Attitude Reflects Leadership

We have all, at some point in our lives, had a boss who was anything supportive and in fact, would rather do all of the work by themselves. If you did get the chance to actually put some of your skills to use, then they’d watch your every move and fix any minor mistake that you would make. Nine times out of ten, this type of “helicopter” controlling did not make you happy and as a result, you didn’t carry out your work to the maximum.

If you want to be a great commander in chief or leader, focus on the attitude that you have versus what you actually do. To be the best, you need to inspire, encourage excellence on a daily basis and try to bring out the best in everybody by helping your employees find their hidden talents. However, such leaders are not born, they are created. So, are you willing to learn about how to become an excellent one?

Pessimistic bosses bring employees down while inspiring leaders breathe life into a team

Have you ever had a horrible boss? Were they the ones who made getting out of bed that much more difficult every morning and made you want to head in the other direction on the way to work? Those kinds of managers may hold executive positions, but they are definitely far from holding the title of a leader.

Regardless of how skillful you are, you can’t accomplish great things without the support of others. As a result, not only do leaders of brands, corporations and groups need employees, but above all, they need employees that are just as driven towards success as they are. If you are inspired, then your employees will be as well.

Suppose your company works day and night to create an innovative software to make your item better. The road has been long and difficult, and at this point, your employee’s confidence is slowly dropping. In this scenario, a good leader would be optimistic regardless of the situation. This would remind the employees of how crucial a puzzle piece they are to the job and if you have a congratulatory party in the works for when they do successfully complete the task, then you will provide them with the necessary encouragement to keep persevering.

On the other hand, if you choose to complain about road blocks and grumble over how long the job is taking, then you’ll be deemed less of a leader in the eyes of your employees. As a result, your employees won’t be as encouraged and thus won’t work as well. To conclude, being an unmotivational leader is only disadvantageous. However, why do so many bleak bosses hold executive positions at companies?

A Gallup poll showed that the main reason that people quit their job was because of their horrible boss. The ones that do stay, though, often complain about how their not-so-great leaders don’t even try to engage with the team. In another poll, about 70 percent of employees in the United States felt detached from their position at work.

In today’s day in age, it is, sadly, difficult to find a great leader at a company.

Management and leadership are not to be confused. Managers measure; leaders inspire

The titles “manager” and “leader” are no longer synonymous. In the present-day workplace, management and leadership have very different meanings.

Management is like measurement because a manager needs the time and knowledge for knowing when change should be made in order to keep developing. Thus they need to keep tabs on their employees.

For example, suppose that the productivity of a company is decreasing. A poor manager would take into account how their employees come to work or the time and length of their lunch breaks. This, however, could only maybe help you pinpoint an issue, but it won’t help you figure out why.

A good manager, on the other hand, would be finding out the salaries of people who work for rivaling companies as well as the features on the computers and facilities in contrast to what is now trending. If you take this into account, then you can figure out where exactly an employee would like a change.

Therefore, if you are just looking after the progress of the employee’s what is the job of a leader? They need to inspire their employees to accomplish more. If you want the best combination, then have both a great manager and leader.

However, how do we find them?

Usually, a great leader or manager was once a superb employee. However, don’t get the two positions mixed because understanding how to inspire other people to work is a job in itself. You need experience, training and the right mind set.

The same can be said about great employees. They can’t become a great leader just because they got a promotion. Getting a new title such as “chief director” or “head” of something doesn’t automatically give you the leadership skills that you need.

Just like management, leadership is a skill. Or better yet, it could even be considered an art.

Great leaders stick to their guns when they make a decision

You don’t have leadership. What you do have, though, is time and opportunities to show that trait constantly. You just need to move and take advantage of it. A true leader is never afraid to compromise if that is the best road to take.

It’s no secret that you need to make your employees believe that their opinions and ideas are valuable. However, don’t forget that the ultimate decision is made by the leader. Definitely be open to new ideas, but listen to your heart if you truly believe that your method is the best one.

For example, suppose your company is creating a new hair dryer. After countless research, you’ve come to the conclusion that customers want one with a polished design and a stronger motor. However, a member of your company is insisting that an epilator is actually what you need. How do you react?

