How To Develop Your Own Leadership Style In 5 Steps
Leadership is a quality that many people aspire to have.
There are many different leadership styles, and the best leaders are those who are able to adapt their style to the situation and the people they are leading. The most important thing for a leader is to have a clear vision and be able to inspire and invite others into that vision.
But leadership is not a one-size-fits-all trait. And the best leaders are often those who have developed their own unique leadership style. If you’re looking to develop your own leadership style, there are a few things you can do to get started.
1. Start with your intention
I begin each year with a theme and intention. This changes from year to year depending on where I am at in life. And it can sometimes change mid-year if it doesn’t fit. For example, your theme could be “effortless effort” if you envision working hard but not feeling the stress or “relax into risk” if you are moving into what feels like a risky space but intend to take it in stride.
This can become a mantra for you. Write it somewhere you will see it every day or create a vision board with your intention at the center.
My intention for 2024 is “practice consistency.”
2. Put your strengths and weaknesses to work
If you don’t already know your strengths and weaknesses, ask around the people you trust. Once you are clear on this, take action. Surround yourself with people who are strong where you are weak.
For example, I am not good a project management, so I like to have one or two people on my team who are great at that so key items don’t fall through the cracks. Having a clear understanding of where your weaknesses are is a guide to what projects or tasks you should delegate. If you are good at delegating to your weaknesses, you open more space to apply your strengths to those projects or tasks that you are uniquely suited for.
3. Find a mentor or a sponsor
Who do you admire either at your organization or in your network? Most people, when asked, say yes to a mentoring relationship. I have mentored many people in my career and depending on your needs and the mentor’s availability, either a once-per-month or once-per-quarter meet-up is sufficient. Be clear about your goals with the mentor/mentee relationship so you can focus your time on how to remove barriers. For example, you may have a goal of positioning yourself for the next promotion. Or you might be looking to acquire specific skills.
You may also consider seeking out a sponsor that can advocate for you on your career path. A mentor is someone who coaches you while a sponsor is someone who can open doors for you and advocate on your behalf with other stakeholders. For example, if you are on a path to own a profit and loss group, you may reach out to your business president to let her or him know your intentions and ask what they need to see from you in order to advocate for you to be considered for a position that oversees P&L.
4. Experiment and adapt your leadership style
As you move into your leadership space keep your mind open for continuous learning. Try different things and see what works and what doesn’t. Consider how you make decisions. How do you generate buy-in, who have you left out by mistake and has that individual become an obstacle later on? If you’re trying to change how your organization does things what questions are you getting? How can you address those in advance next time?
The key is to be aware of the feedback you are getting from your leadership style. Be proactive and ask for feedback even if it may feel uncomfortable as it will help you learn even faster. It’s OK to make changes in your leadership style as you learn more. It is a constant evolution.
5. Have empathy
As a leader, you’re not just engaging with minds but also hearts. Any manager can engage someone’s mind. It’s basically an obligation of employment. However, compared to the mind alone, winning hearts will generate a very different level of engagement with your teams. Winning hearts is connected to your ability to have empathy. Before diving into business at hand always get a sense of where your team members are and meet them where they are at.
For example, at the beginning of my team meetings, each person shares two words describing how they are feeling. In our last meeting, my two words were “sad” and “excited.” After saying your words, you can say why you picked those words. If everyone shares their two words, then every other person has a sense of where each individual is coming building a sense of collective empathy and context for the rest of the meeting.
In Conclusion
Remember that the best way to develop your leadership style is to be yourself. Be genuine, honest, and authentic. Take the time to learn about different leadership styles and find the one that best suits you. Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. The only way to find what works best for you is to get out there and try it. So go out and lead with confidence!
