Leadership can make or break a team's success.
So how do we lead and lead well?
My name's Jen, and I'm a career coach
at Indeed with over 10 years of career services experience.
Today, I want to share some guidance
to help you identify your strengths and areas of growth
as a leader and how to evaluate the best leadership
style for your workplace.
I'll also touch on specific behaviors
you can cultivate to be a good leader and opportunities
that can allow you to more formally develop
your leadership knowledge and skills.
Be sure to stick around to the end, where
I'll share my tips on how to display leadership
skills on your resume.
You don't want to miss this.
First, let's define what leadership looks like at work.
A leader can be someone who's been formally
appointed to guide a team, project, or department,
or they can be somebody who simply sees a need
and steps in to deliver the desired results,
often helping others do the same.
If we think about leadership as a skill set,
it would be the ability to inspire
others to pursue a goal while offering
support in the process.
Often, showing natural or unprompted leadership skills
leads to more opportunities for you to lead formally.
So how can you become a good leader at work?
Let's talk about four important steps
you can take to improve your leadership
skills in the workplace.
Step one, identify leadership skills
that you may already possess as well as
ones that you want to develop.
Here are some essential leadership
skills and examples of what they might look like at work.
Communication-- this can look like inviting others
to voice their suggestions and ideas,
engaging in active listening, and encouraging
consensus and a shared vision.
Team building-- now, this can look
like encouraging collaboration among team members,
creating opportunities for people to learn and grow,
and modeling the behavior that you hope others will embody.
Problem solving-- this can look like advocating
for what your team needs to succeed,
removing obstacles to your group's success,
and identifying resources and systems
that work well for everyone.
Emotional intelligence-- this can
look like building trust and rapport,
being available to your team, demonstrating self-awareness
and empathy, and cultivating inclusion, trust, and respect.
One thing to note here--
we often think of leaders as standout contributors or maybe
even somebody with a lot of charisma.
While that can be the case, often strong leadership skills
require a willingness to see another's point of view
and a desire to understand a team's collective needs
and challenges.
The characteristic behaviors of leaders that I mentioned--
active listening, soliciting ideas,
and empowering individuals with resources and support--
can enable your team to do its best work.
Think about that list of leadership skills
as well as leadership skills you may have seen
and people you admire.
The first step to improving is to identify
your areas of growth.
What leadership skills do you possess,
and where can you focus your effort?
Now, before I move on to the next tip,
is this video helpful?
Let us know by liking and subscribing below.
All right, next step.
Step two, once you've identified your leadership strengths
and weaknesses, think about the larger context
of what it means to be an effective leader
at your workplace.
Consider the needs of your specific team and industry.
Different leadership styles are more
effective in certain environments,
and I'll give you a quick overview now.
Coach-- this supportive hands-on style
focuses on offering guidance instead of commands.
And it might be best suited for a smaller team where
personal growth is valued.
Due to its one-on-one nature, it may not
be well-suited for fast paced environments.
Visionary-- this future-focused aspirational style
helps that a team's direction, trajectory, and sense of unity.
Due to its big picture focus, it may not
be ideal for a team that requires a lot of supervision
or feedback on details.
Servant-- this people-focused collaborative leadership style
empowers teams to re-engage with their work,
and it can help to build morale.
Due to the demanding nature for advocating for all team
members, servant leaders may find themselves burned out
if managing a large team.
Autocratic-- this results-driven, structured
leadership style emphasizes for rapid, efficient decision
making and a high level of supervision.
Due to its emphasis on preserving a leader's power,
it may not be well-suited for collaborative or highly
creative teams.
Democratic-- this flexible leadership style
focuses on group discussion and unification
prior to decision making and can lead to higher employee
satisfaction and engagement.
Due to its emphasis on community buy-in,
it may not be well suited for a fast-moving environment
or for very large teams.
If you'd like to learn more about these leadership styles,
check out Top Eight Leadership Styles in Management
for a deeper dive.
Let's move on to step number three.
Once you've identified your leadership
skills and the leadership style best suited
for success at your company, put that information
to use by identifying ways to lead at work.
Offer to train a new staff member or peer.
Encourage them to learn and expand
their skill set to be of greater value to the organization.
