Powered by
 
 Register now

How to Unleash Your Leadership Potential

1619 words · Reading time: 8 minutes
https://old.convertingteam.com/blog/images/LeaderLion.png

If you’re thinking about expanding your affiliate business then you’re probably wondering if you have what it takes to be a team leader. Leadership can be challenging, especially when things go wrong. We’re here to give you a few simple tips to make sure you are making the most out of your team by helping you unleash your leadership potential.

Contrary to popular belief, people are not born leaders. Some people may like to take charge but this doesn’t qualify them to be great leaders. There are many attributes which leaders need in order to be successful and, more often than not, they come from the traits more commonly associated with followers.

Can I learn to lead?

Anyone can learn to be a leader, but there are some who are more likely to succeed than others. Take a look at these descriptions below and see if they apply to you:

  • A strong desire to always be top dog?
  • Love being the centre of attention?
  • Believe that when you walk into a room you should command respect?
  • You don’t let people stand in your way?
  • Need to be surrounded by people who hang on your every word?

If you answered yes to any of the above then congratulations, you’ve won a one way ticket to the bottom. If, however, you are the polar opposite of the descriptions above then you are ready to start unleashing your inner leader.

What are great leadership qualities?

image

Great leaders are people whom you feel you can turn to when you need help. Someone who won’t attack you for speaking your mind, yet also won’t be afraid to tell you when you step out of line. A great leader is also someone who will get the most out of their employees by ensuring that they want to work, rather than making them fear consequences if they don’t.

Most of us have come across people who are bossy and working under such a person can be a nightmare, however, rest assured, it isn’t/wasn’t your fault. Quite often bossiness gets confused with competence and the wrong person rises to the top. It happens all too often, but you shouldn’t let that put you off being a leader yourself. If you don’t have the characteristics of an overbearing boss then you are in a good position.

It’s easier than you think

One of the problems a lot of ‘bossy’ bosses have is that they fear people undermining their authority and toppling them from their tower. This is often a characteristic of bosses who don’t have a firm grasp of what their job entails and therefore they cling to the only thing they have, which is the job itself, rather than actually focussing on carrying out the job specifics. This is more often the case of middle management, but it can affect people higher up too. If you’ve ever found yourself under one of these people then you’ll know all too well how soul destroying it can be. That’s why we want to show you that it doesn’t have to be like that.

One of the worst things you can do with power is to exercise it to rule over your employees. That’s not what it’s there for. Leaders should use their powers in order to benefit the company. It’s a scary thought but, as a leader, you have genuine authority to change someone else’s life, for better or for worse. Once you realise that you can change people’s lives for the better, that’s exactly what you should start doing.

Remember, the world of business is dog eat dog, but that shouldn’t breed infighting within your company. You should treat your employees as your pack. The rule then is, don’t eat your own pack. The stronger they are the stronger you are.

If you notice that one of your employees is underperforming should you:

A: Eat him/her? B: Ask them about their day and make sure everything is ok? Tell them you are worried because their performance has slipped and ask if there is anything you can do to help them?

The answer there should be fairly obvious, but I’ve met bosses who will go for A every time.

You may think that asking if they need help is the wrong thing to do, after all, you employed them to do the job and now they can’t do it. That’s one way of looking at it, but it’s a bit short-sighted. Another angle is, maybe you gave them too much to do or didn’t explain their task clearly enough. Imagine that they had worked under a bossy boss before coming to your company. They may be afraid of admitting that something is beyond their ability or that they don’t understand something. The first thing you want is for your employee’s to be open and honest with you. That way, when problems arise, they can quickly be taken care of. This means being open yourself. Being a leader doesn’t mean frightening your employee’s into submission, but rather being someone they can turn to for advice and help when things aren’t going well.

Should you be friends with your employees?

Quite often people give a definitive no to this answer under the misguided belief that the minute the line is blurred between friend and employee then the employee has the advantage. That’s simply not true. There are many great working relationships which mix the two factors together and befriending the people who work for you means that you can then truly gain their trust. If you bring your employee’s closer into your circle then they can understand more about the company and learn about how you lead. They will more likely focus more on the business and ensuring it grows than they did previously.

Don’t fear people trying to undermine your authority or usurp your position. The truth is, whilst there may be extra money involved, most people don’t want the responsibility that comes with running a business and there’s nothing wrong with employee’s feeling like they have a share in the company’s future. In fact, that’s exactly what you want them to have. If you measure your employees’ successes against the company and ensure that when the company does well your employee’s do well then you will see their motivation and morale increase exponentially. Remember, everyone likes success, so if you can balance those two things then your well on your way to creating a great work environment.

What if things go wrong?

This isn’t so much of a question of if but rather when. Things will go wrong, and this will be the time when you need to show authority. The chances are that if you have already followed the previous advice, then you will be in a position where you are no longer afraid to be honest with those around you. The ability to talk openly has to go both ways, and it will help you when you’re in a jam. If cutbacks need to be made then, if you have been open about the shape of the company’s position and future outlook, the chances are that if you have to let somebody go, it won’t come as a nasty surprise. It may not be pleasant but it will be a lot easier than if they’ve been left in the dark. You could even go as far as to help them in order to make the transition more smooth for them. Who knows, you may even be able to get them back on board when things pick up.

You and your employees will make mistakes! Mistakes are not things to be punished but rather life lessons. As a leader, you have a choice. Either accept the mistake and understand it so it doesn’t happen next time, or punish the person who made it so you don’t find out about the mistake until it’s too late. Again, this is a fairly easy choice. There is a third way of looking at mistakes, which is probably the best solution and that’s to not really view them as mistakes at all.

When you first start out you need to learn what works and what doesn’t. Your employees are no different, therefore, it is important you give them the room and power to discover what works and what doesn’t.

‘Mistakes, obviously, show us what needs improving. Without mistakes, how would we know what we had to work on?’
- Peter McWilliams

Mistakes are really just tests which don’t work, and with each one you can get a better understanding of what does. By giving your employees the space to discover this for themselves, they may be able to make breakthroughs that you had never before considered. Not only that, but they will also feel that they are far more valuable to the company as a whole.

Everyone likes to have control over their own work, and you should remember this when delegating positions. If there is an area of your business that you don’t want to lose control over, then don’t delegate its handling to someone else. Otherwise, once you have delegated a position, don’t attempt to micromanage it. Give the people around you the benefit of the doubt and, providing a decision isn’t make or break for your company, allow your employees to make some decisions even if you disagree with them. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If you’re thinking of building a team but not sure how to begin, check out our articles on How to Build Your Dream Team and The Ins and Outs of Outsourcing or, if you want to join one of the fastest growing affiliate networks in the world, Click Here to register with ConvertingTeam today.

Finished reading?
Then it’s time to make some money.

Register with Converting Team today and we’ll show you how.

Register now

Or click the share button below to spread the word.