Leading by Example in Leadership
“As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.” Himanshu Bhatia
Professionals often get promoted to leadership due to great performance. They meet deadlines, complete projects, and reach goals. Organizations praise them for their productivity and ability to deliver results. As a result, team members often believe these qualities will earn them increased compensation and new opportunities for growth.
Why High Performance Alone Is Not Enough for Effective Leadership
When promoted, these highly productive team members tend to believe that these behaviors will continue to provide great reviews. While these behaviors are good, they are not the measuring stick for leaders. Many organizations expect leaders to be highly productive, but leaders must also demonstrate additional capabilities.
The Difference Between Telling and Leading a Team
For example, leaders must learn how to lead instead of telling people what to do. Telling team members what to do is a top down action. Team members respond to just what they are told to do but will lack initiative to bring suggestions. This top down style will lead to a lack of engagement and a check in and check out mentality.
How to Increase Team Engagement Through Collaboration
On the other hand, leaders learn how to engage their team by asking great questions. Creating a collaborative process through asking team members to share their ideas and perspectives, changes the experience and the results. Leaders encourage team members to use their perspectives, ideas, and experiences to innovate. This approach builds an environment where the team openly shares and evaluates ideas together, strengthening everyone through mutual learning.
The Role of Openness and Innovation in Strong Leadership
One of the signs of a strong leader is whether they are open to new ideas and approaches from their team. Being open does not mean they say yes to everything, rather it demonstrates an attitude of being willing to learn and a pursuit of excellence. Leaders must be role models that influence others to imitate their behavior.
Building Strong Relationships to Inspire and Motivate Teams
The value of leadership requires the ability to build strong relationships, to understand how others work, and to influence them to grow into their greatest potential. This requires more than just hoping that it will happen. Leaders must give regular consideration on how to relate and motivate their team and others to act. Just telling them what you want will not be enough. Having team members who do the required can be achieved through offering to pay team members for performance. When team members give their best, that is a gift. That gift is always in response to a relationship that instilled a desire to learn and innovate.
Leaders who focus on strong communication skills for leaders often see higher levels of trust and accountability within their teams.
Frequently Asked Questions About Effective Leadership Skills
Effective leadership skills include the ability to influence others, communicate clearly, build strong relationships, encourage collaboration, and inspire growth. While productivity matters, true leadership focuses on guiding people and developing their potential.
Productivity shows that someone can execute tasks well. However, leadership requires more than personal output. Leaders must motivate others, create direction, and build an environment where the entire team performs at a high level.
Leaders increase engagement by asking thoughtful questions, inviting input, and encouraging collaboration. When team members feel heard and valued, they contribute ideas more freely and take greater ownership of their work.
Managing often focuses on assigning tasks and monitoring performance. Leading focuses on influence, vision, and growth. Leaders guide people, develop strengths, and create a culture that encourages innovation and accountability.
Strong leaders inspire their teams by modeling the behavior they expect, staying open to new ideas, and building trust through consistent communication. They create relationships that motivate people to give their best effort, not just meet minimum requirements.
New leaders succeed when they shift their mindset from personal achievement to team development. Instead of focusing only on their own performance, they invest time in coaching, relationship building, and empowering others to grow.