26 Effective Leadership Skills and How to Build Them

Do you think you’re a good leader? In this article we’re going to look at 26 effective leaderships skills you can practice to help your team succeed and thrive. Each skill by itself is pretty simple to implement and together they form a checklist you can use every day to practice and improve your leadership skills.

If you’ve ever worked for a boss or manager with poor leadership skills you know the high cost a team can pay. It’s extremely stressful, demotivating and can have a real psychological effect on well being. Not to mention the increase in sick leave, stress leave and staff turnover that costs time and money.

So can leadership skills actually be taught or are they ‘soft skills’ you’re either born with or not? There’s a lot of debate on this topic and the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

There’s no doubt that some people are born with high emotional intelligence (EQ) which often makes them very effective leaders. These lucky folks are great at reading emotion and can use this knowledge to guide and manage all different types of personalities to get the most out of them.

Having said that, we also believe that anyone can learn effective leadership skills and earn the respect and admiration of their team. Like most things in life, if you want be awesome at something you need to study and practice. We hope the skills outlined here will help you on your journey to becoming a great leader.

The Pinterest friendly infographic below gives a nice summary of all the skills, but read on for much more detail.

Planning & Execution

1. Develop and communicate a vision statement

One of your main jobs as a leader is help your team plan and execute your vision. This vision could be an overall company mission or a simple set of project requirements.

Having a clear vision statement keeps everyone on your team focused on the goal. When there’s a million tasks to get done and tight deadlines, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. Having a vision statement to refer back to is a reminder for the team of what they’re working towards and what goals, outcomes and benefits are expected.

It also empowers the team by reminding them of the important role they’re playing in turning the vision into reality.

• Outline your vision statement in a single presentation slide and send it to the team and any other relevant stakeholders.

• During review meetings, all-hands or whatever, remind the team how the work they’ve completed contributes to the overall vision.

2. Keep an updated project plan

Depending on the complexity and length of the projects your team works on, a project plan can mean different things.

If you’re in a bigger organization you might have Project Managers or Product Owners to take care of the planning details for you. On agile teams, everyone shares responsibility for managing the project plan.

However your team works, the point is to keep everyone updated on progress and to call out roadblocks and issues as early as possible. This manages expectations and eliminates nasty surprises and angry stakeholders.

• Even if you don’t manage an agile team, make everyone responsible for owning the project plan, keeping their tasks up to date and calling out issues if it looks like things are going wrong.

• For smaller projects, Trello is an awesome way to track tasks and make people accountable.

3. Give the right amount of direction

Being a micro manager is one of the worst leadership traits you can have. If you want to see productivity and morale take a dive, just stand over your team and tell them exactly what to do all day.

However, you also need tasks completed to a high standard. So how do you strike the balance between too much and too little direction?

• When assigning a task, be very clear about the result you want but let them solve the problem in their own way. There are obvious exceptions to this. For example, if a piece of code needs to be integrated into a larger system then how the problem is solved is very important.

• Give as much information as you can about how the success of the task will be measured. This gives even more context around how the task should be completed.

4. Set reasonable deadlines

We all want everything completed yesterday, but an important leadership skill is knowing how to set reasonable deadlines and not burn your team out by asking the impossible.

If your project plan is working, everyone on the team should know what they need to do and feel confident they can deliver it by the deadline.

Harsh deadlines and late nights are fine every once in a while, but over time it wears the team down and causes resentment and poor morale.

It’s actually stupidly easy to test if your deadlines are reasonable – if everyone on the team is working a lot of late nights or weekends then something is broken.

• Even if you don’t lead an agile team, work with each team member to estimate how long a task will take them. Initially, it’s wise to add a decent buffer because people like to please and will often massively underestimate. You’ll all get better at this over time and learn to trust the estimates more and more.

5. Remove roadblocks for your team

One of the leaderships skills that adds the most value is identifying and removing roadblocks preventing your team from performing efficiently. Keep an eye out for things you can do to help your team work faster or smarter and make it happen for them.

For example:

• Two people are collaborating on a piece of work and it would be much easier for them (and quieter for everyone else) if they temporarily sat together.

• Your team relies on work from another team who constantly fails to deliver on time. Is there a way to bypass them altogether or change your process to minimize wasted time?

• Your team dutifully turns up to a meeting every week that adds zero value. Do they really need to be there? Can you go in place of them and report back anything they need to know?

Motivation & Inspiration

6. Project a positive & confident attitude

Your team will pick up on bad vibes very easily and constant negativity will destroy morale and confidence in your leadership skills.

It’s impossible to be positive and confident all the time but there are things you can do to appear calm and in control.

