How to become a good leader: TOP 8 ways to manage a team

Every manager wants to know how to become a good leader. A leadership position requires a person to have certain skills, experience and personal qualities. Not every employee is capable of becoming a good leader, since it is necessary to naturally have leadership qualities, be able to take responsibility and have business acumen. Becoming a leader and leading people is not something everyone can do, but it is possible.

A good leader. Who is he?

Let's start with a definition of the concept. Who is a leader?

A leader is an effective and successful person. The efficiency of the entire company depends on his ability to create favorable working conditions and establish the production process.

For anyone who has not encountered managers at various levels in their life, perhaps there are no such people.

Often we unwittingly evaluate the performance of management, where one of the managers is “good” and the other is “bad”. These assessments are extremely subjective and do not always reflect the true state of affairs. There are no ideal people, and accordingly, there is no completely “good” leadership.

You can become a good leader only if you are a professional in your field. It is necessary to demonstrate professional qualities by example, create favorable conditions for subordinates, and build an active, developing team from scratch.

Qualities that will tell you:

• Openness. It is important to be able to listen and hear, to be ready to delve into the problems of subordinates, to suggest and guide;
• Creativity. It is important to have developed thinking, find new approaches, and consider the problem from a completely different angle;
• Confidence in yourself and your abilities. A timid, insecure person is not able to gain authority in the eyes of his subordinates;
• Analyze. It is important to make plans for the future, constantly monitor the company’s activities, and find new ways of development;
• Honesty. The leader of the work team must be honest and objective. Only an honest person is able to gain trust and authority;

When all the qualities come together in a particular person, you can immediately say that in front of you is a born leader, capable of leading, inspiring and directing.

In addition, valuable qualities of leaders are punctuality, resistance to stress, sociability and courage.

It is important to understand that one does not become a truly good leader by nature; this position is acquired, and a person is able to realize at any time that he is ready to try on the position of a leader.

It is noteworthy that anyone can become an effective leader, regardless of gender and age. It often happens that the head of a company can be a young ambitious girl without proper work experience and a man of respectable age with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind him.

A person who wants to become a good leader must be able to formulate goals and make plans to achieve them. It is extremely important to set goals for yourself every day and follow through. This way you can strengthen your character, willpower, develop diligence and hard work.

What qualities does a motivator and leader have?

• It is necessary to make decisions in areas where a mistake will not cost you your career and good name. Having suffered a fiasco, do not despair, take it as a valuable experience, learn lessons from everything that happens;
• It is important to see the outcome of the situation in advance. Rate any situation on a scale from 1 to 5, and you can imagine what the course of events will be from the most unfavorable to the most favorable. This way you can understand whether you are ready to take risks;
• To motivate staff activities, it is necessary to analyze the capabilities of each employee. It is worth convincing employees that the final result depends on each of them;
• Constantly analyze your own actions and the consequences that flow from them.

When asking a question about how to become a good leader, you need to honestly admit to yourself whether you have all the necessary qualities. If some of them are missing, it is never too late to develop them in yourself, learn something new, and improve your own knowledge and skills.

A good leader is a universal soldier, well versed in the intricacies of the work process, who wants to lead the staff, mentor, train and stimulate. Every person can become a good leader, but it’s hard work and self-improvement.

About company transformation, power and risks

If a person is accustomed to a systematic approach, and the company is in the status of a “party, family”, where there is no deadline and schedule, an attempt at transformation will be risky.

Each screw has its own nut. At different stages of an organization’s development, a person faces new challenges: you grow with the company or join it at some stage. Sometimes you need to make those very unpopular decisions, enter into conflicts with loved ones who were once like-minded people. And at some point you have to take power into your own hands. But then the next important question arises: how to give this power away. That is, create a team that will be your squad.

Therefore, I believe that you need to study, take courses, read books. You can connect to collective knowledge and avoid mistakes that have already been made and described by predecessors.

How to become a better leader

The potential of a person in a leadership position directly depends on the desire for transformation and development. A leader must be an inspirer; he must encourage the team to innovate, give them the opportunity to express themselves and be responsible for their own actions. Only in this case can you achieve success and create a cohesive team of professionals. Next, we will look at basic tips that can help a manager work effectively and gain trust and authority among subordinates.

Who is better man or woman

Nowadays, both men and women can become leaders. Women directors are tacticians, while men are strategists. It is more difficult for representatives of the fair sex to gain the authority of the team. You will have to prove your professionalism, especially if most of the employees are male.

Men are more stress-resistant. They are not so quick to go to extremes. Nevertheless, women are more attentive to their subordinates.

To clearly answer the question “Who is better?” It’s impossible, because it all depends on the person and his character. Therefore, women and men equally can and should fight for the title “Good Leader”.

