Developing your leadership abilities includes many factors, professionalism, knowledge, expertise, communication, and a host of other elements that will help you become a better leader.
But one of the most important elements of being a leader is to cultivate those relationships with colleagues and employees. If you rush from meeting to meeting and race down the halls without saying hello to those you pass, you are not inspiring confidence in your leadership abilities.
The Four Keys
Here are four suggestions that will help you cultivate your image as a leader.
- Calm Down
- Slow Down
- Talk Less
- Listen More
If you appear calm and confident in every situation – whether you really are calm and confident, you will inspire faith in your leadership. Your employees and colleagues want to believe that you are in charge and know what you are doing. Just the appearance of being unruffled and unfazed by the latest crisis will help your team remain calm and focused on their jobs.
Slowing down, walking normally instead of rushing from office to office and meeting to meeting will also inspire confidence. There may be times when you really do need to run, but for the most part, give yourself time to get to each meeting without appearing to be unorganized and unready.
The suggestions to talk less and listen more go hand in hand. In team meetings or one-on-one conversations, allow the other person to complete their thoughts or explanation before interjecting your ideas. Do not talk over the other person. Listen closely to what is and is not said during a conversation. What information has been left out that is necessary to make a good decision?
If you incorporate these four suggestions into your professional style, you will inspire confidence and nurture your image as a leader!