A 2015 Gallup poll revealed that one in two employees had left a company due to a bad manager. Hence, a great leader should earn the trust of their team members by managing social-emotional reactions to their surroundings.
Research has also shown that managers can learn and develop key leadership behaviours, fostering a team that is accountable, trusting, resilient, proactive, and passionate about their work and company mission. Positive leadership behaviour is necessary for a team’s effectiveness, goal achievement, and retention of top talent. It directly impacts revenue generation and organisational success.
In this article, we will share 10 effective leadership behaviours every team leader should cultivate and develop.
What Are Leadership Behaviours?
Leadership behaviours are what leaders do to inspire their teams and reach their objectives. These behaviours involve leading, giving directions, and using your influence to help others achieve specific goals.
These behaviours can be learned as a leader to improve your team’s efficiency. A leader can also use these behaviours to inspire action and turn their vision into a reality, whether it’s for a company, product, or group of people.
Why Is It Important for Leaders to Have Positive Leadership Behaviours?
Good leadership behaviours are important for several reasons, such as:
- Motivation and Inspiration
Effective leaders can motivate and inspire their team members. They create a vision others can follow, instilling a sense of purpose and direction. By setting an example, they bring about positive changes and help their team reach their goals. - Problem-Solving
Leaders are often faced with complex and unpredictable problems. Their problem-solving abilities are critical to finding solutions and navigating through challenges. They also leverage the strengths of their team to overcome hurdles. - Creating a Positive Work Environment
Leaders significantly influence the work environment. When they are positive and encouraging, it fosters an uplifting and comfortable atmosphere. This can boost morale and productivity. - Personal Development of Team Members
Leaders with a coaching mindset help their team members grow personally and professionally. They provide constructive feedback, help individuals improve their skills, and help them achieve their goals. - Goal Setting and Achievement
Leaders are goal-oriented and drive their teams towards achieving these goals. They set clear and realistic objectives and work towards meeting them. This builds motivation and pushes the team to perform. - Decision Making
Effective leaders make fair and objective decisions that benefit the team and the organisation. They use critical thinking skills to identify problems and develop solutions. This ability to make sound decisions is crucial for the success of the team and the organisation. - Developing Trust
Trust is a cornerstone of successful leadership. Leaders earn trust by being reliable and consistent in their words and actions. When team members trust their leaders, they are more likely to follow their guidance and perform at their best.
Leadership Behaviours Examples
Examples of leadership behaviours include the following:
#1. Coaching Mindset
A coaching mindset involves actively helping employees develop their skills and personal and professional identities. As a leader, you should mentor them by understanding their career goals and providing training sessions on specific company aspects. Providing opportunities for employees to observe coworkers in different departments helps position them for success.
#2. Effective Communication
To be a successful leader, explaining goals and communicating effectively is crucial. This reduces repetition and allows for more time for tasks. Simple, straightforward vocal communication is essential. Understanding the preferred communication methods of your team is also crucial. Consider email updates, weekly town halls, and Zoom sessions for better outcomes. Integrate these modes into your overall approach for optimal results.
#3. Being Transparent
The lack of transparency between you and the rest of your team might lead to distrust. To be a leader who is seen as transparent, you need to communicate straightforwardly. To avoid confusion, you must ensure that the words you speak fit the tone of your voice and how you carry yourself. A transparent leader may not be able to tell the team everything, but they don’t leave the team guessing about what they can and can’t discuss with them.
#4. Constructive Feedback
Everyone on your team has their own goals, just like you do. You should feel good about giving your team members constructive comments as a leader. This will help them grow and do a better job. When someone gives you constructive feedback, it’s meant to help, be specific, be based on observation, and not be offensive or discouraging. As an alternative, helpful criticism is given to promote a good result.
#5. Practising Accountability
To practice accountability, one must also be responsible for their actions. Accepting responsibility for one’s failures is crucial for building trust with a group. If you missed a deadline or neglected to keep the team updated, take responsibility and prioritise improving future performance. The team will respect your honesty and reciprocate by holding themselves to the same accountability standards.
