7 Small Things Good Leaders Always Do (Guest Blog)

Being a good leader isn’t just about huge, sweeping gestures. While you might lead your team to success on every project, that doesn’t exactly tell the whole story. These seven details are things that good leaders always pay attention to, no matter what other things are going on. Nail these, and your bigger picture will be looking sweeter too.

1. Thank their team

When a member of your team delivers a piece of work or completes a task for you, remember to thank them. That simple exchange of words – whether spoken in person or via email – is so important. It makes the employee feel that they are doing a good job and that their hard work is recognised, and also makes them feel more motivated to work even harder next time. All of that – and it doesn’t even cost you a thing.

2. Set goals

How do you know when you’re doing well and when you aren’t? In a sales-based office it might be easy to monitor, but in other environments, things aren’t always so cut and dried. That’s why good leaders will have goals and aims in mind for their team members both individually and as a whole. Tracking these goals and your successes is very important.

3. Maintain order

A good leader knows that a clean and tidy office is conducive to better work and development. Clutter can hamper productivity, so it’s a good tip to clean the office up regularly and put unneeded paperwork and equipment away into storage. Small offices without much space can save money by renting storage space from a community site like Spacer to get those archive boxes out of the way.

4. Lead by example

It’s one thing to ask your team to follow certain rules in the workplace, but it all means nothing if you break those rules yourself. You should lead by example to show everyone how it should be done. This means working hard, keeping your own office neat and tidy, and even setting goals for yourself that you strive to beat.

5. Give credit

As a leader, you can be allowed to take credit for the success of your team. After all, you’re the person who lead them there in the first place. But a truly great leader isn’t just looking to improve their own standing and gain a promotion – they’re also looking out for their team members. That means giving credit where credit is due, and singling out any individual who may have worked hard on a given project in order to make it a success.

6. Deal with issues

When an issue arises, there are lots of ways not to deal with it. You can bury your head in the sand and pretend you don’t see it. You can make adjustments yourself instead of asking your employees to do so, which may result in you having to do that on every single project for the foreseeable future. Or you can deal with it head on. While there are differing schools of thought on how, a good leader always deals with problems.

7. Stay on track

Good leaders serve as the captains of their ship. If they don’t keep an eye out for jagged rocks, know which way the compass is pointing, check if all their crew are working on board, and also remember their overall destination, then the ship’s voyage won’t go well.

Being a good leader means working on many things at the same time. It’s a juggling act, but if you can find true balance, you will succeed!

Author Bio:

Emma Lewis is a loving mother, a devoted wife and a part of the team supporting Spacer – a company helping you find storage space whenever you need it. Emma is also a staunch supporter of the sharing economy and often mentions its benefits.