Leaders at different levels of an organization face challenges. But no matter what level you are at, there are four leadership skills you need to learn and master.
These are timeless leadership skills that leaders in every organization need, regardless of role, industry, or location. The way you address each leadership skill and what you need to learn or emphasize will change as you move to higher levels and face new challenges.
Basic Four leadership skills are:
- Self-awareness
- Communication
- Affect
- Learning ability
Self Awareness. It simply means understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Gaining self-awareness is anything but simple. Self-awareness is one of the critical leadership skills for sustained and long-term effectiveness as a leader.
Communication. It is one of the most fundamental, comprehensive leadership skills we all need to develop and improve throughout our careers. “Communication of information and ideas” is consistently among the most crucial skills for leaders to be successful.
Writing, speaking clearly, and using active listening skills are all part of the equation. As you move up the career ladder, communication expands into behaviors such as encouraging discussion, building trust, communicating vision and strategic intent, and attracting people with you. That’s why communication is so important to leaders.
Affect. Developing your influencing and leadership skills helps you communicate your vision or goals, align the efforts of others, and build commitment from people at all levels. Ultimately, the effect allows you to get things done and achieve the desired results.
Learning ability. You need the ability to constantly learn and gain experience to thrive as leaders and people, so we need to be active learners.
Learning agile involves learning from mistakes, asking insightful questions, and being open to feedback. It involves quickly learning a new skill, taking advantage of learning opportunities, and responding well to new situations. For senior leaders, learning agility is also about inspiring learning in others and creating a learning culture throughout the organization.
Develop Your Core Leadership Skills for Each Role
As you gain leadership skills in a field, you will find that it is important to take on new challenges and take on important roles.
If you can identify gaps or weaknesses in your leadership journey, you have the potential to learn, grow and change. With self-awareness, communication, influencing, and learning agility being the core of your leadership skills development, you can be sure to build for new opportunities and the next level of responsibility because these 4 are essential leadership skills for everyone.
