How to Establish or Re-establish Yourself as a Leader

There are several factors that can lead to your leadership role being lessoned in the eyes of those that report to you. Maybe you just came into the position and your subordinates liked your predecessor and don't want a change. Or maybe an event happened that turned certain people away from persons in authority all together.

Either way, there are a few steps you can take to place yourself back into a place of authority.

1 - Look in the mirror.

Take a look at yourself and assess you skills honestly. Ask yourself why you were selected to be a leader in the first place and how do your skills fit in the role of a leader. You can also decipher what it is that is holding you back from being the best leader possible and what makes you unique from other leaders. Finally look at the leaders before you: What did they do that was good and what did they do the received a negative reaction from others?

These are the initial questions you need to look at to get a baseline of where your leadership abilities lie.

2 - Meet with your team as soon as possible and have a heart to heart conversation. Establish or re-establish your role to your team. Go over what you will accept and what you won't accept. Also reassure that you are a team and that their input is vital to your team's success.

Also ask your team to give an honest assessment of your leadership skills. It's important not to take this information personal since you are asking for honest opinions. You also don't have to change everything about yourself since most sub-ordinates will always have a gripe against those in a leadership position, but you can take this information and compare it to your answers for tip 1.

3 - Get your boss involved

When you bring your superior into the situation, you are actually lending credibility to your cause. Have your boss state what the chain of command is. It goes to show that your management has your back in particular decisions and will discourage individuals from going over your head.

If you really want to make a splash, have your superior either announce or reiterate their support for you in the meeting you have for your team.

4 - Put action to your words

Talk is cheap. If you want people to respect you as a leader, you have to do what you say you're going to do. This means supporting your team when you say you will but also handing out discipline.

Also, admonish your team members when they do something well. Praise and criticism go hand in hand. Your goal is to solve problems, not to take credit. Pass credit out to your team when fair and they will know that you have a stake in their success.

These are just a few tips that you can use to establish or re-establish your role as a leader. Use them wisely.