Mastery of the intricacies of the work process

To become a good leader, you need to constantly develop, keep abreast of the latest innovations related to the field of activity in which you are involved.

To do this, you need to attend business trainings, take part in online conferences, watch training videos, be interested in new software products, etc.

An excellent analyst knows how to plan his own day as efficiently as possible and focus employees’ attention on the distribution of working time, increasing labor efficiency. This approach allows you to focus on the work process and effectively organize not only your own work, but also the employees of the enterprise.

Use non-material motivation

According to the theory of psychologist Abraham Maslow , high salaries and bonuses cover only part of a person’s needs. Therefore, financial motivation is not enough for a long time. To really make employees fall in love with their work, give them something better than money:

• career growth;
• congratulations on important events in life;
• training;
• public praise;
• gamification of the team (for example, awarding points for each closed transaction, and exchanging them for a prize at the end of the year).

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Creating favorable working conditions

Rational management of the labor process depends on the use of modern technology. Automation of manual labor can increase a company’s productivity and bring it to a new level of development. You can actively introduce electronic computer technology, as well as modern office equipment. In addition, there are additional tools to improve the work process:

1. Strict compliance with all sanitary and hygienic standards;
2. Availability of a workplace for each employee;
3. Arranging the office space with all necessary furniture and equipment;
4. Full provision of employees with all office supplies;
5. Effective organization of work schedule, alternating with rest.

The performance of the team is influenced by many factors: location of the room, lighting, temperature, humidity, etc.

Don't be afraid to take green newbies and turn them into pros

Each company has its own view on the issue of hiring employees. At Pravex-Bank , for example, they willingly hire young specialists and try to develop them into motivated leaders. And management gives preference to experienced applicants without wasting resources on training young people. Which is more profitable?

Yulia Myakushina, HR consultant: – An experienced employee is advantageous because he produces high efficiency from the first days of work, but a professional is expensive on the labor market. A young specialist is beneficial because the manager can “grow” and train him for his company. A young specialist is ready to work for a salary below the market one, but it will take time and a mentor. Each employer must independently decide which option is more beneficial for him in a particular situation.

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Effective organization

People who want to become a good leader must be able to find an approach to the working staff, regardless of whether there are five people under them or a couple of hundred. It is important to be able to convey the essence of actions to the employee as accurately as possible. It would be a good idea to create a company charter with prescribed norms and principles.

Goals and objectives written down on paper have been proven to be more effective than verbal instructions. You can draw up a work plan for each employee in advance and offer group work. You should not introduce innovations into a project when it is at the implementation stage and half finished.

Subordinates will perceive this as a whim and will be disoriented in further actions. A competent manager will need control over the completion of tasks and minor adjustments along the way.

About emotional leadership

People are controlled by words, so it is very important to choose the right words, concepts, and meanings. A single semantic construct creates a single intellectual field in the group. But on the other hand, people are also governed by emotions. There is an opinion that everyone begins to experience the feelings of the strongest person in the group. And when a manager can convey to the team his attitude to what is happening, for example, during a difficult period for the company when sales are declining, he can activate and charge the group on an emotional level, this is great.

Emotional intelligence needs to be learned. Large organizations offer courses for aspiring managers. But often they are left alone with their transformation. I hope my book and special courses at the Russian School of Management will help you survive it, because the next transformation is even more difficult. If you managed people before, the next task is moving to the director level, when you have to think not only for yourself and your group, but also for the entire organization. Calculate any change (about finance, strategy, marketing, personnel).

That is, the first transformation is from expert to manager, and the second is from manager to director. From managing an organization, you move to the level of managing society with complex tasks. For example, you are responsible for the life of the city (if it is a city-forming enterprise or a company with a large number of employees). The question is where you stop: everyone has the competencies to grow that way. But I respect people who choose the path of the master - there, too, you can improve endlessly. And the path of a leader is interesting and complex.

Creating a favorable climate in the team

Many people focus exclusively on their own authority, the desire to demonstrate their “I”.

You should not push your own interests under pressure; it is important to be able to hear your subordinates, since they are capable of generating interesting ideas just as well as a leader.

Listen to the view from the outside, find out more often the point of view of your subordinates. Then they will feel free, will be able to enjoy the work process and will respect their Boss. You can introduce the practice of anonymous writing or the ability to present proposals in electronic format. In this way, it is possible to stimulate the work activity of subordinates and instill in them a desire to work for the benefit of the common cause.

What should a manager do at the beginning of his career and how to avoid mistakes

One of the key actions at the very beginning is initiation into the group in a new role. It doesn’t matter whether the person came from another company or was promoted to the organization from a previous level. You need to gather the whole team together (do not write letters or messages in instant messengers) and introduce yourself. It is advisable that the new leader be introduced by someone from a higher social group.

