Three Essential Skills For Successful Leaders

Enhance Your Leadership Abilities With These Three Skills

Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are the foundation on which a successful leader is built, serving as a baseline for achieving personal and professional success in the workplace. A leader’s ability to not only make informed decisions to better the organization, but also drive change within a team sets them apart from their colleagues. 

These three important skills can help distinguish successful leaders in their industry and enable them to inspire others, guide their team, and achieve expansive goals.
 

THREE SKILLS VALUABLE AT ALL LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP

Strategic thinking, self-awareness, and strong communication are mutually reinforcing skills that enable leaders to rise above the challenges associated with the current business landscape. Equally interconnected, these skills aid a leader’s ability to be nimble during challenging times and guide their team, fostering a culture of collaboration and empowerment.

1. Strategic Thinking – Strategic thinking, by definition, involves the mental process of achieving a set of goals. When applied in the context of leadership and development, strategic thinking becomes much more nuanced. Anticipating future challenges, acting on opportunities, and aligning a team with the organization’s goals are all elements of strategic thinking, reinforcing an environment of adaptability and agility. 
2. Self-Awareness – Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ, is vital for leaders who are self-aware and place value on understanding their own emotions, reactions, and motivations. This enables them to remain calm under pressure, navigate problems in the workplace, and display an authentic leadership style that resonates with the team and organization. For newly appointed leaders, self-awareness is especially valuable to establish genuine leadership, trust, and credibility among team members. 
3. Strong Communication - Communication between leaders and their team is essential. Leaders can leverage their strong communication skills to ensure their team is clear on expectations and goals for the organization. Honest communication can also drastically alter the dynamic of the team, creating an open environment where employees can feel comfortable being candid and sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. 

All three of these skills are valuable to all levels of leadership, ranging from a new, young leader to a tenured CEO who has been with the company for decades. Strategic thinking, self-awareness, and strong communication not only sets the team up for success, but enables leaders to be better adjusted to challenges they face in this new business climate.

When people feel meaningfully connected and psychologically safe at work, they bring their best ideas and effort to every challenge. The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety Workshop is a valuable opportunity for anyone who wants to set the stage for innovation and create a healthy and productive workplace. Psychological safety is suitable for any employee, executive, leader, manager or team—anyone who wants to move the dial on innovation, inclusion, appreciation of diversity, or to improve the culture at their organization.

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash