How to Be a Better Leader

The new year is finally here, and we can now start taking action on all the goals we’ve planned for the upcoming 12 months. If you’re like most leaders, you experience unforeseen challenges ever year and want to do better this year.

So how do you become a better leader?

Keep reading for easy tips.

1. Invest in yourself.

Becoming a better leader starts with investing in yourself. This includes a healthy commitment to self-care and personal development, but in the office, it also means putting stock in valuable coaching and training. 

Spend some time researching topics that will help develop you as a leader, such as learning how to motivate a team, developing your leadership style, and even recent issues that include successful remote work. 

2. Invest in your team.

You are nothing without your team, so invest in them too! 

Give your employees the skills they need to constantly grow within your industry by supporting their development like you would your own. They’ll gain even more competence, confidence, and get to know others within your line of business as well! 

Investing in your team can also mean regular sync ups to develop a better relationship, delegating tasks to encourage independence, and better benefits and company perks when possible!

3. Lead by example.

As a leader, it’s vital to lead by example. How do you want your company culture to be? Represent that each and every day. Be clear about how you want your people to think about you! 

That means getting in the trenches with your team, taking ownership, and having tough conversations when necessary.

4. Be proactive instead of reactive.

While leaders usually can’t tell the future, learning to be proactive can go a long way when it comes to being a better leader.

Be proactive in your schedule so that your schedule doesn't run you. Be proactive in planning ahead so you are doing tasks TODAY to get you where you want to be LATER.

Rather than being reactive, being proactive can take a lot of stress out of leading, and it serves as an example to your team, too.

In what areas of your leadership could you be more proactive?

5. Be forward-thinking and visionary.

Much like training yourself to become proactive, being forward-thinking is an excellent way to lead better in the new year.

Rather than operating just in the here and now, spend time envisioning where you want your team to end up this year. How can you become a visionary, leading your team strong into the future?

Can you host more brainstorming sessions? Can you take inventory from staff and glean ideas about how to grow?

Great leaders are always looking towards the future.

6. Strive to be a better communicator.

One of the biggest lessons we all learned in 2020 was how important it was to communicate, especially with so much of the workforce moving remote.

Ask yourself, how can you strive to be a better communicator? Can you work on your response time? Can you listen more? Do you need to schedule time each day to touch base with your team?

Striving to be a better communicator will carry you into the next phase of being a better leader next year, and every year after that.

Which tip will you implement first? We want to offer you a free leadership course that you can complete on your own time and further develop as a leader.