. Searching for a solution, Joe found a loud team member and told him what to share. The rest of the team understood and executed his instructions. All it took was the use of a skill already present in a member of your team.
Don’t Rest on What You Have Already Achieved
Thinking about past achievements doesn’t add anything to your work today. It is an indulgence and a waste of time. Today, you have new challenges and new team needs. When you rest on past achievements, you’re telling yourself that what you did is good enough. It is not trying to push past status quo to new achievements, but using the past as permission to stop working at new heights. In short, it stunts our growth. Always reach deeper or higher or face stagnation. We’re not belittling your accomplishment. We are reminding you that the challenge does not end there. It is waiting for you to step up once more.
Build Trustworthy Relationships through Performance
Some days you get an assignment from your boss that you know could be done better through another method. Building a relationship of trust with your boss means being the team player that constantly gets things done. On the rare occasions that you do raise objections, you boss can trust them, because usually you handle things the boss’ way.
Your team may get frustrated, but be honest with them. Share your opinion that you are building a good relationship with the boss, so when there the boss makes an unreasonable assignment, you can show a better way to accomplish the goal. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you need to object to what you view as a crazy assignment. Always ask your boss to explain the process before objecting. Never object without an alternative. Use tact when you need to stand your ground and give your boss a way out. Putting the boss on the spot will not end well.
When your subordinates object to your own plans, make sure you take time to listen. If their ideas can still accomplish the mission, let them use them. It might not be as good as your method, but they will engage and buy into the job and you will build trust. It isn’t weakness, it is optimizing the situation into a positive, relationship building support.
Thanks for joining us at CommandReady.com and learning leadership tactics like how to lead with your strengths and performance. When you are searching for the right leadership development program for yourself or your team, contact us. We have several program options, one of which is right for you and your group.
