Back in April 2017, United Airlines found itself under enormous scrutiny after an incident in which an elderly passenger was dragged off one of their planes. The entire event was captured on video and shared on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms millions of times.
Although the employees received a ton of
criticism in the aftermath, the root of the problem goes much deeper than
United Airlines’ workforce.
These employees were just enforcing the
company’s policies without much thinking. As a matter of fact, if the work
culture was built on solid values and morals, rather than blind obedience, the
employees might have acted differently.
The value of a true leader
If you’re a business leader, the scenario
above is probably one of your worst nightmares. And if you want to avoid
incidents like these, you first have to know what true leadership is.
You see, a true leader is a pinnacle of
what they expect from the people around them. Moreover, a true leader, leads by
example and sets the standards.
Basically, if you want to become a leader,
you have to behave in the way you want your workers to behave and ensure that
they have what they need to do just that.
Becoming a true leader in five easy steps
Step #1: Start pulling your employees along
Being a leader is not just about telling
people how to do a particular job – it’s also about doing it yourself.
According to a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review, around 38% of business leaders believe that
good leaders cultivate feelings of success and failure as a team. So, if you
want your team members to work hard, you need to work just as hard, if not even
harder.
Step #2: Get to know your team better
You already know your mission, however,
it’s as equally as important to know the people you’re working with. Therefore,
you have to learn how to communicate with your team members properly, get to
know them and ultimately connect with them on a more personal level. Knowing
both their strengths and weaknesses will allow you to utilize their skills
appropriately
Step #3: Be the support system your team needs
A true leader supports their team with energy, time and in some cases, actual physical support. So, you need to set up a support system for the success of your team. For example, a recent Rypple revealed that 23% of employees want career development opportunities. True leaders listen to their employees and provide them with the education they need to progress in their careers.
Step #4: Stay open to your team’s ideas
When an employee comes to you with a specific problem, you shouldn’t tell them what to do. Instead, you should try and guide them, so they could come up with the correct solution themselves. In essence, you need to give them the freedom to brainstorm. If you have any problems guiding your employees, maybe hire a business consultant to help you become a better leader that produces practical results.
Step #5: Be their personal trainer
Personal trainers get hired to get more from people than those people may expect from themselves, and a real leader should do the same. This means you shouldn’t hire or fire employees based on their previous experience, because things just change too fast. You should try coaching your team members instead and teach them properly, so they could take on more responsibilities in the future.
Leaders are not born – they are made
When it’s all said and done, you have to keep in mind that no matter what some people tell you, leadership is a skill that can be learned. You need to make a conscious effort to improve your leadership skills that will allow you to properly address the challenges you come across every single day.
What kind of a leader should you be? A firm
and strict one? A calm and communicative one?
At the end of the
day, it’s up to you to decide what kind of a leader you want and need to be. Nonetheless,
the results you’ll see from following the steps above will definitely help you
be the leader you want to be and let you shine as a leader workers actually
want to follow.
