In the previous section of this article, we’ve discussed only a portion of leadership skills any good top manager should possess. This section is going to cover traits such as a good sense of humour, curiosity, and the ability to negotiate and delegate authority. Let’s begin.
The ability to negotiate
At first, it seems there is nothing difficult in negotiating and conducting business discussions. People meet, talk, have coffee, show off, and sign stacks of papers. This is how ordinary negotiations are perceived by an average envious employee. Few people know that conducting negotiations is one of the main leadership skills. The most significant issues are discussed, multi-million pound deals are signed, and key decisions are made during these discussions and business meetings. That’s why one must never underestimate the value of proper negotiation skills. Incidentally, there is an abundance of books on the subject, with annual and monthly meetings and training sessions dedicated to this crucial skill. Don’t hesitate to attend these meetings and read a couple of books on the subject. Then, even the most demanding and hectic negotiation will go as smoothly as butter.
Curiosity
Curiosity is another important leadership trait of a professional boss. If you want your company to grow, you must be curious in the positive sense of the word. We’re not suggesting that you should be interested in the personal lives of your employees, such as who’s dating whom or where someone spent their holiday. We mean another type of curiosity, inquisitiveness even. It’s vital that when you become a director, you don’t lose your spark and curiosity, be invested in learning about new technology in your industry, attend conferences, exchange experiences with colleagues, and march onward.
The ability to delegate authority
When working in an ordinary position, you become accustomed to completing all assignments yourself. If you wish to become the head of a company and manage personnel effectively, you need to learn how to delegate authority. Not only will it save you time, but it will also allow you to adjust the company workflow as all employees will have something to do, and they will feel appreciated and valued. Many people fear distributing tasks among employees or entrusting important assignments to one of them. Understand that if you do this properly, a department or a business you run will operate like a singular mechanism.
The ability to set goals and achieve them
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 good sense of humour
A sense of humour is another valuable leadership trait that characterises a successful boss. However, this trait has a peculiarity – you can’t learn it. You are either born with a good sense of humour, or you’re not. On a more serious note, we would like to point out that finding a company director with a good sense of humour is rare. You are very lucky if, aside from all the above-mentioned qualities, you can also make intelligent jokes and get jokes told by others. We must admit that a sense of humour helps us in the most complicated and seemingly unsolvable situations, which you will inevitably encounter despite the position you hold.
A positive outlook on life
Living in the modern world makes it difficult 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 view things in the most positive way possible. You need to understand that you are the head of a company and your mood, opinion, or view on life influences the mood of all your employees. Each time you come to work, imagine that you are the 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 turbulent business sea. If you don’t want this to happen, try finding happiness in little things and see the best in the world and your work.
Inspiration skills
We’ve saved the main leadership skill, without which there is no point in agreeing to take on a top position, for last. If you are uninspired by work you’ve devoted your daily life to, you won’t be able to inspire employees to new victories. Any first-class director must know how to inspire people, give them hope, motivate them, and uncover their potential. This skill can be easily mastered if you are truly in love with your work or 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 that least irritates you and provides a good income.
Should you master all these skills, the road to a promotion will be an easy one. Strive, learn, dare, and always improve yourself!
