6 Things You Can Do to Hone Exceptional Leadership Skills  

As the New Year’s resolutions roll on, many of us likely have career progression and leadership on our radar. Getting to the next level of your professional journey means delivering on projects and day-to-day commitments, but there are also several things you can do to set yourself apart as a leader.

If you are a mid-level manager or project leader, it is important that you start honing the skills that make exceptional leaders at every level of the organization and are paramount for executives. Here are a few things that you can do to position yourself as someone who is ready for the next level:

• Push decisions down to the right team members. Decisions that land in your lap should be ones that your team is not capable of making. Make decisions that bottleneck your team with conversations, or those that require you to create organizational alignment, but push other decisions down to your team and let them work through the details. Ask them to give you a final presentation so that you have the opportunity to weigh in on the path but don’t have to be responsible for making it happen. 

• Be present and engaged in meetings. If a meeting is important enough for you to accept and attend, then it is important enough to give your undivided attention. Go old school and take notes with paper and pen so the distraction of your computer is not visible and the perceived barrier of a screen isn’t between you and the folks with whom you are meeting. On the other hand, if you find that you are sitting in meetings that don’t give you valuable information or require you to contribute, question if your presence is needed. You may even consider questioning if these meetings are necessary. Many organizations have gotten into the habit of setting meetings to demonstrate busyness and importance, but often, the time taken up by meetings hinders progress and job satisfaction.

• Set the vision, not the path. Building with the end in mind is critical for successful organizations to run smoothly and with consistent alignment. The “how you build” process belongs to the team, and the “what is being built” vision belongs to the leader. It may sound counterintuitive and risky to release the “how” to the team, but if you hire the right people, you will foster engagement, accountability, and happiness when you turn the power over to them. If you hired talented people but still hold onto the “how,” you are putting yourself at risk of turnover. Everyone wants to earn his or her keep, and you should ensure that the job you are asking of your team stretches, challenges, and empowers them.

• Model diligence and priorities. There is a cap on the number of critical projects an individual can focus on and still do well. As a leader, you should model having diligence and focus on a maximum of three to five priorities. Ask your team to model the same discipline in a given window – month, quarter, or year – to ensure that you get efficiency, output, and exceptional quality from them.

• Continue to learn. Regardless of the seat or title, professionals always have new things to learn. Sometimes the learning is specific to an industry or customer segment being targeted; sometimes it is about new techniques, best practices, or even the softer personal skills that make us stronger storytellers and more engaging people to be around. Wherever your area of growth and development lies, show your team that you are committed to being better and investing the time to grow. 

• Show enthusiasm and excitement. This is often one of the forgotten assets of a leader. No one likes to work with the “Negative Nancys” or the “Debbie Downers,” so maintain an optimistic (but realistic) demeanor, and you may find that you will be asked to be involved in critical projects more often. It is the simple things that are noticed: Do you smile in meetings or cross your arms and roll your eyes? Your actions are always being observed, and your emotions are visible in your face and body language. Check your attitude and ensure that you conduct yourself in a manner that encourages others to see you as an inspiring leader.

Getting a promotion is always exciting and the thrills of more money, responsibility, and a new title can propel us to work harder and drive for greatness. It is important to know that climbing the corporate ladder requires us to grow our management and leadership skills. Focus on setting yourself apart as a leader committed to working hard for project results and capable of leading others to the same outcome.