Lead the Way You Would Like to be Led

Why is it that some leaders have no problem gaining compliance from those he or she is trying to lead and some leaders have such difficulties? What leadership skills are necessary for successfully leading a team?

The answer to these questions will bring a plethora of thoughts and ideas to your head as to what kind of skills and competencies are necessary for a leader to accomplish all that he or she is set out to accomplish, but right now I’d like to focus on one particular skill that pertains to this topic.

I would like to bring to your attention the importance of developing relationships as an effective leadership skill. Not just developing relationships with a select group of people you work with but all those who are around you in your respective organization: supervisors, subordinates, managers, peers, etc…

In order to lead to the best of your abilities you must be able to see things from both sides of the table; the leader AND the follower. Put yourself in both pairs of shoes.

Now I am not saying that as long as you develop relationships you will be the greatest leader of all time. This is certainly not true. There are many other proficiencies that one must master in order to lead to his or her potential.

Let’s look at supervisor leadership for a second.

Think about a situation where you have worked for someone who did not respect you and never bothered to develop a personal relationship with you. Now think about a time when you have worked for a someone who had great interpersonal skills and treated you as an absolute equal, through fair treatment and respect as an employee. Compare the two separate feelings you got when thinking about these situations.

In which situation do you find yourself working harder to achieve goals?

I want you to take away one simple thing from all of this:

Effective leaders act as mentors who develop strong personal relations with those around them, especially the individuals they directly lead, because they understand the benefits associated with this practice.

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”    – John Maxwell

Guest Post From Adam, Not Your Ordinary Intern