The Three Essential Leadership Skills (Every Leader Must Have)

What can you start doing to be a more effective leader today?

Honing and sharpening your leadership skills can give you more confidence that the team is executing your vision and goals.

Having coached hundreds of teams to success, here are three ways I offer you to think about effective leadership in your business.

Number One: Have big goals
 
There are many ways to think about goals. Your vision.  Your business outcomes. Your customer service standards. Your sales and profit. Your north star. Your dream.
 
A goal is something that you currently don't have but is desirable. You would like to have it. It's what you want to organize yourself to get.
 
The point is, having clearly defined and inspiring goals is the first step in effective leadership.
 
Why is it essential to have a goal as a leader? You could say that without a goal, you're not a leader. Or leadership is not required. I don't need to do anything if I don't have a goal. I can go through my life and take what comes, and pretty much it'll look like it always has, and I'm not up to something. I go through the motions if nothing in my life needs leadership. Some people call it being unconscious. I'm just sleepwalking through my day. It’s a life of routine.

Leadership requires a disruption to routine. It requires creating a gap between how it is today and how it could be tomorrow. It requires stepping into the unknown to try something you don't have all the answers to.   
 
Leadership requires not only that you have that goal but that the goal inspires you. And what are you inspired by? The expected accomplishment of it. And by the journey of it. You're inspired to discover what it takes to fulfill that goal. You're inspired by what you're going to learn, what you're going to create, who you'll involve in the journey of getting there, and who you will become as a leader.
 
Great leaders know they will have goals for the rest of their lives because it gives them something to lead.

Number Two: Share goals effectively with others
 
I'm limited in what I can accomplish by myself. A leader leads people. I need to leverage a team and share my vision and encourage others to participate with me in the fulfillment of it.
 
Real success is when the goal or vision becomes the goal or vision of the entire team. Most leaders want a team of people to come together with a shared vision and be on the same page.
 
This rests on the leader's ability to communicate the vision so that other people can engage in it.
 
So how do you share the goal with others?
 
How do you involve others so that they get emotionally connected and see the opportunity for themselves to engage in the goal?

The best way to share the goal is to start talking about it with others. I promise you your passion and authenticity speak louder than the goal itself. When deeply connected to  a sense of purpose,  others are often moved into action and support you.
 
When you're deeply committed to what you're up to, you will find ways to communicate that to others so that they see the opportunity for themselves.

Stop trying to convince people of something. That's ineffective because you will always have people who agree or disagree. Instead, share what you see as possible for the future in a way that leaves them inspired.

This way, you invite people to participate with you and your shared success.  And over time, you will build the perfect team to fulfill it.
 
Number Three: Take action and execute
 
Here is where the rubber meets the road, and you take your big goal and translate it into reality.
 
There is no effective leadership without action and execution.
 
I have my goal. I'm bringing together and communicating with the team. And now, it is time to execute and produce consistent results toward fulfilling our shared goal.
 
As a leader, I must be tuned in to what my people are doing. What is the action they're taking? What is the action I'm taking? Is it the right kind of action to fulfill the goal? Is there alignment between our vision and our actions?
 
When you create a big goal, don’t be surprised if you are dealing with more breakdowns in the business. That is what happens when you create a gap to fill. If there were no new challenges, you probably didn't create a big enough goal! Be there for your team, and work together to find new pathways for new results.  

Taking action and managing for execution are critical skills as a leader. Lots of people talk about a big game, but can you do what it takes to have the team win at it?
 
Execution is about who you will be when things are off the rails and not going as planned. Will you stay the course and rally the team to get back on track? This is the essence of being a great executor of goals and vision.
 
Take Aways
 
Number One: Have big goals
 
Number Two: Share goals effectively with others
 
Number Three: Take action and execute
 
Practicing these three ways to be a more effective leader is a lifelong pursuit of mastery. The fun and joy of leadership come from developing ourselves day to day. With these fundamentals in mind, you can achieve more than you think is possible.

Find more resources on leading your team to success here.