5 Surefire Ways to Become a Better, More Effective Leader

This article comes from Entrepreneur.

5 Surefire Ways to Become a Better, More Effective Leader

What can entrepreneurs do to become better leaders themselves? It’s a question I often ask myself as an enterprise marketing leader who heads teams of 30 or more and manages multimillion-dollar budgets. Here’s what I’ve learned in just a few years on the job:

1. Give credit where credit is due.

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled. They will say: We did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu

In a 2019 study by BambooHR, more than 1,000 U.S.-based employees were asked to rate 24 potentially “bad” boss behaviors, on a scale from “totally acceptable” to “totally unacceptable.”’ The results were predictable:

• 57 percent said that a boss taking credit for other people’s work is unacceptable
• 44 percent admitted that a bad boss was the primary reason they’d left a job
• 30 percent agreed that a boss with a bad temper or condescending attitude was the last straw

Unfortunately, none of this is surprising. Many workplaces have toxic cultures that do not foster trust or collaboration but run instead on a kind of Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest model.

2. Serve as a mentor and build people up.

“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Why do so many bad managers take credit for other people’s hard work? Because one of the most common traits of bad managers is that they have me-first mentalities. Leadership for them is little more than a means to an end — more prestige and a higher salary.

Some might argue that those rewards are fine motivations for leadership. But most of us would disagree. We know from our personal experiences with great parents, teachers, coaches and mentors that great leaders lead because they care about improving the lives of those around them.

3. Innovate and commit to a vision.

“Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” – Steve Jobs

Bad managers love to point out that great leaders like Jobs aren’t always nice to their teammates. Fair point … except that Jobs was always the MVP at his companies, which more than made up for his mean disposition.

Jobs was also always willing to put in the work and commit to his daring and innovative vision. This made him an effective and inspiring leader despite his often mean and manipulative behavior toward his employees.

4. Be digitally aware

“If your customer base is aging with you, then eventually you are going to become obsolete or irrelevant. You need to be constantly figuring out who are your new customers and what are you doing to stay forever young.” – Jeff Bezos

Speaking of innovative leadership, it’s not possible to be an innovative leader in the 21st century unless you’re also digitally savvy.

A study by DDI found that digital leadership skills are becoming increasingly important in the 21st century. In fact, companies that have the most digitally capable leaders financially outperform the average by 50 percent.

Is technological awareness limited to younger generations of leaders? Not necessarily. Recognizing the role of technology in the success of your company is an attitude, first; a skill set, second.

5. Learn from leaders you admire.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy

The general belief is that leadership is “intangible,” an “it” factor that some talented individuals have, and most people just don’t. Of course, this is a myth. Leadership, like any other skill, is something that can be practiced and perfected.

Will some people be naturally better leaders than others? Sure. But there are so many successful leadership coaches like Tony Robbins for a reason. Anyone can become a better leader with hard work and persistence.

One of the best ways to learn the skills you need to be a better leader is to model your leadership style on great leaders you admire.

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