Rules for Effective Leadership: Tips for Novice Leaders

Rules for Effective Leadership: Tips for Novice Leaders

Nowadays, a lot goes into business excellence than having just the right ideas and the best team. While a good team and the right ideas would perform well, the key to unlocking their true potential lies in effective leadership. What does it mean to be an effective leader, and how does a total novice become one?

Being an effective leader in the demanding world of today is not an easy task. Instead of being a straight road, the road to effective leadership is a dynamic one that keeps changing every time. As such, even experienced leaders still learn on the job. However, for novice leaders, having a few rules proven over the years is the sure way to stay effective.

In this article, you’ll learn all the details about effective leadership. We will explain the following:

  • What it means to be an effective leader
  • How important is effective leadership?
  • Rules for effective leadership

What does it mean to be an effective leader?

Effective leadership is a leadership system that enables and empowers people to do what they ought to do. It is a system that gets results without coercing people or manipulating them to act according to the leader’s wish.

An effective leader helps people reach their potentials individually, accomplish their purpose as teams, and accomplish their organisations’ goals. His primary focus at the end of the day is to make everyone feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

In this leadership system, the organisation moves by the power of people working for it together as a team, not a situation where the manager finds ways to get results from his staff. Different people at different levels play different roles in effective leadership.

Together, they create a synergy that develops vision, strategy, and implementation on the individual level and at the collective level for organisation success or survival.

Why is effective leadership so important?

Every organisation is bound to face challenges that will threaten their growth and survival. To deal with such challenges, organisations depend on their leaders to develop working strategies. In such situations, effective leadership sets the company in the right direction while implementing proper strategies effectively for organisational growth.

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All successful organisations have one thing in common. They have dynamic leaders who direct, enable, empower, and most importantly inspire their people to do more with less. It’s not just about achieving the company’s goals.

It’s more about doing things to reduce costs and benefit all members of the organisation. With sound business knowledge, one might achieve a thing or two. However, effective leadership is the way to get the right results when it comes to business.

Rules for effective leadership

Effective leadership does not happen by accident. To become one, a leader has to put in some effort. Here are some rules in the form of tips to help novice leaders become influential leaders.

Watch where you get your motivation

Recently, there has been an increased number of “motivational videos” on the internet. In these videos, young leaders are frequently advised that the way to be good is to work every minute of the day, 14 hours straight or more.

Not only is this wrong advice, but it’s also a destructive one. Working for long does not guarantee success. Instead, it guarantees burnout. However, as a young executive, you might have to work overtime sometimes. At those times, it would be because you lack options and not because it’s a productive activity.

As a leader, you must have quality time to relax and recharge. Put your energy in what matters; thoughtfulness and the quality of your work. When these are well handled, the number of hours you spend on your office table becomes very irrelevant.

Treat members of your team the way you want to be treated

As a leader, you need to create a positive workplace culture. It is crucial when the job in question requires manual labour or is challenging. You must understand that the tough job is already a source of challenge for your workers. So, there is no need to add more problems by treating them poorly or creating a gloomy cloud.

You are the boss, but then, take things easy. Address people the way you want to be addressed. There is nothing wrong with you joining the work sometimes if you feel it’s too overwhelming. It would raise your staff’s morale asides from the fact that you would be getting results at a faster pace.

Choose your management team wisely

There is no point in being a great leader if your team members do not share the same values. Nothing ruins good leadership than toxic middle management. The key to getting the management team that can work effectively lies in how you promote your staff.

There is a popular misconception that comes with promotions. For most people, it’s something that has to happen naturally. That is, when you have stayed at a job for some time, it’s natural that you get promoted; no strings attached. That is not only wrong. It’s a recipe for failure.

To be a successful leader, you must face the truth. Some people are good at what they do. However, they cannot lead. As such, those people should not move too far in management.

In selecting your management team, you should run tests. Let members of your team run projects and evaluate them. Allow them to lead small teams or assign them with a little more responsibility than they are used to, and let them prove themselves to you.

While some would cope well, a lot might not. It’s just how life works.  Now, it’s your job to pick those who can serve you well.

Rules for Effective Leadership: Tips for Novice Leaders

Image: Pexels

Demand reasonable expectations

To make proper demands from your staff, you need to understand what they do. Anyone can set productivity goals. However, these goals would be useless if you don’t know how easy it is to achieve these tasks.

You might not have an in-depth knowledge of what everyone does, especially if you have a large company. At the same time, you should have an idea of what each employee does daily. Through team leaders, you should know the strength of your workers and their limits. Know what your team can achieve and know what is not achievable.

The truth most new leaders fail to see is that not everything can be done as soon as possible. Yes, everything is possible but at the right time and with the right resources. Set your expectations with proper consideration, so you do not become an overbearing boss.

If you don’t understand how your team works, then you should learn. Take some extra time with your team leads to see how things are done. Walkthrough and do a physical assessment yourself as well. Remember, one of the qualities you must have as an effective leader is learning and adjusting to new concepts.

Invest in yourself as a leader

As an effective leader, your proficiency is crucial. First, as a young leader, you must understand that perfection is a journey. An effective leader is not someone who knows all or who does everything correctly. Instead, an effective leader is that person who can achieve the most through his team.

Keep in mind that humans are dynamic beings. You have to keep learning to stay on top. Influential leaders learn from everything; books, classes, people, assignments, success, and even failure. Everywhere and every situation allows you to learn something new.

An effective leader is always passionate about what they believe, and so, they pull resources to those things that matter. They also inspire others to be like them in terms of trust, loyalty, and integrity. Do more, be decisive, and make bold moves in the right direction.

In Summary

At the height of interpersonal dynamics, there is effective leadership. Effective leadership influences and inspires people in positive ways to get things done. While it might sound easy, a lot of practice goes into it, and it comes with different challenges.

That is why effective leadership on its own is not a destination; instead, it is a journey. It is a journey that requires constant learning. As you continue, you have to learn from your mistakes, be kind to people, and do your best to be better.

About the Author

Timothy Miller is a writer from mypaperwriter.com with several years of experience. He is specialised in writing blog articles, copywriting, ghost-writing, and eBooks.