Leadership is one of the topics we love talking about at Paperpicks and quite frankly we won’t get bored of it soon. Not only we love helping people improve and succeed but we also believe we are shaping the leaders of tomorrow. So in case you were wondering how many times we can talk about a topic we already have the answer for you. Just a heads up, we will continue to do so as much as we can, so here we go again.
We have previously talked about becoming a good leader and presented you with tips and advice on how to do it. We have guided you many times through actions leaders should follow in order to improve their business and help their team grow. We have also shown you mindsets and attitudes you can adopt in order to face challenges efficiently. What we have never talked about before though has to do with understanding if you are a good leader.
If there is one thing we have talked about more than leadership in this blog, that would be the difficulty that comes with it. Unfortunately it’s not an easy job and many people who attempt it quit soon enough. This article is for the winners or in other words the non-quitters because in the end those are the ones that win. The ones that keep going and keep pushing although they feel like they can’t do it anymore. The ones that constantly look to improve, and the ones that have a fire burning inside urging them to become better. Therefore we have gathered the best questions you can ask yourself in order to understand if you truly are a good leader.
Do I Understand Others?
When it comes to leadership it really doesn’t matter how good you are at your job or how smart you are. You can be the most intelligent person in the room but that doesn’t mean you are the greatest leader too. In order to understand yourself as a leader must first understand others. Leadership is all about having the ability to connect with people and feel their emotions, their priorities and their frustrations. Therefore the first question you should ask yourself is if you truly understand the people next to you. If you do you are on the right path, if not then you should work on it.
Do I Help Others Rise?
Once you have made clear how well you understand the people that surround you it’s time to see if you support them. Ask yourself if you help others rise and how much. Do you give credit to your team for their hard work or are you the one enjoying all rewards? If you don’t invest your time in your people then they will never be loyal to you. You must understand that you operate within an ecosystem. This means that helping others grow, helps you and your business grow.
Am I Open to Feedback?
Either you like it or not, you don’t know everything and to be honest no one does. When you hire people you hire them for a reason, and that is because they are the best for a specific job. This automatically means that the smartest thing you can do is listen to them instead of telling them what to do. Ask yourself if you are open to feedback and if you take others opinions into consideration. If you are stubborn and believe that things work either your way or the highway you won’t go long. If on the other hand you believe in synergy and understand that everybody’s input has something to offer you will succeed.
Do I Show The Way?
As a leader you are the one that everyone looks up to either they like you or not. What you do and how you treat matters and people sets the example of what your people do. You set the mood and everyone else follows, so make sure you do it right. Ask yourself if the way you operate is the way you would like your people to operate and act accordingly. People don’t listen to what you say, they imitate what you do.
Looking back and doing your self evaluation is one of the hardest things you can do in your life. Asking yourself these questions and answering them honestly is even harder. The only thing that is for sure though is that the results are definitely rewarding.
