4 soft skills to develop to become a good leader

The purpose of a leader in the workplace is to inspire, empower and motivate others. It is not only about how you perform on your own but also how you manage to influence others through your actions. In this blog, we take a look at the 4 soft skills that are essential for anyone who wishes to become an effective leader in the workplace.

1. Assertiveness and self-confidence

Assertiveness is a very important skill to have as a leader. Being assertive means that you can express your opinion confidently, and you can defend it when challenged by others. This is not the same thing as being aggressive or pushy, which are negative words that describe people who try too hard to get their way at the expense of others.

An assertive person does not find it difficult to say “no” to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by others. They can also say “yes” when appropriate without feeling guilty or pressured into doing something they don’t want to do. Being assertive can also help you to develop further self-confidence. As a leader, a lot more responsibility is put on you and assertiveness can help you to manage this responsibility and workload.

2. Confident communication

One of the most important skills you can have as a leader is communication. Communication refers to the process of sending and receiving messages to your team, both verbally and non-verbally. As a leader, you must communicate clearly so that your team members understand what you want them to do. For example, explaining and delegating tasks so the whole team understands.

Communication is not just about saying things, it’s also about listening and understanding others’ points of view. The best way to do this is by asking questions that encourage people to share their thoughts with you (e.g., “What are your thoughts?”). This shows that you care enough about their input or feedback for us all to make better decisions together as a team.

3. Mentoring and coaching

During your career as a leader for an organization, you will be faced with the task of mentoring and coaching members of staff. This soft skill is crucial in making sure all members of staff are happy with their work or whether they need extra guidance from their management. Mentoring struggling staff helps boost productivity levels and the confidence of your team.

4. Managing multiple priorities

Managing multiple priorities is an important part of being a good leader. As a manager, you’ll need to juggle many different tasks and projects at once. You can’t be expected to do them all well, that’s why it’s so important for you to delegate and prioritize your work as effectively as possible. Try and break every task down into smaller, easier-to-understand sections and then delegate these tasks to your team. Try not to take on too many projects at once to help with managing different tasks at the same time.

For more information on how your leadership soft skills can be improved with our instructor-led online courses, contact us today.