Well, you could have several meetings to make a compromise but the best way out of the situation is to stay with your initial idea. Since you are the leader, if you believe in your idea, don’t let critics block you. Let the success of your idea speak for itself in the future.

However, if, for example, your company opposes every one of your decisions, then you may be the problem, not them. If you don’t carry out decisions from the past, employees may find it difficult to trust you in the future.

Suppose you’ve just been made CEO. Obviously you’re excited and so the first thing that you do is shower your team with an inspirational and promising speech. However, with time, you still haven’t managed to stick to any of your promises. As a result, your employees don’t push themselves to the maximum. They don’t even do the easiest of tasks to their fullest potential. However, it makes perfect sense. Why would they keep following through with their tasks if you, yourself haven’t. If you, on the other hand, do show consistency in your work, your company will be there to help you along the way.

Lead your team well by listening, being honest and encouraging employees, even when they fail

Now, let’s go into detail about what “making your team members believe that their ideas are valuable” actually means.

If you want to be a good leader, then you need to be a good listener. That means that you don’t dismiss anything whether it be a good suggestion, a weird though, or just a plain old complaint. Leaders can only make the truly best decision having gotten all of the information that they need.

The best ideas may sometimes come from the most surprising places. You’d be surprised with how many great ideas your employees actually have to offer. The bad part, though, is that often times, you can’t give them the credit that they deserve which is definitely one of the harder parts of being a leader. Leaders often have no choice but to take the idea as their own which in fact, is very exploitative. However, if you respect, believe in, and give your employees a good compensation for their idea, then they’ll compromise. Honesty is the best policy.

Leaders who know how to address issues will also earn the respect of their team. You can’t do so in a harsh manner, such as blaming or pressuring employees. That should be your last resort because that would only discourage them.

So how do you properly deliver criticism?

If you focus on the improvement as a whole and the constant growth of your employees skills in your company, then you will make your job as a leader a little easier because you will have given yourself the proper tools to talk to your valued employee when they make a mistake.

Instead of criticizing, make sure that as a whole, your employees and the entire company learn from the mistake. If you treat them with respect, they will most likely be more encouraged to work better than before.

A leader’s attitude determines the attitude of the team she creates

A big part of your employee’s work life deals with the leadership. For example, recognizing leadership potential is very important when you are hiring new staff. If you want to find those who will provide your company with the support that it needs, you’ll need to keep a look out for those with a good attitude. However, first you, yourself needs to be the bearer of the perfect attitude. If you’ll be hiring people with the thought of only needing them for a short period of time, you will make them only interested in their paycheck. If you, on the other hand, want someone who will really give their work their all, then you need to look at it with the mindset that you would never even think about replacing them.

The questions that you ask are very crucial in the decision making process. Try out different kinds of questions that show how the person would work or perform their tasks. Give them more difficult hypothetical problems so that you can really understand how they go about their work. Quicker than you may think, you’ll find someone with an attitude very similar to your own.

You also need the right attitude when it comes to rewarding your staff because first and foremost, incentives and rewards are two very different concepts.

Incentives help employees perform better while rewards are only given after a good performance. Giving a bonus for finishing a task earlier than needed is an incentive to get staff to be motivated instead of with your leadership skills. A reward to finishing it faster, on the other hand, is something that is earned, or even a surprise.

Keeping this in mind, you will have the knowledge to take your leadership skills up a notch. All you need to do is prove that you have that attitude of a great leader. Your employees will acknowledge and appreciate it as well.

Final Summary

Too often is leadership confused with management. Leaders that aren’t good are not optimistic

and don’t know how to properly motivate their staff. On the contrary, a good leader doesn’t doubt their decisions, listens, is into open communication and most of all, has a positive attitude.

Practical advice:

It’s okay to be selfish.

It’s no secret that is a business is not a walk in the park. Being a leader means that you need to make challenging decisions. If the decision that you are making depends on something that will be beneficial to the business versus one that will appeal to your employees, never choose the latter. Your business should always be the first priority. If you have explained your choice but you still can’t get everyone to agree, then you’ll just have to put yourself first and continue on with your plan.