Excellent leadership is key to the success of any organization. We look to our CEOs and Senior Leaders for those standout qualities; however, other team members can have excellent leadership skills too. A great way to identify this is by looking for examples within your own team. Have you ever noticed someone that is always organizing a get-together or an event outside the office? You may notice the same people organizing these every time. They are the ones that are always ready to lead the way. So how can you make sure there are leaders at every level?
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- Encourage leadership for all. You don’t always have to take on big projects yourself or leave influential roles to the highest level manager. Almost anyone can take on a project or help you with an initiative – obviously depending on the circumstances. Make sure to identify team members with the potential and desire to lead a project. It will help them grow in the long run!
- Provide direction. Communication is key when it comes to cultivating and supporting leaders. If you have team members that are encouraged to make operational changes through improving processes or policy, make sure you provide input. You’ll want those taking on projects to align with the company mission and values. Without direction, great ideas sometimes fizzle out and never make it to fruition.
- Be supportive. When you’re in a high-level position, most team members or leaders will come to you with their ideas for the sake of a “sanity check.” Don’t immediately tell them what to do because that may deflate them or cut off their creativity. Instead, guide them by asking open-ended questions to ensure they have clearly fleshed out the idea and have a clear direction.
- Hire leaders and role players. Bring on team members that have leadership qualities and potential. Make sure they also have the skills needed to get the job done. Hiring an individual that has both will help not only your team but your company as a whole.
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Providing others with the opportunity to lead or take the initiative can open up so many doors of creativity and success. By encouraging team members to take point on projects, you are helping them feel valued, and it reinforces that they are truly making a difference. One of the best ways to have a strong brand, company culture, and morale is through leadership at all levels.