#6. Emotional Intelligence
Some of the things that make up emotional intelligence are empathy, self-awareness, reflection, and kindness. Any emotionally intelligent boss knows and can control how they show their feelings. Good leaders can treat their team respectfully and with care because they control their feelings. Emotionally intelligent people can make their workplaces healthy places where everyone feels valued, heard, and respected.
#7. Active Listening
A 2021 survey by the Workforce Institute at UKG found that 74% of employees feel more effective when they feel heard. The study also revealed that 88% of employees at financially outperforming companies feel listened to, compared to 62% at financially underperforming companies. Active listening involves giving full attention to the speaker’s words and analysing their content, intentions, and emotions, ensuring employees are understood.
#8. Motivation
You can only expect the rest of your team to be inspired to achieve greater heights if you are motivated to do so yourself. The morale of a team can be directly impacted by its leaders. To be a leader who can inspire others, you need to demonstrate that you are optimistic about the firm’s future. It also includes determining the direction the firm will go in and ensuring that all team members are enthusiastic about the future.
#9. Adaptability
A good leader is always ready to change objectives and procedures when market conditions change. Every day, there are new social media sites that become popular. New cutting-edge technologies are constantly being made, changing how people use goods and services. Adaptable leadership means that you work to keep up with these changes and ensure your business plan is constantly evolving and adapting.
#10. Problem-Solving
A leader is someone who can discover answers to challenging or unpredictable challenges. In a constantly shifting professional landscape, there will inevitably be unexpected problems. A strong leader recognises that they must also utilise the abilities of their teams to overcome obstacles, and they are aware of this fact. Leaders need to be able to solve problems that are hard to predict or don’t have clear answers. Unpredictable problems are a natural part of working in a constantly changing field. A good leader also knows that to get things done, they need to use the skills of their teams.
Tips on Practising Effective Leadership Behaviours
Five tips on practising leadership behaviours effectively are:
- Create a reward program for team members by publicly recognising their achievements and milestones.
- Provide objective feedback by letting your team members know what you expect of them and how they can improve.
- Lead by example by holding yourself to the same standards as the team members.
- Closely monitor your team members; that way, you may be able to notice areas that have the potential to develop into a problem and address them before they become problems.
- Allow and encourage team members to approach you with their ideas; that way, you encourage creativity in the team.
Conclusion
Effective leadership behaviours contribute to the success of a team and organization. Leaders who exhibit these behaviours can motivate and inspire their team members, solve problems effectively, create a positive work environment, foster the personal development of team members, set and achieve goals, make fair and objective decisions, develop trust, and adapt to changing circumstances. By cultivating and developing these behaviours, leaders can improve their team’s efficiency, productivity, and overall success.
FAQs
What are the ideal leadership behaviours?
Leadership behaviours are actions and conduct leaders use to motivate and achieve goals. Ideal leadership behaviours include active listening, goal-orientedness, self-awareness, empathy, recognition of employee achievements, early problem-solving, and perseverance. These behaviours can be learned through practice, such as leadership roles in committees, organisations, sports teams, or clubs.
What are 5 behaviours good leaders demonstrate?
Good leadership involves five key behaviours: decision-making, building trust, coaching mindset, active listening, and resilience. Good leaders can make decisions under pressure, build trust, mentor team members, actively listen, and persevere through challenges. These effective leadership behaviours help leaders lead effectively, motivate, and achieve goals in any team or organisation.
What is not a trait of a good leader?
A good leader should possess integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, empathy, and gratitude. However, some traits, such as lack of vision, failure to recognise and appreciate team members, greed, micromanagement, closed-mindedness, and condescension, can hinder effective leadership. Hence, acknowledging and working on these traits can improve leadership effectiveness.
Related Articles
- Understanding Referent Power in Leadership (Plus Examples)
- Boss vs Leader: 9 Key Differences
- How Leadership Coaching Benefits Leaders
