Admit it. You’ve written at least one resume – or advertised one job description – that included the words “strong leadership skills”. Probably somewhere near the top.
We understand the importance of leadership skills, but what isn’t always clear is how they differ from managerial skills, and how one can cultivate them without being in a leadership (or managerial) position.
Leadership skills actually encompass many traits. Honesty. Confidence. Humor. The ability to delegate and to inspire. Commitment to your team and to the success of your work. Certainly a positive attitude; but also creativity and intuition. The one thing they all have in common is that they can only be developed through experience.
Bringing the Vision to Life
Leadership is best described as having a vision and working to achieve it. True leadership isn’t about who is in charge; it’s about playing a vital role in accomplishing the goals you’ve set as a team. When you’re working to execute a shared vision – say, bringing a new product to market or launching a new training series – an excellent way to demonstrate leadership is to share new ideas and information that simplify the way that works gets done.
It’s important to share information in the way that best fits your team and the task at hand. For example, if you’re working with people within your office and you’re standardized on a network drive or SharePoint, make sure shared files are stored there. If the information is coming in in paper form, look to solutions like Xerox ConnectKey for SharePoint to route information to the right place, in editable formats like Microsoft Word or Excel.
You become a leader when you have the confidence to introduce a new process, the commitment to seeing it succeed, and the creativity and attitude you’ll need to inspire others to support it. On the other half of that coin? Leadership abilities develop when you’re willing to jump in and try something new for the good of the project and the team, however unfamiliar it may feel. Embracing new solutions will help you move into the future with better skills and resources, and an increased confidence in yourself.
When processes in your office change without your input, you can show your leadership by embracing them, and by brainstorming new ways to apply them in the success of your project. True leaders stay on the cutting edge of technology.
Great Communicators Make Great Leaders
In an age where many of us communicate primarily by email, or work remotely from different parts of the world, a true show of leadership is fostering synergism between coworkers even from a distance, and making communication easy and comfortable.
So how do you do that?
You start the old fashioned way- by staying in touch regularly. Whether your coworkers are down the hall or across the world, it’s important to keep them up to date on project deadlines and goals. Communicate regularly and clearly to enhance that feeling of “we’re all in this together”.
Great leaders are also great communicators, and Xerox has a number of tools and solutions that can help you to communicate wherever – and however – you need to, based on your team’s unique work styles, locations and your business type. Check out these great products from Xerox, all designed to improve communication and help you and your team collaborate for success – both collectively and on your own.
For more great tips on becoming an effective leader, check out our latest tip sheet!
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