To bring together new teams to work in an efficient and effective manner, there will need to be a step-by-step process put in place. To be an effective manager, one must know and understand how to be an effective leader. Over the year’s, the term leadership has been described with multiple definitions. According to Northhouse (2016), “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal “(p. 122). Leadership skills play a huge role in a person’s career development. In order for a person to progress in their career, they need to acquire the abilities to be a good leader. “Therefore, leadership skills are considered to be important traits, which can help you get to the top of your career field. You're more likely to be hired or get a promotion if you've been successful in leadership roles in your professional or personal life (Yan, 2016)”.
A person is either born a leader or can be made into one. “For leaders that are made and not born, behavioral theories believe that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation. Leadership is a set of skills that can be learned by training, perception, practice and experience over time. Leadership learning is a lifetime activity. Good leaders seek out development opportunities that will help them learn new skills” (Hyacinth, 2014). “There is a significant difference between “learning a skill” and mastering one, in the same way that others are born with amazing musical gifts or athletic talents. They will excel naturally in these areas but others would be like a fish out of water and may struggle to get to the same point” (Hyacinth, 2014).
Influence as a leader is key for effective leadership. Every individual has capacity to be a leader whether they are an introvert or extrovert. Every leader should acknowledge their potential in becoming a leader. Influence is a skill that can be developed. As per the book “Power and Influence” written by CEO Robert Dielenschneider, “He states, and “The three components of this triangle are communication, recognition, and influence. You start to communicate effectively which then leads to recognition and recognition in turn leads to influence”(Maxwell, 1993).
There are several steps to becoming a good leader. A leader should be able to take initiative; most bosses will assign their employees tasks that the employees have proven to be proficient at. A person should work hard at all times no matter their position. A good way to develop these skills is to take on extra projects outside of their job description. Learning more and taking on more responsibilities can help a person move into a leadership role in their workplace. A leader should always critically think. Good leaders are able to foresee potential problems before they occur. They can then develop ways to prevent the problems from happening. Good leaders are also aware of potential opportunities and take advantage of them to benefit the company and employees (Yan, 2016).
A good leader is an effective listener; one of the most important skills for a leader is listening. Without listening skills, a leader is not able to get feedback from others and get an idea of what their employees like about the projects they are assigned. Feedback and clear communication is key; communication is not only about verbal communication. Communication should be expressed clear enough so that individuals are aware of what expectations they should meet to keep their jobs. A leader should always invest time into people and be aware of body language and gestures to determine what people are really saying. A leader should be encouraging with others. John Quincy Adams stated, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”. A true leader should positively influence people. When employees or coworkers lose their ambitions and passions, a true leader should be able to energize and motivate them. Motivation comes from understand what others want and knowing the right time to reward individuals. Sometimes, people lose their motivation because they are facing difficulties, tired of doing the same repetitive tasks or disappointed they are not being asked to get involved. As a leader, they should be able to connect whether through their personal experience or another good leader (Yan, 2016).
Once there is an understanding of how to be an effective leader, it is important to understand that people matter. A great strategy for building an effective team and helping people connect with each other is through team-building exercises. Everybody needs to get to know each other in terms of whom each person is at work. Team introductions are important in the beginning to provide an area of weakness and strength that can contribute to the team. This best practice would allow colleagues to have an idea of how they would work best together and which assignments should be assigned (Tulgan, 2014).