Even if you’re a CEO whose face is all over your website and marketing collateral, empowering your team to succeed means letting them shine while you take a step back. And knowing how to do that – ultimately, how to be an excellent leader – takes time and practice. Developing the soft skills for stellar leadership isn’t easy, but it is possible to learn how to become a better leader and improve as time goes on.
But even if you understand the ultimate goal of leadership, what does it look like in action? Let’s explore.
Know How to Set Collaborative Goals
Setting goals is a must for teamwork to chug along the right way, but if there are too many goals or too-tight deadlines, they can quickly become overwhelming. Try to set goals along with the rest of the team instead of setting them yourself on their behalf. And listen to feedback if some team members think the goals are too lofty – or not lofty enough.
Check In Regularly
There’s a difference between checking in on a project’s status and being a helicopter boss. You don’t want to micromanage, but you do want your team to know you’re available for questions and that you’re on top of the status of the project. Hold regular meetings, ask for updates and let the team know you’re available if they want to run something by you.
Encourage Open Communication and Honest Feedback
As a leader, it’s important to keep an open-door policy, meaning your team knows that they can give you their opinions and feedback without repercussions. Remember, as you ask for feedback, consider it even if it doesn’t match your own opinions. It’s better to take in someone else’s point of view than immediately dismiss it, which could lead to tension, poor morale and missing out on a suggestion that’s actually worthwhile. Even as a leader, you’re still part of the team, which means showing everyone that you respect them.
Provide Training and Resources That Match Strengths
As a team leader, you need to know the strengths of your team members. Then, you should encourage them to build on those strengths. The entire team will benefit from it. Delegate projects and tasks that match each member’s strengths and provide them with any resources or training they need to advance even more. Make sure everyone knows that they’re encouraged to always develop and learn – and if they have any ideas for how to do so, that they can pitch them to you.
Provide One-on-One Guidance
Here’s one of the trickier aspects of leading a team: Each member of the team has to feel included and valued. You can’t focus on just the team itself – if you do, you’ll skip over the attention that each individual needs. Supporting a team means supporting each member of the team. One way to do this is to sit down for regular meetings with each team member. Let them talk about what’s impeding their progress or what they need in order to improve personally or professionally. And, of course, don’t give more attention to one team member than the others – good leaders don’t play favorites.
Think About Your Timing and Tone When Delivering Information
You want to make sure your team is in the loop all the time – if something is or will be affecting the team, they should know about it. That will help them feel that they’re vital to the company. However, as a CEO, you should practice strong communication skills at the same time. When and how you impart certain messages matter. If something would be better said in person, then don’t send it in an email. If you don’t want to discuss troubling news first thing in the morning or at the end of a difficult week, use your best judgment and wait.
Pay Attention to the Big Picture … And the Small Picture(s)
Focusing on the details and individual team members is important, but so is making sure that the project as a whole is staying on track (within the original scope, on time, etc.). Daily tasks have to be taken care of while the team moves forward with the project, too. As a CEO and leader, it’s your job to make sure the big picture and the small goals all stay balanced. Moreover, when it comes to those small goals, make sure the team understands why those tasks are important and how they contribute to the big picture.
Take Responsibility When You Fail
As a CEO and leader, there are going to be times when you make a mistake. During these times, it’s of the utmost importance that you hold yourself accountable and that others see that you’re able to take responsibility for your failures. Then, be an example of how to move forward, address the problems and create and execute a plan for solving them. By showing you’re fallible, humble and confident enough to move forward, your team will respect you … and hopefully, they’ll follow suit when they inevitably make a mistake.
Celebrate Successes
Tell your team what their latest successes are, and then praise them accordingly. They may not know that one of their deliverables received praise from another department or that a marketing campaign they put together had a fantastic ROI. A simple “thank you” can go further than you think, and in addition to showing appreciation for the whole team, it helps to thank individuals for their specific contributions.
Wrapping Up
The best teams are made up of members who bring varying experiences and skills to the table – together, they create one well-rounded and full-of-knowledge team. One of the biggest players on the team is the leader, and as the CEO of a company, you’re the most pronounced leader of them all. The main objective of leadership is to provide your team with the resources and support they need so they can drive themselves.
