In the previous part of this article, we’ve talked about only a portion of leadership skills any good top manager should have. This part is going to discuss such character traits as a good sense of humor, curiosity, the ability to negotiate and delegate authority. Let’s begin.
At first, it seems that there is nothing hard in negotiating and holding business talks. People meet, talk, drink coffee, show off and sign stacks of papers. This is how a typical negotiation is seen by an average jealous employee. A 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 the most important 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 is an abundance of books on the subject, with yearly and monthly meetings and training sessions held dedicated to this important skill. Don’t hesitate to visit these meetings and read a couple of books on the subject. Then even the most demanding and hectic negotiation will go as smooth as butter.
Curiosity is another important leadership trait of a professional boss. If you want your company to grow, you have to be curious in the positive sense of the word. We don’t say that you should be interested in the personal lives of your employees, be curious about who is dating who and where someone spent their vacation. We talk about another type of curiosity, inquisitiveness even. It's important that when you become a director, you don’t lose your spark and curiosity, be invested in learning about new technology in your industry, visit conferences, exchange experience with colleagues and march onward.
When working on a run-of-the-mill position, you become accustomed to doing all assignments by yourself. If you want to become a head of a company and learn how to effectively manage personnel, you have to learn how to delegate authority. Not only will it save you time but will allow adjusting company workflow as all employees will have something to do, feel appreciated and demanded. Many people fear when they have to distribute tasks among employees or give an important assignment to one of them. Understand that if you do this properly, a department or a business you run will work as a singular mechanism.
Any experienced director knows that one has to properly formulate assignments and follow them through. If you aimlessly run a business and chaotically make illogical decisions, nothing good will come out of it. A director with great leadership skills has to be balanced, calm and able to clearly formulate their own and company goals. Then employees will view him as a leader and will also strive to achieve the common goal. Objectives have to be understandable, clear and properly formulated. For example, the goal of “becoming the best in our industry” sounds vague. It is 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 are going understand what they have to do and will strive towards the thought after the result. Still, when you set a financial goal before your employees, don’t forget to reward them once it is achieved.
A sense of humor is another valuable leadership trait that characterizes a successful boss. However, this trait has one peculiarity – you can’t learn it. You are either born with a good sense of humor, or you aren’t. On a more serious note, we would like to point out that finding a company director with a good sense of humor is a rarity. You are very lucky if aside from all the above-mentioned qualities, you are also to make intelligent jokes and get jokes told by other people. We must admit that a sense of humor helps us in the most complicated and seemingly unsolvable situations, which you will inevitably encounter despite the position you are holding.
Living in the modern world makes it hard 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 are the head of a company and your mood, opinion or view on life influences the mood of all of your employees. Each time you come to work imagine that you are a captain of a huge ship. If you emanate negativity, you will become tense and irritated, your ship will sink or all sailors and chief engineers will run away while you are left alone in the rumbling business sea. If you don’t want this to happen, try looking for happiness in the little things and see the best in the world and your work.
We’ve kept the main leadership skill without which there is no point of agreeing to work at a top position for dessert. If you are uninspired by work you’ve dedicated your daily life too, you won’t be able to inspire employees towards new victories. Any first-class director must know how to inspire people, give them hope, motivate and uncover their potential. This skill can be easily mastered if you are truly in love with your work or are passionate about your business. If you are uninspired yourself, it is hard to foster the opposite feeling in someone else. That's why we advise finding work you love or the one that irritates you the less and brings 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!
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