When you think of “leadership” what comes to mind? The truth is that the word, like so many, means different things to different people. Some see leaders as supportive, others see them as domineering. Some see leaders as skilled public speakers, others think of them as great listeners. While we all have our own vision of what leadership, particularly good leadership, looks like, there is a generally accepted set of skills that anyone who is, or aspires to be, a leader needs to master.

• Communication Skills. If there is one skill that makes or breaks effective leadership, it’s communication skills. It is simply at the heart of everything in business. Giving and receiving feedback? Communication. Handling a disgruntled employee or client? Communication. Giving a presentation to a board or set of investors? Communication. Without adeptly conveying thoughts and ideas, initiatives are for naught and influence is almost impossible. You may have the best ideas in the world, but they require clear, concise communication to make them a reality. 

• Emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman first coined this term in the 1960’s to encompass an individual’s ability to process, perceive, control and ultimately evaluate emotions. What makes this important for the workplace? It hones in on the importance of people and relationships to business. Mastering emotional intelligence serves to build trust, respect, and understanding among stakeholders to support influence, accountability, motivation, and buy-in.

• Accountability. This is two sides of the same coin. Not only must you hold yourself accountable to your word but you must also do the same for your team and employees. How does someone do this? There is, of course, no one size fits all solution. The key here is to tap into motivation. What motivates you? What motivates each person on your team? Understanding that is the first step to empowering your people to do what they say and say what they do. 

• Conflict Resolution. Like they say, the only things that are certain are death and taxes. I would add to that: conflict. Business is ripe with opportunity for conflict and very rarely can anyone avoid it. It can rear its head in many ways, with an employee unhappy with compensation, a client who received a late shipment or subpar product, or a prospect or partner who will not budge in a contract negotiation. Perhaps you’re unhappy with a service provider and the work they’ve completed. Whether its disgruntled employees, dissatisfied clients, or unhappy investors, being able to build consensus among disagreeing parties and forging a path forward toward progress is critical to the performance of any leader.

• Decision Making. As Shakespeare said, “heavy is the head that wears the crown”. Why? Because leaders are responsible for making decisions and ultimately determining how an organization executes on a vision. Not only does leadership require comfort with decision making, it also requires comfort with sometimes making decisions with little to no information. A leader must rely on information from the team and be able to determine what variables and factors are most important to make key strategic, and tactical, decisions.

• Goal Setting. An organization without goals is aimless. It’s like using Waze or Google Maps without inputting a destination. A leader must clearly define and articulate where an organization is going before they can start down the road of execution. Otherwise, progress is likely futile.

• Adaptability. While strategic planning is critical to success, things inevitably veer off track along the road to execution. This is where the concept of “flexible structure” comes in. “Flexible structure” allows for a plan for execution while allowing the flexibility of changing course when new information, data, or inputs arise that throw the initial plan into question. 

• Delegation. Many leaders find delegation to be among the most difficult skills to master. Why? Because high achievers typically like having control over work product. The fact remains, ascending in any organization requires you to both have the time to take on new strategic responsibilities and train someone else to take on your current tasks. Letting go, and delegating, is critical to propelling your career forward as well as building accountability and empowerment across an organization. 
  

If you aspire to a leadership position, or currently find yourself in one, master these skills to navigate the workplace, business and your career with more ease and less angst. If you’d like to explore how to sharpen these skills and refine your performance and leadership capacity, please reach out to learn how Jaclyn Beck Consulting could help you and your organization.