Becoming a leader is equal parts exciting and challenging. You’ll be offered the opportunity to inspire and guide, leaving a meaningful impact on your team or organisation. Stepping into this new role also comes with a lot of responsibility to ensure your team meets both their individual and shared goals.
Are you ready to take the plunge? Let’s explore what it takes to be a good leader and what happens when you say yes to the opportunity.
What Defines Leadership?
Leaders are masters at influencing and guiding teams or individuals to achieve their goals and execute a larger vision. It’s a leader’s responsibility to motivate teams, foster collaboration, and contribute their skills and knowledge to help their followers grow and develop.
Good leadership isn’t exclusive to the world of work. The traits of a boardroom exec are also seen in sports captains, music leaders and educational chiefs—leaders are everywhere you look.
Understanding Your Motivations
Before stepping into a leadership role, it’s important to evaluate the motivation behind your choice. Are you seeking more responsibility? Do you have an urge to coach others? Will it help you develop your skill set? Truly understanding the why will enhance your abilities and success as a leader.
A desire to have more impact
Successful leaders are confident in their ability to bring out the best in individuals to foster collaboration, boost productivity and enhance overall team cohesion. Leaders have the biggest impact when they focus on building high-performing teams and maximising the skills each individual contributor brings to the table. Tying these skills together rather than focusing solely on your personal growth is the key to success and the first step towards good leadership.
An opportunity to build different skills
As a leader, you’ll need to adapt your existing skill set while adding new ones to the mix, including active listening, coaching, mentoring, and influencing.
People management and critical thinking will be at the centre of all your decision-making as a leader. You’ll develop these further while on the job, tackling challenges and resolving problems, but they can also be learned before stepping into the role. Consider enrolling in a leadership training course to really help you understand your new responsibilities and nail the basics.
Interest in watching others grow
Effective leaders prioritise their team members’ growth and development, building strong relationships and creating plans to overcome challenges together. By fostering growth, they leave a lasting impact—not only on the team’s results but on the individuals they support. Leaders who inspire growth are remembered for their positive influence and guidance.
The Difference Between Management and Leadership
People often assume that leaders and managers are interchangeable. In fact, leadership and management aren’t the same at all. Leaders focus on the bigger picture, they inspire, guide and motivate. Managers are more involved in the day-to-day running of the business and projects. They’re on hand to ensure everybody is completing the necessary tasks for project milestones to be hit on time and executed effectively.
Tips for Stepping into a Leadership Role
Stepping into a new leadership role won’t make you a good leader overnight—skills take time to develop and you might not gain the necessary respect of your new followers instantly. There are some steps you can take however to make the transition easier.
Practice empathy
Your staff want to know that you’re working with them and not against them. Show empathy to your team and make it clear that you understand their situation and needs, particularly if you’re stepping into the role during a time of change or uncertainty. Being open and honest from the very beginning will help your employees trust you, giving you the best possible chance of being a strong leader for them.
Start listening
Active listening is one of the top skills every good leader has. Take the time to meet with your new staff to truly understand their needs, goals, priorities and challenges. Not only will this show them they’re a priority, but help you determine the course of action for guiding the team towards its shared goals.
Forcing your own rules and changes on day one will only disgruntle the team, making long-term execution more of a struggle.
Develop a leadership style
There are several approaches to leadership and every leader will and should develop their own style—there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. It’s important to try various approaches and understand that flexibility is key to successfully adapting to changing situations. What works well for someone in your team may not work for others, so having a range of techniques up your sleeve is crucial for becoming a good leader who’s respected by all.
Transitioning into a Leadership Role
You can expect some changes to your daily working rhythm and core responsibilities once you step into the leadership space.
Your working day structure will be different
As a new leader, your focus will become less task-based and more on the long-term objectives of the company. This will mean you become more involved in top-level discussions rather than those about smaller tasks or decisions. For example, you may lead a conversation about bigger-picture issues such as sales being down or personnel issues. It’s then down to the managers on your team to execute the action points decided on in that meeting.
This adjustment can take time and will require a new level of commitment from you to build a strong team or organisation.
Your team dynamics will change
When stepping up as a leader in your current organisation, you’ll take a step away from your current place in the team and embody a level of responsibility over your once peers. Be prepared to take the lead on big decisions or when issues need resolving.
Learning to celebrate team members’ achievements to boost morale and maintain motivation is a key role for any leader. Often, you have to put your own needs for acknowledgement to the side and continue with the job at hand.
You can still ask for help
Being in a leadership position doesn’t mean you have to tackle everything alone. Don’t feel like you can’t be open and ask for additional time or information to make a decision. Seeking help is a strong attribute to hold as a leader, and your team will appreciate this honesty and respect you even more. Being a leader means you’ll no longer complete the smaller tasks that work together to make the bigger picture, so asking those who work on them every day allows you to be fully informed in your decision-making.
Seeking external guidance is also a great way to develop your leadership skills further. Here at Priority Management Australia, we offer a range of training courses to help you become a better leader for your team.
Overcoming Challenges in a Leadership Role
Mistakes get made, but learn from them
No leader is perfect, even those who’ve been successful for years. Making mistakes is natural, it’s how you handle and learn from them that’s important. Becoming a great leader involves an ever-changing, lifelong journey of growth, part of which includes embracing failure and not shying away from it.
Does ‘fake it till you make it’ work?
Remember that you wouldn’t be stepping into this new role if those around you didn’t think you were capable of doing so. The “fake it to you make it” concept can help you overcome imposter syndrome during the early stages of leadership.
To be successful, however, you need to learn to make decisions based on the knowledge you’re confident in. Draw from past experiences and gather feedback from others involved in the decision-making to help you develop confidence in the role.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you become a leader?
When you become a leader, you’re taking a significant step in your career. Your focus will shift from individual development to team success. Your new responsibilities will involve top-level strategic planning, team development and goal-setting for the entire organisation. You’ll develop new skills in coaching, mentoring, delegating and conflict resolution.
How do you progress into a leadership role?
The path to progressing into a leadership role will vary across organisations. You’ll need to show proven performance and a commitment to development. Making the effort to build a variety of relationships across the organisation as well as taking new opportunities as they arise will put you in a good position to take on a leadership role. Communicate your hopes of this progression to those around you too—they won’t assume unless you tell them.
What to say when accepting a leadership position?
When accepting a leadership position, express thanks and gratitude to those in the organisation trusting you with this role change. Acknowledge your awareness of the significance of the position and your commitment to the task ahead. Be yourself during the conversation, your sincerity will be valued and further show your dedication to the team.
What does it mean to take on a leadership role?
Taking on a leadership role means accepting responsibility for an entire team or organisation. You’re stepping into a position of trust and influence which you use to guide them towards shared goals. Ensuring the well-being of the workforce and creating a space in which all staff can thrive is also a large part of a leadership role.
Take Your Career to the Next Level with a Leadership Role
Embarking on a leadership journey will be a huge learning curve, even for the most experienced out there. New leaders should embrace this time for learning and growth and welcome the ongoing development the new position brings.
While sometimes challenging, this opportunity to lead, inspire and support a team should ultimately be a rewarding experience. A successful leader will have a positive impact on the organisation and its individuals and leave team members feeling empowered to strive for the best.
Here at Priority Management, our leadership courses can help those at all stages of the journey. Whether you’re stepping into your first leadership role or have been in the position for years, get in touch with our team today to learn how we can help you get better every single day. We’re your trusted leaders in workplace solutions.