What are the top five leadership skills in business management?

Becky Leighton

Posted: July 16, 2019

Table of Contents

top leadership skills

Leading effectively requires more skill than simply being able to give instruction. To lead a team into success with excellent, essential skills are needed to inspire, cast a vision, and motivate. With the right leadership, staff members are inclined to work harder because they feel as though they want to achieve. Learning leadership skills takes time and practice but makes the world’s difference in managing and looking after a team.

Confident

“Self-confidence is the memory of success.” – David Storey

If you are confident as a leader, your team is much more likely to want to follow your instructions. This means being decisive and self-assured in the decisions you make. Showing confidence can start by being assertive without being pushy. Fundamentally, it means respecting your decisions enough to stand by them.

Don’t mistake arrogance for confidence. Rather than showing off, simply show that you back yourself in what you have said and your team will want to back you too.

Creative

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

Standing out from the crowd means doing something different. Being creative and striving to find innovation despite the patterns of everyday life is a key part of leadership. It requires creativity to inspire others to think differently which leads to achieving goals in more effective – and exciting – ways. Thinking out of the box could turn the box into an entire new project which could spark something great. With creativity comes a little risk, and a little risk could lead to a high reward.

Honest and integrous

“Honesty and integrity are absolutely essential for success in life – all areas of life. The really good news is that anyone can develop both honesty and integrity.”  – Zig Ziglar

Anyone appreciates being told the truth; it means that you can trust that what is said is honest. In a team, this is no different. For leaders to be trusted by their team members, there needs to be a culture of honesty and integrity. At the same time, leaders should expect and appreciate the truth from their staff to increase the culture of honesty. This means it is important to practice the skill of being approachable and accessible and patient with your team, so that when someone says something you might not agree with, you react with diplomacy and not emotion.

Communicative

“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” – Paul J Meyers

Team members need inspiration, but they also need direction. Being able to communicate the goals, objectives, and vision of the company to your staff is a crucial skill in being an excellent leader. If a staff member does not understand what they are meant to be doing, it is up to the leader to clarify so that work can be done efficiently. The ability to use the right words is vital in business and can motivate someone to go far beyond what they might have thought possible. Achievement comes from good communication and good communication should come from the leader.

Inspirational

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Work should not be a daily chore for any employee. It should be a way to achieve and find satisfaction in their vocation. An inspired employee usually is better at taking initiative and going the extra mile because they want to see the company succeed. The leader is in place to inspire them to reach more and go further. If leaders can maintain good motivation in a team, then they are doing a good job and are helping them, which ultimately helps the business. 

How do I become a better leader?

Practice is always an excellent way to develop any leadership skills. This can happen actively in everyday situation. Taking a short course is also an excellent way to gain an understanding of what is needed to flourish as a leader and learning those skills becomes an easier task. After learning what is necessary, it is important to take advantage of any opportunity you have to hone the skills, in the small acts and interactions to big, company-making decisions.

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