Leadership

If you are a C.E.O., director or supervisor of a team of people than you should know that leadership skills are a very necessary part of your job. You leadership style can make or break you. You may not realize it at first, but prolonged inappropriate leadership is tolerated for a while but not forever.

Do you lead with your heart? You care about your staff and you have a open door policy. Doing the right thing is your motto. Respect is given to you because of your kindness and understanding. This is a great style to use in good times. In bad economic times, this may not work for you. You will have to make some harsh decisions in a bad economy. You can lead with your heart but always remember that you need to make decisions so that the company can still go on and will not close. If you don't have a company than you would not be able to keep the staff.

Do you lead with your wallet? For you, it's always about the bottom line. All you think about is the level of service or the monthly production/sales. You are very driven and produce results on a continual basis. The staff know what is expected of them at all times. In bad economic times, you fully understand the idea of doing more with less. And, you are very capable of letting a few staff go and still run the company effectively. Here's where you need to show some heart with the staff. They will be under added pressure and stress to do more with less. Try to be a little bit more understanding about the new changes with the staff.

Is it your way or the highway with you? You control every aspect of the employees. Everyone needs to report to you on a daily basis. Staff produce results for you. Your short term and long term visions for the company are well documented. Slowly but surely you will attain your goals. You are very passionate about what goes on in your company and the staff. You are very good with guiding the staff in lines with what the company needs. Communication is one area that you need to increase with the staff. Maybe, if they understood why you have made certain decisions you will gain more respect. Yes, staff need to know what is expected of them but sometimes they want to know why they are they are doing a job or project a certain way.

Do you let your staff stretch their wings? You are the behind the scenes leader. Your motto is to encourage the staff to be their best. Even if the staff is not up to snuff, you will not give up on them. Unless, you have no other alternative but to let them go. And, no one would question your decisions. Everyone who knows you is already aware of how you care about staff development. You encourage input from your staff on a daily basis. Communication is a major part of your leadership style. It's great to let the staff spread their wings and produce ideas for you. But, they also need a leader and someone who can control a situation effectively too. They may think that you cannot and decide to fly away.

Each leadership style is different. Just don't go off the far end with only one style of leadership. Use a mixture of different styles and you will do fine.