How to Become a Great Leader

Great leaders motivate employees to be productive to reach personal and shared goals.

They increase employee happiness, engagement, and retention. Great leaders lead to company success by growing sales and profits. Leaders are not born but made through hard work and experience. Find out how you can become a better leader. 

Focus on your strengths 

Not all leaders look the same. That’s why it’s essential to focus on the strengths that make you unique.

Be yourself.

After all, you are the best version of yourself, but you can only be the second-best version of someone else. If you’re not sure what your strengths are, do some reflection. Seek feedback from your employees. When finding your strengths, also pinpoint your weaknesses. Doing so will allow you to improve and ask for help when needed. 

Develop your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage the emotions of yourself and others effectively. This is a valuable skill, especially during hard times. It helps bring stability. 

Provide constructive criticism to your team 

This may generate difficult conversations. But, although it can be difficult, constructive criticism is ultimately beneficial. Usually, your employees want to improve. Plus, the better your employees are, the better off the business will be. 

Become a level 5 leader 

Business consultant, Jim Collins, published his research about great businesses in his popular book “Good to Great.”

He identified businesses that had what he termed level 5 leaders. These leaders held traits within all five levels of leadership. 

• Level 1: a highly capable leader who is knowledgeable, talented, and skillful.
• Level 2: a leader who works well with others to generate a successful team.
• Level 3: a leader who can organize people to effectively achieve goals.
• Level 4: a leader who is able to meet performance goals.
• Level 5: a leader who has all abilities within the other four levels, along with humility and will. They ask for help, take responsibility, and hire great employees. They are disciplined and passionate. 

Resources to improve your leadership skills

Luckily, many free programs are available to help you develop your leadership skills. 

Master Class Management provides free management and leadership skills training courses online.

It’s good for both new and experienced managers. You can learn at your own pace and convenience. They offer a ‘Management Training and Leadership Skills Course.’

Coursera is a free online learning platform that provides courses from leading universities.

Some classes on leadership include ‘Leadership’ from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, ‘Organizational Leadership’ from Northwestern University, ‘Leading People and Teams’ from the University of Michigan, and much more. 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also offers free courses on leadership.

They offer a two-year course called ‘Organizational Leadership and Change’ and a one-week introduction to leadership course called ‘Building and Leading Effective Teams.’

Alison offers thousands of free online courses.

Their leadership courses include ‘Transformational Leadership,’ ‘Classical Leadership and Decision-making,’ and ‘The Essentials of Leadership for Career Development.’

Becoming a better leader takes hard work, but it will be worth it in the end. Both your employees and your business will benefit.