“Great leaders understand how to balance emotion with reason and make decisions that positively impact themselves, their employees, their customers and stakeholders, and their organizations.” – Larina Kase, PsyD.
When you get promoted as the new director of the company that you have been working at for years, you will receive plenty of congratulatory words from your colleagues. For months, the employees may give you a bright smile whenever you walk by or assure you that you will be great at the job. You may also get calls from directors in other companies that the business is associated with, either telling you that you deserve the post or giving advice on how to run the enterprise.
The thing is, despite the encouragement that you can obtain from the folks around you, their words can merely uplift your spirits for a little while. When you walk into your brand-new office and look at the pile of paperwork that may already be there, your confidence might get knocked down a notch. It won’t help either if your telephone rings many times a day, and then you will also have to attend conferences with your colleagues and address the staff.
In this type of scenario, you will realize that there’s no one else who can teach you how to become a better leader than yourself. Hence, here are some things you may try.
- Figure Out Your Leading Style
Before you even do anything, you should look deeply into yourself to figure out your leadership style at present. Doing so gives you an idea from the get-go if there are habits that you need to get rid of or improve. To accomplish that, you may analyze yourself or ask your colleagues about what they think of your ways.
- Challenge Everyone To Do Better
As someone who leads the entire operation of the business, you have the means to set tasks that will challenge the skills of your co-workers. At first, it might seem as if you are too strict or that you don’t want them to rest. However, when you explain your wish to see them excel as you did, it may allow them to realize that it’s their success that you are after.
- Open Communication Lines
As award-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman agrees, “People would rather do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don’t, even if the likable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a higher price.”
Imagine how ideal it will be for all your employees to have a boss that they can talk to any time. Often, that is only probable for managers or supervisors to speak with the director of the company. The others who hold minor positions tend to cower in front of the big boss, primarily if the latter seems aloof. Hence, to be able to lead well, you should open the lines of communication to every person who works with you.
- Manage Your Temper
An excellent leader stays chill regardless of how big of a disaster he or she may need to deal with as well. You see, it is not ideal to lose your cool and yell at your co-workers if somebody slips up. Your temper will merely cause them to panic, to the point that they can no longer focus on fixing their mess. Try to compose yourself for as long as possible.
- Offer Merits
Lastly, you should not feel wary of establishing a reward system in the workplace. Remember that merits can motivate employees to work hard. For instance, if someone gets a particular number of clients, he or she can get a free coffee or spa session nearby. In case a salesperson manages to meet the quota for the month, you may offer a paid leave for one day.
Be The Leader That Your Co-Workers Deserve To Have
According to psychotherapist Dr. Douglas LaBier, “The higher up you go in companies, the more you’re dealing with psychological and relational issues. Successful CEO leadership requires astuteness about others…And you can’t know the truth about another without knowing it about yourself… Self-knowledge and the relational competencies they’re linked with are central to a CEO’s ability to formulate, articulate and lead a strategic vision.”
Similar to everyone else in the company, there will always be room for improvement for bosses like you. Maybe you can alter your leadership style; perhaps it’s your level of openness or behavior around the employees that can be better. All these changes can only take place, nevertheless, once you pay attention to yourself.