Traditionally, initiations take place in the “+1” format. This gives the candidate more weight in the group. This way you are marked as a representative of the organization. And all further conflicts will not be with him, but with the organization. For a young leader, especially an inexperienced one, this is a kind of cover. If there is no such representation, you need to introduce yourself with reference to the order - the legitimate right to be in this role.

There are five main instruments of power, support points that need to be voiced by the group. They will create a framework of relationships.

1. Clearly state the goals that you set for the group or broadcast from the organization: “The company has set the following goal for our department” or “I have gathered you so that we achieve such and such a goal.” The first appeal is always an image of the desired result, as if the result of an activity. We do not gather relatives or friends, but the workforce.
2. The second part of the appeal concerns joint activities. Set a coordinate system, talk about the values ​​that are important to you in interaction within the team. The message contains the words “how we work.”
3. Talk through the system of rewards and punishments used: “what is good and what is bad.”
4. A very important point is the principle by which resources will be distributed: how clients, territory, vacations are divided.
5. The principle by which you assemble a team: which people will join it and who will drop out.

If you are prone to collective creativity, broadcast these ideas. If you are a supporter of strict measures and frameworks, say so. But these main points must be discussed. When all the support points appear, the team will stabilize for some time. This will help the leader enter the group in a new role and relieve some of the tension and resistance.

Keeping your distance

Familiarity has never been welcomed in business; the manager must keep his distance. Winning the love and respect of the team through warm communication and friendships is the simplest, but not the most effective method.

It is important to be able to achieve favor in more honest ways:

• Be able to admit your own mistakes. The leader is also a simple person, he tends to make mistakes, so it is important not to shift responsibility for failures to other people;
• It is necessary to be consistent and clearly state your train of thought. There must be mutual understanding between the manager and employees;
• Familiarity should not be allowed. Of course, it is necessary to constantly communicate with subordinates and be able to find an approach to everyone. Informal relationships with the team do not in any way affect the company’s productivity.

Set goals using the SMART system

Each employee must adequately understand the task at hand, and not as in the joke:

“During the locust invasion in Korea, the authorities announced that for each insect brought in, the government would pay 1 yuan. It was planned that in this way it would be possible to catch locusts from the fields and preserve the harvest. But the people did not understand the goal, and everyone began to grow locusts."

To prevent the same from happening to you, set goals according to the SMART system . They must meet 5 parameters :

An example of setting goals using the SMART system:

In order for a sporting goods store to make a profit of 250,000 rubles in a month, each of 5 managers must close 10 transactions. In this case, the amount of each must be at least 5,000 rubles.

There is a specific goal here, which is measured in money: 250,000 rubles. This can be achieved by dividing responsibilities between a precise number of managers. Closing 10 transactions per month with a minimum amount of 5,000 rubles is realistic for each of them.

Read on the topic See how NOT to set goals according to the SMART system

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Strictness

One who can motivate a work team to work effectively can become a good leader.

How to do this correctly?

1. It is worth getting into the habit of calling the entire working staff for a holiday lunch once every couple of months. A completely effective method to find out a little more about your colleagues and win them over;
2. Arrange individual receptions, publicly encourage the most successful employees;
3. Always reward those at the forefront of the work process. Even a small bonus can encourage employees to perform their duties better.

DON'T CARRY EVERYTHING WITH YOURSELF

What should a manager know about his subordinates?

A manager must know everything about his subordinates in order to motivate people and manage his team. To do this, ask appropriate questions at the interview stage: “What are your hobbies? What is your family? What kind of holiday do you prefer? What is important to you in the team in which you will work?

It is equally important to pay attention to the mood of the subordinate, to know about his achievements at work and in his personal life.

Sometimes a company has created such conditions for interaction that employees are family friends and know almost everything about each other. This strengthens team spirit, but can generate certain risks. You need to remember boundaries and respect them.

There is a private area that should not be manipulated in any way. These include religious beliefs, intimate relationships and political views of employees.

How to form an effective management team

For a management team to work as a cohesive unit, they must be motivated by one common goal. To do this, the company's strategy and global objectives must be clearly outlined and understandable to all managers, since they are the ones who will transmit them to the performers and work as one mechanism. Cohesion can be achieved by giving managers freedom of collective action and clarity of organizational structure.

Everyone must understand their area of ​​responsibility, role in the team, points of contact with other departments and cross-functional connections. Duplication of areas of responsibility makes the management scheme ornate and complicates relationships between managers.

Holding general working meetings with shareholders and the executive committee, the need to jointly defend their projects, share best practices and experience help prevent fragmentation in the actions of the management team.

In order for win-win principles to be present at all organizational levels, there is no need to pit the interests of different departments head-on. On the contrary, top managers of the company need to pay attention to possible conflicts of interest and prevent them by setting common goals that can be solved by reaching consensus.

