How to Develop Leadership Skills in the Workplace

Whether it’s someone in a position of power or simply a de facto head of a group, good leadership makes an impact on your results. And according to Dale Carnegie’s research, when it comes to leadership, there is certainly room for improvement.

Only 28% of respondents in our recent global study into organizational health said they are very satisfied with their immediate leader. So, let’s look at some examples of leadership skills, ways to develop yourself as a leader, and the importance of leaders in the workplace.

What Makes a Good Leader?

We often use the terms “leader” and “manager” interchangeably, but there are some important distinctions to point out.

A manager is generally appointed to a position of power and responsibility. Managers provide order and consistency, coordinating activities to get tasks done. They are charged with supporting the business’s bottom line. A leader can be anyone, even a person without official authority.  Leaders are more likely to enact change and movement through their influence and set the tone around the work being done.

Warren Bennis, a man who significantly influenced contemporary thinking on leadership and organizational development, wrote in his book On Becoming a Leader: “Managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right thing.” Often, this has to do with a person’s innate or developed leadership qualities and their leadership approach.

For example, Hubert Joly, former CEO and chair of Best Buy, is a leader of the people. When Best Buy was falling prey to online retailers, Joly was pressured to start downsizing the company. Instead, he went to the front lines, donning the blue shirt and khakis of his employees and with a name badge that read “CEO in Training.” Joly says, “They had all of the answers and our job was easy . . . it was empathetic listening to the front liners and to the customers.” Instead of managing the situation, Joly led from the front with empathy and supported his people first.

Or take Alan Mulally, former CEO of Boeing and Ford, a man who believes that “it is an honor to serve.” On the Dale Carnegie Take Command podcast, Alan discusses how How to Win Friends and Influence People sparked a dedication to lifelong learning and brought out the best in him. There are plenty of renowned leaders in today’s business world who have visited our podcast, and they can teach you how to be a good leader. But no matter who you listen to, you still have to put in the work to gain the skills of a leader.

Steps to Developing Leadership Skills

Before we learn how to be a leader, we must first ask, what are leadership skills? Some good leadership qualities include the ability to communicate effectively and listen when necessary, to drive change through support, not force, and to be honest and transparent in all you do. Here’s what the process might look like when considering how to develop leadership skills.

Self-Assess

Don’t leave it solely up to others to identify your potential areas for growth and development. Use self-assessments to understand your strengths and weaknesses as an individual when developing leadership skills. You can seek out feedback from colleagues, use personality tests, or draw on what you learn through personal development courses. It’s important that you have a clear and honest understanding of who you are because identifying your strengths and weaknesses as an individual will help identify areas for greatest success as a leader.

Set Clear Goals

Establish personal goals and visions that stretch beyond mere corporate advancement. Make sure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). This also means keeping the goal within your control. Instead of thinking “I will get a promotion”—something you don’t have control over—consider thinking “I will do [insert specific actions] over a period of [insert specific time] to demonstrate that I deserve that promotion.” And don’t forget to share your goals with others, as this lends an additional level of accountability.

Seek Mentorship

Mentorship is not a new concept in any industry, and it becomes even more critical to get feedback from experienced persons when you are aiming to be a true leader. Mentors can help you self-evaluate, give actionable steps to improve, and be there when you need guidance. When choosing a mentor, consider who you admire, particularly for their leadership skills, then ask them directly and kindly to be your mentor. There’s also nothing to say you can only have one mentor or that they have to mentor you directly. Consider a combination of mentors who challenge you in different areas.

Embrace Continuous Learning

Leaders never stop learning—about their industry, about other people, and about themselves. Ongoing education for hard and soft skills is critical to advancing in the workplace. Between the availability of books to read, courses to take, or seminars and webinars to listen to, there’s no shortage of opportunity. In many industries, the speed of change is fast, and you won’t be able to rely on solely on what you learned in the past to propel you to success in the future. You must be a continuous learner.

Practice Effective Communication

When it comes to good leadership skills, there’s nothing more important than effective communication. Effective communication means being clear in your ideas and locution, truly listening to feedback (active listening), and continuing the cycle of communication with additional discourse. This may or may not be supported by a company communications strategy.

Lead by Example

If you expect hard work and honesty from those you lead, then you had better provide that first. Always lead with integrity and authenticity. If you say it, do it! If you don’t, this will impact how much trust others put or the organization puts in you. If you’re looking for opportunities to begin aligning your actions and words relating to leadership skills, examples of areas to focus on include empathy, active listening, adaptability to change, innovative thinking, and more.

Encourage Feedback

Although the first step to developing leadership qualities is to self-evaluate, you cannot know you are on the right path without feedback from others. Feedback is crucial for growth because we are often unaware of the impact we make or how we are perceived by others. While you might have thought you were being clear and kind, someone else might have walked away feeling muddled and reprimanded. Ask those you interact with to provide oral, written, or other feedback, allowing them to share their thoughts in a format comfortable to them. Be specific with what you want others to evaluate you on, and remain open to areas you may not have thought of. More than anything, ensure feedback is not met with negative emotions, resistance, or especially repercussions, which can discourage open feedback in the future.

Why Leadership Skills Are Important

Why work on developing leadership skills? Having strong leaders in the workplace (and especially having those leaders be in positions of influence or authority), has many positive repercussions on a business.

First, leadership directly impacts team dynamics. Effective leadership fosters a positive work environment and ensures team cohesion. In a Dale Carnegie research study, only 30% of team members were extremely satisfied with their team leader, a number corresponding to the 30% of participants reporting having exceeded team goals over the past year. It’s clear that those on high-performing teams were directly impacted by the level of leadership present.

Strong team leaders directly drive success in achieving business goals and producing innovation,  which is enhanced by consistency, honesty, emotional intelligence, integrity, good communication, and high levels of trust. Not only will developing these skills help in the traditional sense of improving the workplace, but these skills are also interpersonal skills that comprise a large component of our success in interacting in all facets of life.

Unleash Your Leadership Qualities

Whether you’re stepping into a leadership role for the first time or a worker looking to gain influence in guiding others, it’s critical to organize and prioritize your continuing education in leadership training. Dale Carnegie is here to help. Our professional development courses cover topics from leading with influence to communicating with diplomacy to modeling a respectful workplace. Explore how Dale Carnegie can help you become a great leader. Visit dalecarnegie.com.