Sunday, March 17, 2024
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Why Is Leadership Important In The Workplace & How To Show Leadership At Work?

Did you know that leadership is one of the top skills that every employee must have? For students or a working professional, leadership skills are a must for career growth. If you want to be a leader, you need to be ready to shoulder the duties before actually being one. This is because leadership in the workplace is one of the key attributes you can have to deliver extraordinary results from your team.

Do you want to know how to improve your skills for a leadership role in the workplace?

Worry not!

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This article will discuss why leadership is essential, how to improve leadership skills in the workplace, and the types of leadership skills one should have.

According to a survey, 86% of businesses confirm that it’s important to develop leadership skills at all levels.

Also, being a leader does not mean you must compulsorily manage a team at a workplace.

Leadership is more about:

  • how people get inspired by you,
  • seek your opinion,
  • and learn from you.

Leadership in a workplace is an essential factor because it allows a company or industry to move forward. Moreover, you must have a team of great leaders for your business to grow in the long run.

Also, adding creativity and adhering to workplace duties are prime aspects of becoming a good leader.

What Makes a Good Leader?

leadership skills in the workplace-alignthoughts

There is no cookie-cutter approach to being a good leader.

According to Forbes, the probability of being a high potential leader is only 3%, and they have these following characteristics:

  • possess a clear vision,
  • have a courageous soul,
  • are honest and humble,
  • stay focused,
  • and have great integrity.

You must be decisive, i.e., showing consistency with your decisions unless when necessary. Consistency will help you to be significantly committed to your work.

Moreover, you must also be a person of passion for being a good leader, that will make other people follow you.

How To Improve Your Leadership Skills In The Workplace?

You can embrace lifelong learning and improve your skills to become a better, confident leader at your workplace.

To show a better leadership role in your workplace, you will have to: 

  • share knowledge,
  • empower your coworkers,
  • keep learning continuously,
  • and regularly improve your skills.

As a result, all of these will help you in career growth and persevere in the future.

What Are The Different Types Of Leadership In The Workplace?

First, you should be aware that there are different types of leadership in the workplace.

Let’s dig in to find what they are!

1. Autocratic

This type of leadership is where one believes they’re highly skilled and the smartest person in the room.

2. Authoritative

Authoritative leaders are those who set expectations and map the way out for their team.

3. Pacesetting

This is a leadership style when managers set a high pace for the team and expect them to exceed standards.

4. Democratic

Democratic leaders are those who share information with the group before making the final decision.

5. Coaching

Leaders who coach their team members tend to unlock their potentials to deliver good results.

6. Affiliative

This style of leadership is displayed by leaders who put the emotions of their team members first.

7. Laissez

This is a freestyle leadership style where a leader leaves their team members to do whatever they want.

Why Is Leadership Important In The Workplace?

For the most part, leadership skills in the workplace are necessary irrespective of any role or responsibility. Everyone is expected to improve into their best self and deliver great results.

Being engaged and energetic is a salient key to thrive in the workplace because you will be appreciated and be in demand only if you take the initiative. A true leader will always find a creative approach and be enthusiastic about taking up new challenges and lead the team head-on.

Thereby, these leadership skill types can help you with your career and improve workplace productivity.

What Are The Types Of Leadership Skills One Should Have?

Specifically, these are the types of leadership skills that you need to achieve success.

1. Competency

Competency is one of the leadership skills one can have because success and effectiveness lie in your ability to do the job based on your competency.

Do you have the preferred skills, training, attitude, and personality to master the job and excel at it?

Particularly, in today’s workplace scenario, it’s not enough to only have hard skills. The ability to stay competitive and outsmart your peers can take you a long way.

Similarly, working individuals need to fit into evolving cultures of diversity, personnel changes, new products and services, and staying committed and relevant to the market.

2. Innovation

When we are talking about the types of leadership skills, innovation is one that needs a definite mention.

Strong leadership skills require one to be creative and recognize changes that are imperative for the workflow. As well-planned as a business process can be, it is inevitable to encounter obstacles to overcome.

An innovative leader is someone who takes responsibility and mandatory actions to overcome these obstacles so that it creates a path toward bringing the work back to its intended expectation.

3. Open-Mindedness

It is essential to be an informed and trusted resource because open-mindedness relates to how you approach, respect, and acknowledge others’ views and knowledge. As a leader,  the worst thing to do is being a “know it all” person.