• Don’t feel like you have to rule every conversation just because you’re the boss. People will respect a quiet leader who is thoughtful and considered.

• It might sound obvious, but never talk negatively about anyone in your organization no matter how much they annoy you.

• Take steps to remain calm when things are going wrong. Freaking out doesn’t help your team solve the issue.

Also keep in mind that too much confidence can easily come across as arrogance and false positivity and exuberance makes you look like a crazy person.

7. Show appreciation & celebrate success

Your team works hard to achieve your vision so make sure you give them plenty of recognition and appreciation for all their hard work.

• If you work in a large organization with lots of management layers, you’ll probably receive most of the credit for your teams success. Remember that you’re already the boss and have nothing to prove so stay humble and always share the credit with your team.

• If someone achieves a particular win, make sure you call it out for the whole team to appreciate. However, don’t make a big deal of it and be mindful about whether the person feels comfortable in the spotlight.

8. Follow through

Don’t earn yourself a reputation as a leader who’s all talk and no action. If you say you’re going to do something, make sure you do it. If you decide not to, tell your team why.

Pretty simple.

9. Acknowledge your mistakes

If you get something wrong or make a mistake, own up to it and discuss with your team how and why it happened. Everyone is going to make plenty of mistakes and your goal should be to encourage an environment where it’s OK to try things and fail.

10. Take responsibility

Make it clear to your team that you’re all in this together but at the end of the day the buck stops with you. You need to take responsibility and ownership for the problems as well as the successes. No one else is going to do it for you.

In many situations this also includes shielding your team from blow-back that will needlessly worry them and distract them from getting work done.

Feedback

11. Ask for feedback

Soliciting feedback from your team can be a difficult thing to force yourself to do. If everything seems to be going well it’s much easier to stick your head in the sand and just keep going. Why would you invite negativity?

Basically because your management career will (hopefully) be a long one and your leadership skills can always improve. Why wouldn’t you want to know what your team really thinks of you?

• Have your team submit anonymous surveys.

• Ask them! For example, after a meeting you could ask someone on your team “How do you think that went? Is there anything I could have done differently?” There are lots of situations like this where you can solicit valuable real-time feedback.

• As you work on projects, you should also keep your team engaged by asking their opinion and getting feedback on how the project or process can be improved.

Of course it goes without saying that you shouldn’t take negative feedback personally.

12. Give frequent feedback

No one on your team should be blindsided by a negative performance review they had no idea was coming.

Give your team members frequent feedback and allow them plenty of time to correct mistakes or behaviors that are damaging the project or the team.

• Weekly or fortnightly 15 min meetings are a great way to check in.

• Always be constructive and respectful with your feedback.

• Suggest solutions and improvements as well as highlighting problems.

Communication

13. Practice positive body language

It’s very easy to tell when someone is disinterested in what you’re saying. Make a conscious effort to be present and engaged when talking to people. The best way to do this is to practice positive body language techniques. Some of these include:

• Lean in slightly (not in a creepy way) to show you’re engaged.

• Nod to show you’re understanding.

• Maintain eye contact.

• Keep your arms relaxed and uncrossed.

• Speak slowly and clearly.

14. Listen attentively

Taking notes, asking questions and using positive body language signals are all clear ways to signal that you’re engaged and listening.

15. Keep meetings on topic

As a leader you should make it your mission to end to all unnecessary meetings.

For the meetings that need to happen, there are several things you can do to make them more tolerable.

• Set an agenda that outlines exactly what needs to be discussed, what decisions need to be made and who needs to make them.

• Only invite the people who really need to be there.

• Time box the meeting and stick to it.

• If people are wandering off topic, pull them back to the task at hand.

16. Show empathy and vulnerability

Your team aren’t just units of work you can manipulate to optimize for commercial success. They’re real people who might be having a tough time outside of work.

Keep an eye out for drops in motivation and if someone’s work starts to suffer, try and understand if there’s a bigger personal issue at play. Of course you should always respect boundaries and use your judgement on how much to get involved.

Similarly, things aren’t always going to be rosy in your world. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and share your own troubles or weaknesses. It won’t make you look weak, it will build trust and make you seem more like a part of the team.

Ideas & Innovation

17. Hire people smarter than you

Many leaders are scared of hiring smart people because they’re worried about being upstaged and outshone.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur running your own company or a manager climbing through the ranks, this is always false logic.

• The higher you climb through the ranks, the more decisions you’ll be expected to make that you aren’t an expert on. Good luck with that if you don’t have smart people below you sweating the details.

