Being in a position of leadership can seem very exciting at first – think of all the power you have right at your fingertips!
But along with power comes great responsibility, responsibility which can quickly seem overwhelming. By taking the time to learn about traits of effective and fair leaders, you will be doing your company a great service.
When attending meetings, act like you’re stupid and don’t know anything. What?!?! Are you kidding? You are not stupid, of course, but adopting this mindset makes you more likely to accept input from other people who may know more than you do.
Arrogance has been the downfall of many business leaders, after all.
Say thank you to your employees. Many studies have been done on the power of a thanks given from a manager to his or her employees. It increases productivity, often by a lot. Just a little graciousness really can help extend your power as a leader, so be active about it.
As a leader, you must not play favorites.
Playing favorites will get you into trouble. Those who you do not favor will be none too pleased and not respect you. They may even report your favoritism. If you have a good friend on your team, you may want to think about transferring to another department to avoid the conflict of interest.
Be a good example. The best thing you can do for those around you is to be a good role model. Show people how to act and how to treat others. If you are in a leadership position, it can be such a comfort to those you lead if you behave in a way that represents the best of yourself.
Leaders can truly make or break a company.
You have a lifelong responsibility to learn as much as possible about what it means to be a successful leader. Continue your education and do everything in your power to learn more about the nuts and bolts of effective and dynamic leadership.