Therefore, being open-minded and admitting that you don’t know everything creates a sense of authenticity and humility that can enhance conversations with associates in mutual ways.

Apart from the above, there are many types of leadership skills that one can have to make life progress.

What Activities Show Leadership?

You can participate in various activities that show leadership values in your workplace, college, or even school. Moreover, they are the building blocks that help build a strong team and strengthen your leadership skills.

These strong leadership skills include:
  • Volunteering
  • Internships
  • Social group activities
  • Passion projects
  • Team-based sports like basketball and many others.

Above all, some of the most popular yet strong workplace leadership skills include communication, positivity, motivation, feedback, creativity, etc.

Best Leadership Skills In Workplace

Furthermore, strong leadership skills have a substantial impact on the work environment. Here we have accumulated thirteen points that are a must for every leader:

1. Communication

If you are an excellent leader, you must have clarity over what you explain to the people around you.

An exceptional leader is someone who:

  • can communicate clearly with the team
  • allows people to understand their message
  • include their followers in tasks to achieve the organizational goals.

A leader must know all communication forms, including verbal, written, one-on-one, and large meetings; these are some of the most sought-after leadership skills for the workplace.

Such effective communication skills can help you solve problems, streamline the decision process, and achieve more remarkable results.

In short, a leader should always be open to feedback, suggestions, and have the patience to listen to other’s views because this is one way a leader can communicate effectively with their workmates.

2. Show Encouragement

statistics on leadership in workplace-alignthoughts

Nothing uplifts or motivates a person to strive towards achieving a goal more than some moral support. In fact, you don’t have to be in a formal position of leadership to do it.

A research study shows that a staggering 79% of employees leave their jobs due to a lack of appreciation from their leaders.

Inculcating good leadership skills is vital because it offers support to your team members and ensures that they don’t demotivate themselves from achieving their personal and organizational goals.

Everyone is a leader in their capacity, and this further helps one take up the encouragement role in their team by injecting positive thoughts when things are low and lift everyone’s spirits when discouraged.

Being an encourager sets an excellent example of an ideal team leader. As a result, it solidifies the ground of a healthy relationship with your peers and team members in the future.

3. Delegation

This is another useful leadership quality to have in the workplace. As a great leader, you must know how to delegate responsibilities and tasks, among others.

Delegation of work is a necessary step to ensure that a given task is efficiently completed so that you can focus on improving the operations at the workplace.

You will have to be well equipped with the skills to delegate tasks effectively. This is because it helps you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team members.

Great leaders never have complete control over a work task because they try to avoid micro-management at all costs. They believe in empowering their employees and keep their eyes fixed on the bigger picture.

4. Learn and Listen

You have some organizational goals, so how do you reach them? Well, getting insights from your employees, obviously!

A good leader has to be to listen carefully and also learn from the approaches of others. It would help if you considered their ideas as well when you make crucial decisions.

Understandably, leaders do a lot of speaking, delegating, instructing on their own, but one of the best ways to lead a team is to listen and learn from others.

This instills a sense of respect in others for you, and further, it will only benefit the team at greater levels. So the next time you’re conversing with a co-worker, show a genuine interest in their views.

Listen more before you jump to speak. You can also ask some thoughtful questions that will allow you to understand what they are saying.

5. Relationship-Building

Relationship building is vital for every business organization because having better workplace relationships can unlock doors for new opportunities. A profitable business is usually built on the foundation of trust and honesty that define any relationship.

As a good leader, you must make time to network and build relationships within and outside your workplace.

This includes good relations with:

  • Industry partners
  • Customers
  • The community
  • Vendors
  • Team members

What makes a leader stand out is their sheer ability to nurture and train promising employees into leading others in the future.

A great leader repeatedly helps develop their workforce as they grow and build their professional and technical expertise at the same time.

6. Adaptability

Being adaptable or flexible with frequent changes has innumerable reasons in the workplace. Apparently, last-minute changes in every workplace due to mishaps are a reality and inevitable.

Therefore, if you want to be a great leader, flexibility is a trait you must adapt to face changes.

As a prominent leader in your workplace, you should have the leadership skill to predict approaching changes from the horizon. It permits your team and organization to take necessary actions when that happens.