• A huge part of your job as a leader is to hire great talent and by hiring smart people you’re demonstrating effective leadership skills. This can only make you look like you’re doing a great job.

• Smart, thoughtful employees bring fresh ideas to the table and their input raises everyone’s game.

18. Be open minded to new ideas

Just because your organization does something in a particular way doesn’t make it correct. Many companies persist with broken processes simply because employees don’t feel empowered to suggest new ideas or shake things up.

Everyone on your team should feel like their ideas will be heard and taken seriously. As a leader, you should encourage the free exchange of ideas and always recognize the best idea no matter where it comes from.

Decision making

19. Be decisive & data driven

Being decisive is a critical leadership skill every manager needs to master. This doesn’t mean making random decisions to appear decisive, but is the ability to quickly and efficiently evaluate all the available data and make a call.

It also means sometimes making difficult or unpopular decisions when faced with evidence you can’t ignore.

Being data driven is armor that protects you from the inherent risk involved in making decisions that have consequences. You obviously won’t always get it right, but at least you aren’t just shooting in the dark.

20. Handle conflict

Teams are made up of people with different personalities, abilities and ways of getting things done. This is inevitably going to lead to conflict at some point, either involving you or other members of your team.

It’s important to handle conflict decisively, early and respectfully. If the conflict is related to project work then it’s your job to evaluate the conflicting ideas and get everyone moving forward in the same direction.

If the conflict is personal and can’t be easily resolved then it’s time for HR to get involved and use their formal processes to make sure everyone is treated fairly and respectfully.

21. Be transparent

There’s nothing worse than being told to do something with no idea why. Give your team as much context as you can around why you’re making a certain decision.

Career development

22. Develop your cultural intelligence

Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to a persons ability to integrate and work effectively with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

CQ is an extremely important leadership skill to master because people from different cultures, backgrounds and religions often have surprisingly different ways of looking at the world to your own. These differences can include all kinds of things – standards for politeness, work ethic, relationship to money and social interactions to name a few.

There are several things you can practice to improve your cultural intelligence.

• Take an active interest in learning about the different cultures and religious beliefs of your team members. People are generally proud of their culture and love to talk about it.

• Be conscious of your own bias towards certain groups and correct your behavior if you find yourself forming negative judgments.

Having a diverse team should be seen as a great asset because different ways of viewing the world leads to fresh thinking and new ideas.

23. Give all team members a chance to learn and improve

It’s very temping to always give the complex or important tasks to that one person on your team who you know will do an awesome job and do it quickly.

As a leader, part of your job is to focus on the professional development of your team and this means giving everyone a chance to extend themselves and learn new skills.

It might be more work in the short term, but you’ll quickly see benefits including more satisfied workers and a more rounded team that gets work done faster and to a much higher standard.

24. Set clear development goals

Everyone on your team should have formalized professional development goals that are achievable and measurable. These can be focused around whatever will give the most benefit to the employee and help them succeed. For example:

• Completing a relevant course, certificate or training.

• Attending conferences or workshops.

• Actively taking on more responsibility.

• Participating more in group discussions and ideation.

• Providing weekly progress updates.

25. Invest in further training and learning for your team

A lot of organizations talk a big game when it comes to investing in training for their employees, but the reality often doesn’t measure up.

It’s understandable when you think about it – deadlines are always looming and there’s barely enough resources to cover the workload as it is!

However, taking the time to invest in training your team can have real world benefits.

• If you pick the right training, it can make your employee more valuable to the team in the long term.

• Sending a team member to a conference is a great way to reward excellent work. They’ll (hopefully) learn something and it’s a short break from the daily grind. To maximize your return on investment, arrange for them to present what they learned to the entire team so that everyone gets some benefit.

Conferences can add a lot of value, but paying for books or online courses are other ways to invest in the training of your team.

26. Invest in your own personal development

Most of the leadership skills we’ve discussed have been about you getting the most out of your team. However, it’s also very important to make sure you’re getting the most out of yourself!

• Get yourself an experienced mentor to bounce ideas off and discuss your career path.

• Read a lot about leadership and management and stay up to date with the latest research and thinking.

• Be open and honest about your strengths and weaknesses and take steps to practice and improve effective leadership skills.

• Look at the feedback you receive and take action to correct your management style.

Conclusion

Learning effective leadership skills takes time and practice, no matter how naturally gifted you are. You should think of it as a journey of gradual improvement over the entire length of your career.

To summarize the most important takeaways:

• Encourage open communication and transparency to foster new ideas and fresh thinking

• Be positive, confident and decisive.

• Celebrate the success and create an environment where it’s OK to try new ideas and fail.

• Invest in the professional development of your team and yourself.