If you are in a leadership role and you are not making an impact or seeing results, maybe you need to think about developing your leadership skills.
Here are 10 signs and if you recognise yourself in them, having an awareness that you need to develop your skills, means you can now go and do something about it.
1. It’s do as I say not as I do
Are you saying one thing and expecting your teams to go along and do it but your behaviour is showing otherwise? Rather than just talking the talk, you also need to be demonstrating that you also walk it as well.
2. You constantly upset people
Not being aware of the impact your behaviour has on others could be a sign that you are lacking in emotional intelligence and that you are not very self aware.
Ask yourself why do people try and avoid you? Why does no one go out of their way to make conversations with you? If you are honest with yourself, the answers could be quite revealing.
3. Nobody takes you seriously
If you find that nobody takes you seriously, are you constantly making empty promises, saying that you’re going to do something and then not following through with it? After a while those empty promises start to wear thin and people will lose respect for you.
Don’t make promises if you have no intention of following through with them.
4. Keeping people in the dark
When organisations go through change, one of the things they often fail to do is keep people updated and informed of what is going on. Once the rumours start that changes are happening, this needs to be managed.
Research shows that employees like to be kept informed, even if the outcome is not going to be favourable. They would rather know this than be kept in the dark.
Even if you personally don’t know what the outcome is going to be, communicate this so that your team don’t feel that you are withholding important information from them.
When someone criticises you, you don’t like it and you get defensive. A good leader welcomes feedback both good and constructive, otherwise how will you develop and grow?
5. When you delegate, things don’t get done properly
You delegate tasks but they never get done properly and you blame the person you have delegated them to. But have you stopped for a moment to consider that if you are regularly finding that delegated tasks are not completed as they should be, that it could be because you are not clearly communicating what needs to be done.
6. You find it difficult to make decisions
Constant wavering over making important decisions could be that you have self doubt about your abilities. Sometimes our inability to make decisions stems from a lack of confidence that we will make the right decision.
If this is you, work on improving your decision making skills. Get some support and address your self doubts and any self limiting beliefs you have about yourself or your capabilities.
7. You can’t take criticism
When someone criticises you, you don’t like it and you get defensive. A good leader welcomes feedback both good and constructive, otherwise how will you develop and grow?
8. It is difficult for you to adapt to set backs
When things go wrong or performance falls behind, you find it difficult to pick yourself back up and identify solutions. This could mean that you need to develop your resilience so that when faced with adverse situations, you are able to adapt to them and develop a clear mind so that you can find a way back.
9. You’ve become a victim
Every problem is the result of someone else. Your teams’ performance has dipped but it is not your fault. Sickness levels are through the roof but again, that is not your fault. Morale is low and everyone is looking for another job but you are not to blame.
Whilst there may be many factors outside of your control, it is your responsibility to identify what is going wrong and work with your team to identify solutions.
10. You hold people back
You know that there are people within your team who are aspiring and have a lot of potential but rather than let them develop that potential and grow, you hold them back. You find ways to keep them down, find criticism with their work because deep down you are fearful that they will upsurge you.
By holding someone back you will not get the best of them. People like autonomy. People like to develop and grow. Don’t you think it is better to get 2 years of the best of someone rather than 2 years of them only doing things half heartedly?
As a leader, recognising that you may have areas for development and growth and that you need to brush up on your leadership skills is nothing to be ashamed of. As a leader you should be striving for continuous development if you are to remain innovative, relevant and deliver good results.
Author Bio
Carol Stewart, is a Personal Development, Career, Business Coach, UK top 50 Business Adviser and founder of Abounding Solutions. She works with women who are unhappy at work but are too scared to do anything about it. She helps them to develop the confidence to make a career move and find something that they love. This could be a complete career change, it could be climbing the corporate ladder and smashing through the glass ceiling, or it could even be exiting the corporate environment and setting up their own business.
Carol herself made a significant career change in 2011 when at the age of 44 she left the organisation she had worked in for 28 years, went to university and completed an MSc in Coaching Psychology whilst setting up her own business.
She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and a Member of the Association for Coaching.
Carol’s free ebook ‘5 Steps to Pursuing Your Passion at Mid-Life – A Guide to Designing a Career You Love’ can be downloaded at http://aboundingsolutions.com/ . This book is suitable for anyone who wants to pursue work that they are passionate about regardless of age.
