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What Is a Leader, What Do They Do, and How Do You ...

What Is a Leader, What Do They Do, and How Do You ...

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Leaders: The Catalyst for Inspiring and Motivating Teams

When you think of great leaders, many iconic figures come to mind. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela were all influential figures who, although having vastly different leadership styles, all shared a common trait: the ability to inspire and motivate the people around them.

Leadership is an invaluable asset in any organization, driving teams to perform, engage, and strive for change. Leaders must be able to effectively equip their teams with the mindsets, skills, and behavior changes required for success. Through executive coaching, these leaders can help motivate their team and ensure they are in line with a company's objectives. Leaders should also foster resilience, well-being, and agility in their teams, while unlocking career progression and inspiring employees to reach their peak potential.

The role of a leader is to mentor and develop their teams. This involves creating a balanced relationship between the individual's goals and the organization's goals, as well as leading the team in building, organizing, and setting goals. While outwardly motivating their employees is an important part of a leader's role, it is often overlooked that the leader must also have strong storytelling, empathy, and communication skills in order to authentically inspire.

No single style can define a leader; however, there are several qualities that are often associated with successful ones. Leaders should possess a strong purpose which their team can relate to, and they should also strive to be great motivators. By fostering value-aligned goals, enthusiastic outreach, and two-way communication, successful leaders can ensure that their teams are engaged and passionate about achieving their goals.

Leadership is not a static position; good leaders should continuously strive to learn and develop their craft. To this end, seven key characteristics have been identified as being shared by influential leaders: purpose, motivation, vision, independence, collaboration, creativity, and communication.

  • Purpose: Positively motivate team members by displaying the intention behind specific goals and highlighting the company's mission. Allow individual members to personally connect to the mission and inspire accountability.
  • Motivation: Empower your team by setting value-aligned goals and offering consistent support. Encourage enthusiasm for the larger vision and provide two-way dialogue to ensure everyone's voices are heard.
  • Vision: Create a vision that resonates with all team members and unites them behind a common goal. Incorporate each individual's core values and strengths to help inspire them towards big-picture objectives.

What is a Leader?

Leaders understand that their responsibility is to coach, guide, and inspire the current team and future generations of leaders towards a shared vision that resonates with their core values. Being able to motivate and encourage team members to work beyond their responsibilities and with enthusiasm is key to success. Leaders should listen to their teams, support them, and strive to bring out the best in them in order to make a lasting impression. To be an effective leader, one must have a clear vision aligned with their core values, be open to constructive feedback, and have the ability to motivate team members.

How to Become a Better Leader

Good leadership requires different approaches depending on experience level, strengths, and individual goals. To become a better leader, consider the following steps:

  • Step 1: Listen and Learn - Leadership is all about relationships, so dedicate time to listen and understand each team member's strengths and weaknesses. Appreciate individual potential and foster an environment where ideas and feedback are welcomed.
  • Step 2: Create Shared Goals - Have a vision for the future and align individual goals with team objectives and core values to maintain motivation and focus.
  • Step 3: Always Seek Improvements - Stay open to feedback and strive to get better every day. Create an environment of constructive criticism and invite opinions and ideas from everyone.

Leadership Coaching: What Is It & What Can Leaders Gain?

Leadership coaching is a great way to acquire essential skills, strategies, and ideas for becoming an effective leader. It is a personalized program that helps leaders better understand their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities through activities and exercises. Leadership coaching is designed to provide leaders with the guidance needed to improve their abilities and achieve greater results.

Individuals participating in a leadership coaching program can gain insight into their working style, interpersonal dynamics, and organizational dynamics. Overall, this type of program can help leaders master their craft and become more successful in managing their team.

What Is Involved in Leadership Coaching?

Leadership coaching is an excellent way to further develop necessary skills and abilities for successful leading. A thorough understanding of different leadership philosophies, theories, models, and influence tactics are all essential components. Furthermore, an individual should gain insight into the differences between top-down and bottom-up management, and what authentic leadership is comprised of.

Leadership coaching should be tailored to an individual's needs and goals. It should involve developing their own skills and abilities, exploring influence tactics and strategies suitable for leading change, and discovering various aspects of leading a team.

To be successful, a leader must model the desired characteristics and behavior. Through leadership coaching, an individual can gain valuable insight into their working style, interpersonal dynamics, organizational dynamics, and understand which influence tactics are best to use. This knowledge is invaluable in helping lead team members, collaborate, set core values, and strive to reach goals.

The Benefits of Leadership Coaching

  • Gain the tools, strategies and knowledge needed to be an inspiring and successful leader
  • Understand working style, interpersonal dynamics, and organizational dynamics
  • Discover individual influence tactics and how best to use them
  • Understand the difference between top-down and bottom-up management
  • Gain insight into what authentic leadership is comprised of

Leadership coaching is an invaluable addition to any leader's professional development. It can provide the opportunity to become the best leader possible and excel in one's role. Ultimately, it is an important step in helping leaders to lead change and improve their abilities.

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