Whether you’re running your own business or managing a department with an employer, being a leader isn’t easy. Think back over your career, there are probably a lot of managers you have had that you didn’t like, or thought was terrible. Most people would probably say the same thing. But if you’ve been lucky enough to work for a great leader, you’ll understand how much that can change your perspective on your entire career. 

So, now that you’re leading, how can you be the best leader you can be? 

Learn the difference between being a leader and being the boss

There is a big difference between leading and managing. This applies whether you’re working in IT consulting or retail. Just managing your business or team means that you are simply telling people what to do, tracking systems, goals, and performance. But what a team really needs, is a leader. A leader works to get buy-in on their vision and help you not only to achieve the company’s goals but the employees’ too. 

Understand your own style of leadership

Good leaders share a lot of common traits, but they aren’t all the same. Recognizing your own style and being honest about your strengths and weaknesses is a great way to understanding yourself. Some areas you can then work on to strengthen, and others you can look for support. 

Great leaders don’t feel threatened by the skills of their team

There’s a well-known business theory called the Peter principle. It is the idea that someone who performs well in their job will continue to get promoted up until the point that they can no longer perform well. Many people are promoted for being doing well at their job, but companies often fail to realize that the best leaders aren’t necessarily the highest performing. For example, let’s say that you are a computer programmer. You’re very good at your job, performing well. Then you get promoted, and now you’re in charge of other programmers. Yet you don’t seem to be doing well managing the team. That doesn’t make you a worse programmer, it just means you need to work on your leadership skills to be able to do your new job properly. 

So, when you become a leader, to be a great leader, you have to accept that there might be people on your team that have more skills in certain areas than you do. Don’t feel threatened by this, you want the very best people on your team to reach the goals you’ve set for them. 

Never stop learning 

Assuming you know everything is a sure road to failure, and it’s a little arrogant too. The most successful leaders in the world of business seek out knowledge and inspiration all the time. Bill Gates reads over 50 books a year in order to learn new perspectives and theories that he can put into practice. Many of the people who wrote those books are probably in awe of him. 

A thirst for knowledge and a way to do things better is a great personality trait to have and will help you in all areas of your life. 

Conclusion

Good leaders are supportive, self-aware, and always willing to learn new things. These are the people who really inspire their teams.