“Hey Sarge, what should we do next?”
I was surrounded by a herd of young Green Berets with no clue as to what I was doing.
I was a mere Army Bandsman – a trombone player without any leadership skills. My workdays usually consisted of going to band rehearsals, playing for change of command ceremonies, or marching in a parade.
The U.S. Army had developed a mandatory program for non-commissioned officers called the “Primary Leadership and Development Course”. So here I was at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, in what I considered rehashed basic training surrounded by experienced infantry and special forces troops.
I was in the hot seat because it was my turn to lead the group for the day.
I looked around at the lot of them and they could see the fear on my face.
My scrawny neck stuck out of my uniform like a turtle trying to exit its shell. A tall, muscular soldier walked up to me and placed his nose inches away from mine.
The herd closed in around us and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck. A slow grin creased his face as he leaned a little closer.
Softly the kid said, “Don’t worry Sarge, we’re all professionals here. We’ll get you through this.”
Suddenly, a wave of relief flooded through me as I realized I wasn’t going to be killed by a Rambo knife.
As it turned out, they were professional and guided me through the experience; I also learned a lot from working with them over the coming weeks.
But it was on that day that I decided to learn as much about leadership skills as I could because you never know when you’ll have to use them.
In this post, I’m going to unpack 4 elements that are important to dynamic, successful leaders and how you can start implementing them today. If you stick with me to the end you’ll understand what you need to do to start boosting your team’s productivity while increasing your bottom line. Not only that, but you’ll have the fundamental tools to help and inspire others who you work with.
So let’s get started.
Leadership Skill #1: Communicate On Their Level
Communication is not just a one-way street, especially when you’re in a business or management position. Effective leaders not only need to make good decisions but also listen to their crew.
In the military, you don’t have the luxury of time. People from different cultural, geographical, and economic backgrounds are all mixed on the fly and leaders have to turn them into a single-minded unit within a short time.
But in a business setting, communication is far more sensitive. Sometimes you have to speak in a voice that your coworkers can relate to.
For example, if you’re leading Millennials you’ll probably fare better if you can use catchphrases and slang which they know.
The reason this is important is that it’s easier to keep lines of communication open to them. People will be far more receptive to your messages if they identify and trust you.
You need to keep in mind that you are taking individuals and creating an environment they can enjoy and contribute to.
Listening and connecting to followers on a deeper level is important because it fosters collaboration which is vital to moving your organization closer to its goals.
Think about it, would you rather have one brain participating in the decision-making process or several?
Leadership Skill #2: Lead by Example to Gain Respect
This is one leadership skill that I feel passionate about. Good leaders lead by example. When I was in the military, nothing killed unit morale faster than upper-ranking leaders physically sitting on their authority.
As the Bible teaches us about leadership:
“…not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” – 1 Peter 5:1
You don’t expect a CEO to clean toilets, but a good one will be visibly working hard at what is happening in the organization.
A good leader knows how to demonstrate values, actions, and hardships that are relevant to the organization’s mission. In most cases, corporate leaders have already walked miles in the shoes of their subordinates.
Sam Walton of Walmart fame started as a clerk at a J.C. Penny’s store. And while he was building his Walmart chain, he put in 16 to 20 hour days every day of the year.
It wasn’t uncommon to see him running a cash register or stocking inventory when a store was short-handed, either.
“We’re all working together; that’s the secret.” – Sam Walton
Since their role is mission-critical, a leader’s expertise in directing and forging good decisions make their position valuable. This doesn’t mean that they kick back in a leather chair in a high rise office. They still have to keep track of their teams progress, innovate, and inspire continually.
Leadership Skill #3: Build Passion in Your Team
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. –Colossians 3:23
Leaders who build passion in their organizations have an edge over those who don’t.
If a leader can build a culture of excited staff members within their team, they won’t have to motivate them all of the time. Passionate people move under their own steam and are happy to contribute to the mission of the organization.
You can accomplish this is by expressing your vision in a way that their crew can almost see, feel, hear, and smell the desired outcome.
One of the reasons why passion is so mission-critical is that it decreases absenteeism and employee turnover while creating an impassioned workforce.
Creating a workplace that attracts top-notch employees who are fired up about your company’s objectives is the sweet spot for leaders. If you’re going to achieve big, significant gains at your company or business this is vital.
Communicating passion is a key leadership skill, and there are so many ways this can be done. Whether it’s an engaging meeting, an email of encouragement or an interoffice memo, good leaders will let their zeal shine through.
Leadership Skill #4: Upgrade and Practice Your Leadership Skills
As I learned the hard way, leadership skills are something you can acquire and sharpen. Many times managers and business leaders start to believe that they don’t need more training.
While you can practice leadership skills in the workplace, learning how to execute them correctly can be difficult.
The best way to learn them is by learning from an experienced trainer in a structured training program. Leadership skills training can teach leaders how to develop new business opportunities while finding new, innovative methods of developing and managing their subordinates.
To be a successful influencer with your team, you’ll need to continually upgrade your leadership skills. And not only should you do this for yourself but your staff needs it as well.
So it would be wise to train as a group. The reason why this is important is having talented and effective leaders on your team can catapult you and your organization into the success zone.
Developing leadership skills in yourself and your team is an investment in high performance and productivity for years to come.
And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
-2 Timothy 2:2
Author Bio: Mark Elmo Ellis writes compelling content and high conversion copy for entrepreneurs. Check out his blog at ElmoCopy and get a free copy of his 200+ page book, “Blog Profiting Secrets”. His newsletter and tutorials are sure to help you raise the bar on your own site’s content and help you take your business to the next level.
