Main leadership skills for top managers. Continuation

In the previous part of this article, we’ve talked about just a portion of the leadership skills any good top manager should have. This part is going to discuss character traits like a good sense of humour, curiosity, and the ability to negotiate and delegate authority. Let’s get started.

The ability to negotiate

At first, it seems that there’s nothing hard about negotiating and holding business talks. People meet, chat, drink coffee, show off, and sign stacks of papers. That’s how a typical negotiation is seen by an average envious employee. Few people know that holding negotiations is one of the main leadership skills. The most important issues are discussed, multi-million dollar deals are signed, and critical decisions are made during these talks and business meetings. That’s why one must never underestimate the value of proper negotiation skills. By the way, there are plenty of books on the subject, with yearly and monthly meetings and training sessions dedicated to this crucial skill. Don’t hesitate to attend these meetings and read a couple of books on the subject. Then, even the most demanding and hectic negotiation will go as smoothly as butter.

Curiosity

Curiosity is another crucial leadership trait of a professional boss. If you want your company to grow, you have to be curious in a positive sense. We’re not saying you should be interested in the personal lives of your employees, or about who’s dating who and where someone went on holiday. We’re talking about another type of curiosity, maybe even inquisitiveness. It’s important that when you become a director, you don’t lose your spark and curiosity, remain interested in learning about new technology in your industry, attend conferences, exchange experiences with colleagues, and keep moving forward.

The ability to delegate authority

When working in a run-of-the-mill position, you get used to doing all the tasks yourself. If you aspire to become the head of a company and learn to manage personnel effectively, you have to learn how to delegate authority. Not only will this save you time, but it will also allow you to adjust the company workflow as all employees will have something to do, making them feel valued and needed. Many people fear distributing tasks among employees or giving important assignments to one of them. Understand that if done correctly, a department or business you manage will function like a well-oiled machine.

The ability to set goals and achieve them

Any experienced director knows one must properly formulate assignments and see them through. If you run a business aimlessly and make illogical decisions chaotically, nothing good will come of it. A director with great leadership skills must be balanced, calm, and able to clearly outline their personal and company goals. Then employees will see them as a leader and also strive to achieve the common goal. Objectives have to be understandable, clear, and well articulated. For example, the goal of becoming the best in our industry sounds vague. It’s also unclear why people should strive to achieve it. If you set a goal for your employees that sounds something like, "In the coming year, our income should be double the income of the previous year," they’ll understand what they have to do and strive for that desired result. Still, when you set a financial goal for your employees, don’t forget to reward them once it's achieved.

A good sense of humour

A sense of humour is another valuable leadership trait that characterizes a successful boss. However, this trait has a peculiarity – you can’t learn it. You’re either born with a good sense of humour, or you aren’t. On a more serious note, we have to point out that finding a company director with a good sense of humour is rare. You’re very fortunate if, aside from all the above-mentioned qualities, you’re also able to make intelligent jokes and appreciate jokes told by others. We must admit that a sense of humour helps us in the most complicated and seemingly unsolvable situations, which you will inevitably encounter despite the position you hold.

A positive outlook on life

Living in today's world makes it challenging to maintain a positive outlook on life and the world in general. If you wish to become a truly successful company director, you absolutely must look at things in the most positive way possible. You have to understand that you’re the head of a company, and your mood, opinion, or outlook on life influences the mood of all your employees. Each time you attend work, imagine you’re the captain of a massive ship. If you emanate negativity, you’ll become tense and irritable, your ship will sink, or all sailors and chief engineers will abandon ship, while you're left alone in the turbulent business sea. If you don’t want this to happen, try finding happiness in the little things and see the best in the world and your work.

Inspiration skills

We’ve left the main leadership skill, without which there’s no point agreeing to work in a top position, for last. If you are uninspired by the work you’ve committed your daily life to, you won’t be able to inspire employees towards new victories. Any top-notch director must know how to inspire people, give them hope, motivate, and unlock their potential. This skill is easy to hone if you’re genuinely in love with your work or are passionate about your business. If you’re uninspired yourself, it’s hard to cultivate the opposite feeling in someone else. That’s why we advise finding work you love or one that irritates you the least while providing a good income.

Should you master all of these skills, the road to a promotion will be an easy one. Strive, learn, dare, and always improve yourself!