Take a lead role on a work project
and guide the project team to the desired goal
while delivering results on time and on budget.
Step up to join a committee task force, or work group.
This offers opportunities to work in partnership with peers
while developing respect and rapport.
Facilitate conversations, brainstorming sessions,
and innovative approaches to overcome obstacles
and challenges at work.
This can send a strong message of leadership
to your coworkers and management.
Become a mentor through informal collaborations
or formal mentoring programs.
Remember that leaders willingly share their knowledge, skills,
and resources to encourage others, benefit the team,
and enhance the culture.
Lead by example.
Show your peers in management that you continually
embrace professional development, like conferences,
seminars, webinars, and workshops, all to learn,
grow, and contribute to the organization.
If you don't see a way to take these steps or having
a hard time identifying the way to lead at work, that's OK.
Remember that leadership manifests
when you're solving a problem or cultivating an opportunity.
Just look for ways to remove barriers
and create benefits when possible.
Finally, embrace a growth mindset
and look for ways to learn.
Explore degree programs or professional development
courses to enhance your leadership credentials
and skills.
These can include for a college student,
talking to an advisor about leadership development courses
that you can select as part of your degree plan.
Some universities offer a minor or undergraduate certificate
in leadership that can be completed as part
of a bachelor's degree program.
If you're considering grad school,
look for a graduate certificate or master's degree
in leadership.
Often, a completed graduate certificate
of 12 to 15 credit hours can later
be applied to a full master's degree program.
If you're mid-career, think about joining
one or more professional associations that
represent your discipline or sector in the workforce.
These memberships often have seminars, webinars, workshops,
boot camps, or even conferences on select topics
including leadership.
And also, professional associations often
endorse or offer professional certifications
that can allow you to demonstrate expertise
in your industry or field.
These associations can also offer opportunities
to serve in a leadership role on either a committee
or the executive board at the state, regional,
or national level.
By participating in an annual professional development
offering, earning a professional certification,
or serving on an association's committee or board,
you're leading the way for your peers.
And keep in mind that professional development
activities in the form of online courses
don't have to carry a big price tag.
In fact, a simple internet search
for online professional development courses
will point you to several popular trusted providers
of short courses on targeted subjects like leadership
development.
And don't forget about the low cost or free Massive Open
Online Courses, also called MOOCs,
that are offered by prominent colleges and universities.
These often contain several modules
of weekly or self-paced learning material
and a certificate of completion carrying the university's name.
Now, listen carefully here.
As you're doing all of this work to demonstrate and communicate
your ability to be a leader at work,
be sure that you're promoting all of your efforts.
List of your accomplishments such as successfully
led teams and projects as bullet points
under each professional experience on your resume.
Be sure to mention concrete details,
like the number of people that you led
or the results that your team achieved in order
to give an employer a deep sense of your experience.
And remember to add any formal learning program,
like a degree, certificate, or professional development
activity to your resume and your online professional profiles.
You're going to list degrees under the Education
heading and activities through professional associations
under a separate heading called Professional Affiliations
and Development Activity.
And you don't have to wait until the degree or the activity
is completed to include this information on your resume.
Simply include a statement such as in-process
or expected date of completion and then the date.
So there you have it.
As a recap, consider four crucial areas
when focusing on being a good leader at work.
First, identify informal and formal activities
to demonstrate and grow leadership behaviors
and skills.
Second, seek out input from peers and managers
on desirable leadership styles to adopt
and to model at your workplace.
Third, explore ways to step up and grow as a leader at work.
And fourth, pursue learning like degree programs
or professional development courses
to add leadership credentials and skills to your resume
or your professional profile.
Here's some final advice.
Each time you complete a learning activity focused
on leadership, show your employer
that you're an emerging leader through applying
your new skills to any work assignments.
And be sure to include your leadership-based learning
and accomplishments on your resume
and your online professional profiles.
Now, if you found this video helpful,
please hit the like button down below.
Subscribe to our channel right here.
And for more tips on interviewing,
I recommend checking out this playlist
or watching our video on how to improve communication
in the workplace that you can find right here.
Thank you so much for watching, and we'll see you next time.