The ability to have a mentor from fellow managers, horizontal exchange of employees, the development of end-to-end company management tools and cross-functional reporting will help create a unified information field and quickly find inconsistencies. Only in this case will various team-building events and training camps work.

Useful tips

• Have the patience to listen to each employee, even if you fundamentally disagree with him;
• By controlling every step of an employee, you automatically cause aggression in him and a reluctance to do anything effectively;
• Don't overreact to every mistake made by your subordinates;
• Develop positive relationships between all team members;
• Strive to learn new things;
• Focus on one global goal, breaking it down into several stages, this will make it easier to achieve success;
• Get rid of ineffective employees. In a team, everyone must work for results, and the negligence of one person can nullify the efforts of hundreds of people;
• Practice leadership skills every day and improve yourself.

About corporate culture

When a new manager comes to the company, he doesn’t really know who to keep or fire. But it also happens differently: there is the concept of corporate culture, which permeates a person who has worked in an organization for a long time. And it is not a fact that he will “revenge in a new way”, having absorbed values ​​and norms, having gone through all stages of selection.

Management is management of the living: you need to capture the best and remove the unnecessary. When something new enters the corporate body, it resists and an inflammatory process occurs. Then this new one is either integrated or rejected. And even if the new broom is used in a new way, it will become part of the corporate culture or will not pass the filtering stage.

Conclusion

Every person is capable of becoming a good leader, however, it is necessary to constantly work on oneself and take responsibility for the work of the team. The manager performs many functions: from coordinating to motivating and encouraging. A good manager is able to improve the company’s performance, achieve team unity and properly organize all work processes.

“What do you think are the qualities of a good leader in the 21st century? Do you agree with the statement that good leaders are not born, they are made?

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Author of the article Angela Karpacheva Freelancer

PROVIDE YOUR EMPLOYEES WITH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Dmitry Bunkov , Director of Organization Development, Boehringer Ingelheim LLC (Moscow)

Why train staff and what do trainings provide?

I believe that one of the main secrets of effective personnel management is competent training. After good training, a fairly large leap occurs in human development. The training broadens your horizons, gives you new tools, and changes your attitude towards work.

How often do you need to conduct training?

Our company has always conducted quite a lot of training. All of them can be divided into several categories. First of all, product training. We make them ourselves, involving specialists from the marketing and medical departments. For this purpose, we also attract external specialists, teachers from medical universities.

Trainings are held regularly: during cycle meetings and annual introductory trainings for newcomers.

Traditionally, sales and presentation skills training has been tied to induction training for new staff.

We engage external companies to conduct management training or when our organization faces specific challenges. For example, training for managers on working with key partners.

How to distinguish a bad coach from a good one?

Let me note right away that it is difficult to find good external trainers. There are things you should always pay attention to. First of all, how well the trainer’s personality and his way of communicating and conducting training fit into the company’s philosophy. My belief: it is better to find a coach who has good coaching skills plus personal professional experience in the business he is talking about. Although there are exceptions.

How to track the effectiveness of training?

That's a very difficult question. There is simply no simple answer to this. For me, effectiveness is a clearly observable change in employee behavior after training.

It is impossible to immediately assess the effectiveness of training economically. This can only be understood by a specific manager-leader who spends a lot of time with a person and sees whether he began to do something differently or not.

Most of the trainings that any company conducts, including ours, are behavioral trainings. We try to show people the model of behavior that the company expects from them. And then questions arise regarding motivation (how motivated a person is to change his behavior) and control (how much his manager makes sure that behavior changes).

If there is no motivation and control, training is useless. They become just entertainment.

If you properly conduct training in the training format, the efficiency of your staff will increase significantly!

Plant the seed

Asking for a promotion is not a one-time conversation, but rather a series of conversations, says Nawaz. She recommends that you start from your notes with something like, “I'm glad to work here and be able to influence the company. This is what I have already achieved. I want to constantly discuss with you what it takes to get to the next level.” Weintraub suggests "having a conversation about the pursuit of excellence" while making the case for your promotion. "Tell your boss, 'I want to make sure I'm not just good, but great.' Then ask, “What can I do to convince you that I’m ready for the next step?” “Demonstrate a willingness to grow and learn,” he advises.

Take care of the sprout

Once you sow a seed, “nurture it,” says Nawaz. She advises asking your boss for performance reviews “not so often that it becomes annoying, but, say, once a month or quarter.” Be specific. If, for example, your promotion comes with increased responsibility toward clients, say something like, “I've been talking frequently with our key corporate clients over the past month and here's what I've learned. How can you evaluate these steps?

Another good strategy, Weintraub says, is to tell your boss “how you would spend the first 90 days in your new role.” “Show that you have prepared and are serious” about getting the promotion.

You must prove that you are already performing at the level to which you are asking to be promoted.