Adaptability gives you:

  • the power to have fresh ideas,
  • the ability to recognize the possibilities to improve,
  • and brainstorm out of the box ideas.

7. Integrity

Honesty and transparency are two integral parts to become a great leader. And maintaining integrity in a workplace ensures that your team values business ethics.

Remember, it is on you to take responsibility when things do not go according to the plan. Great leaders also make sure to stick to the project and is consistent with recognition and rewards.

Being comfortable with admitting your strengths and weaknesses has a vital significance to show strong leadership skills. People will perceive you as a great character when you share both the good and the bad.

All this will help you build trust with your team members and create a healthier and more supportive team dynamic.

8. Confidence

Leadership indeed calls for a person who has strong confidence and interpersonal skills.

But, if you want to be an effective leader, you also need to have confidence in your team members’ abilities. This makes sure that everyone makes good decisions even without supervision.

A confident leader will always:
  • inspire others,
  • motivate their teammates to perform better,
  • assist their employees whenever necessary,
  • and reassure their team members.

9. Organizational Skills

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Similarly, a strong team leader must have excellent organizational and administration skills. Having skills relevant to good corporate culture can encourage leaders to plan strategies and set goals for the team members to perform at their optimal level.

According to SurveyMonkey, 67% of employees prefer to work for an organization whose vision and mission aligns well with that of the employees irrespective of the pay.

Leaders always have a vision and plan mapped out for the future. Organizational skills help the leaders become facilitators and enable others to understand and efficiently meet the required goals.

10. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an underrated quality that is of high importance as other social skills.

It is an essential leadership trait because emotional intelligence helps you:

  • assess your abilities,
  • understand your emotions,
  • and analyze how they can affect those around you, especially your team.

Emotional intelligence also opens the door for you to understand others and those around you. As a result, this helps you understand their feelings better and form a cordial relationship.

These characteristics can help you build a healthy relationship with peers aiding for great results in your team.

11. Reward and Acknowledgement

A great leader rarely takes credit for other’s successes. What they do instead is praise their employees and colleagues for their achievements.

Humility is a sign of leadership, and acknowledging people’s effort makes them feel appreciated, which is more valuable than status or even monetary rewards.

12. Put In Your Best Performance

A diligent leader always gives their best shot at a task. You have to improve your skills and continue working on yourself.

So, how do you improve your leadership skills for a better workplace? One way is by attending management classes and expanding your experience!

These are the critical elements that will contribute to your personal and professional growth. You also need to be a proactive person who positively approaches their work because this quality in you will motivate others.

Remember that the best way to lead is to lead by example. When you set a good example, your colleagues are more likely to follow you. Be a role model and the person with a desire to learn in the eyes of your peers.

13. Be Responsible

Individual decisions in a business yield successful outcomes, and some even lead to mistakes. You have to take responsibility for your success and downfalls if you want to be an extraordinary leader.

Always buckle up and own up to the mistakes that lead to poor results. The leadership role asks for accountability that helps revise and improve the decisions that may not lead to the desired outcome.  As a responsible leader, accepting both criticism and praise demonstrates stability.

What Are The Examples Of Leadership Skill  For Interview?

Leaders are an essential part of an organization and its success. Through clear goals and visions, leadership skills empower teams to go through different challenge types and support.

As a result, interviewers often ask questions while hiring to test the leadership skills of an individual. So what are the examples of questions for leadership skills that you can be asked in the interview?

Let’s dig in to find out!

How do goals help you become a better leader?

The interviewer might ask you this question to understand your thoughts on the importance of goal setting and its role in becoming a better leader.

How do you describe your leadership style?

In an interview, you might be asked to give an example from your past experiences that describe your leadership style.

Leadership style is nothing but the set of actions a person takes to complete tasks, show integrity, set an example, and lead everyone in the team. You can think of your past experiences, wherein you have expressed such behaviors.

What Are The leadership challenges you faced?

There are specific challenges that you can come across while leading a team. There will always be people who are often challenging to deal with.

For example, you can highlight when you had to deal with difficult or toxic people in your previous workplace and how you overcame them, thereby improving your leadership skills.

How To Show Leadership Skills While In An Interview?

Also, apart from the above questions, here are some ways you can show leadership skills as an example while appearing for an interview.

leadership skills examples for an interview-alignthoughts

1. Speak Confidently

Time and again, we have emphasized the word “Confidence” and how it’s one of the essential qualities to become a leader. So when you’re attending an interview, make sure to speak confidently and in a composed manner.

