Tips On Becoming a Better Leader
When you’re talking about LMS, most people just think of the technical side of things. While the majority of LMSs do consist of technology and the efficiency of your platform, there are other dynamics involved.
To promote the healthiest training and learning environment, you need good leaders at the helm. Many people will argue that leadership is a natural quality and isn’t learned.
However, this is an arguable point. If you have someone in place that’s valuable to your company and understands the system, these qualities are priceless on their own. It’s possible to teach someone who has knowledge of your organization to exhibit leadership qualities, especially if they’re eager to learn.
You have two choices when you’re looking for a mentor or leader in your organization. You can hire someone from the outside who is a natural leader and hope they learn the system or hire someone from the inside who knows the system and teach them leadership techniques.
Choosing the latter may be easier, as it’s not always a guarantee someone will understand your corporate system. In this article, we’ll discuss tips on becoming a better leader.
Being a Leader
At some point in your life, there’s a good chance you’ll end up mentoring someone. The qualities and tips outlined in this article are valuable for anyone in the corporate world and society in general.
However, these are especially important when it comes to a corporate setting. Being a great leader improves the chances of having an efficient LMS. The following section outlines the best ways to become a better leader.
Listen Before Advising
If you read any literature about training people how to become leaders, many times, these teachings outline the importance of listening and not speaking. A man who talks too much before listening and learning is often considered a fool.
If you want to communicate knowledge to someone you’re mentoring, it’s important to first understand exactly what they need to hear. If you can’t understand the issues someone is having, it does no good to try and preach to them.
You must be attentive, analytical, and empathetic when it comes to being a leader. It’s important to relay the message that you’re sympathetic to challenges learners are having.
You should strive to be an empathetic leader and listener. Put effort into observing before you offer advice to anyone you’re mentoring.
To do this, you must slow down and focus. Pay attention to the specifics of an individual’s challenges, then proceed accordingly.
Enable Quick Wins
One of the most important elements of mentoring is how successful your learners feel. It’s important that they feel like they have adequate chances of winning.
Enabling a situation that allows for quick wins can work wonders for your training program. When employees feel elements of success from the beginning, it increases the odds of mastering a course and being successful in training.
The best way to do this is by offering simple courses from the beginning. You should also establish easily achievable short-term goals that will indicate how much progress they are making.
Assess their current strengths to play to those strengths. Build on areas they are proficient in. This is a great way to manifest quick wins.
Challenge Excuses
Everyone has been in a situation that’s led to an individual coming up with excuses. Sometimes you get overwhelmed, and the pressure gets too much. Maybe you forgot to stick to the protocol or become lazy, and it’s easy to make excuses.
As a mentor, you should be helping your learners assess their performance in an honest way. Being sympathetic to excuses is one of the worst ways to promote employee growth.
This will help them approach their goals and enter a leadership position in the future. It’s important not to be condescending when you challenge excuses. Do it in a way that gives them the feeling that you’re genuinely concerned.
Share Your Experiences
Sometimes the best training a mentor can offer are examples of their own experiences. Many people learn more efficiently when they have real-life examples of situations they are going through.
It’s important to share your experiences with humility. Don’t put yourself on a pedestal and make employees feel like they aren’t keeping up with your pace. It’s important to give examples of challenges you faced and how you were able to overcome them.
This is important for building a direct relationship with your employees. If someone is having a difficult time learning a certain task, give them an example of when you had the same challenges. This builds a connection and can ease some of the anxiety they have regarding certain modules.
Highlight the fact that you had challenges but let them know that failure is not an option. Highlight the importance of pushing forward and mastering their craft.
Celebrate Progress
Many employees will be self-conscious regarding their progress, especially when they’re surrounded by individuals that have already mastered the program. It’s important to celebrate progress even when small goals are accomplished.
Whenever a milestone or goal is achieved, it’s important to have a one-on-one with the individual that has achieved these goals. Have a conversation with them about the challenges they overcame. When you get to the end of the conversation, you should recap the goals they hit and commend them one more time.
However, it’s also important to keep them motivated. Let them know that hitting a goal doesn’t mean it’s time to put things on autopilot. Challenge them to keep pushing to become the best version of themselves.
Each of these tips can be administered by most individuals without any prior leadership skills. Keep a notebook and carry this list around with you. It’s never a bad idea to speak from notes whenever you’re meeting with team members.
Not only will this make the meeting more effective, but you can also note their responses. Contact us today for a free consultation on how to make your meetings more efficient and manifest the best results.