For example, you can also prepare some common interview questions on leadership skills beforehand to save yourself from last-minute stress.

2. Dress Well

A dress can either make or break your look, and it’s essential to adhere to professional attire when you’re going for an interview.

Dressing up according to the dress code is not about only looking good, but it has a lot to do with how presentable and professional you look in the interviewer’s eyes.

Putting efforts into wearing well-ironed clothes shows that you emphasized detail, which is an essential characteristic for a leader.

For example, always try to stick with a shirt, coat, and trouser when you attend an interview as it exudes a real quality for a leadership role.

3. Highlight Past Accomplishments

It’s necessary to highlight your past accomplishment as examples in a leadership role interview because this will ensure the interviewer that you’re a person who’s committed and diligent in delivering timely work in the best way possible.

For example, present a proper case study in the interview, demonstrating your achievements in various leadership skills.

Concluding Thoughts

It takes a lot to be a good, responsible leader. Showing leadership at work or school requires hard work, commitment, and determination towards achieving goals. If you want to be a great leader at your job, cultivate the attitude to learn and improve your skills.

Cultivating the above-listed types of leadership skills in the workplace regularly could help you improve yourself, stand out from the crowd, and be a good leader. Leading by example, is the most crucial thing in a leadership role.

Key Takeaways On Leadership Skills In The Workplace

  • Having a strong sense of leadership is one of the top skills that every employer is seeking.
  • A healthy workplace requires you to improve your leadership skills at every level continuously.
  • For instance, leadership is about inspiring, innovating, and learning from others.
  • Being a good leader means you are ready to take new responsibilities and face challenges head-on.
  • A true leader always has the hunger to improve themselves and others in multifold ways.
  • Setting up reasonable goals can help you become a better leader.
  • Most importantly, leadership skills can help you stay focused on your vision and improve workplace productivity.
  • Allowing yourself to make the right decisions and implement them successfully is a sign of a great leader.
  • A leader also ensures that the team members are working efficiently.

Why is leadership important in the workplace?

Leadership is vital in the workplace because it allows smooth functioning of different duties among the team members, achieve targets before deadlines, and deliver great value to the customers.

What is effective leadership?

Effective leadership means where a person guides and instructs their team members optimally using the resources and time to achieve organizational goals.

It is one of the best leadership styles in the workplace because effective leaders inspire integrity and goodwill in the team while displaying trust themselves.

How can I improve my leadership skills in school?

The best way to improve your leadership skills in school is by participating in extracurricular activities because it allows students to interact with others. And as a result, you can develop interpersonal skills by helping your peers accomplish specific tasks.

Some of the ways to improve leadership skills in school are:

  • Elect as a sports team leader.
  • Participate in group discussions and debates to improve communication skills.
  • Organize school events.
  • Foster teambuilding skills.
  • Maintain a can-do attitude.
  • Show acceptance to diversity among students and teachers.
  • Lead and guide junior students by sharing knowledge on your expertise.

What are some goals for leadership in a manager?

A manager should know how to deal with people from different backgrounds because it promotes a healthy relationship among teammates.

These are some of the goals that every manager need to aspire to have a strong sense of leadership skills:

  • Reflect confidence.
  • Adaptable to changes.
  • Be self-driven.
  • Network well.
  • Better listening skills.

What are some real-life leadership interview examples?

Some real-life leadership interview examples are as below:

  • What are the top leadership skills that you believe everyone must have?
  • What’s your leadership style?
  • How do you deal with difficult people in a team?

What are the types of leadership skills?

Specifically, team management, strategic thinking, planning, integrity, and creativity- are the type of leadership skills that one must possess.

What is a strong leadership skill?

Displaying a strong sense of leadership skills inspires others and makes them believe in themselves to explore new work areas. Because once you expand your comfort zone, that’s when the real growth takes place.

What are the life skills you need to learn to be successful? Read on!

Nihar B
Nihar B
With a decade of experience as a woman in tech, Nihar has worked with a range of companies from Fortune 500 corporations such as IBM, Accenture, Ericsson to H&M Group. Her diverse work-life enables her to share her knowledge to develop, grow, and succeed both professionally and personally in today's ever-changing world.

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