Quality Leadership Is More Than Just a One-Man Show
Quality leadership is where quality principles become a basis for guiding, empowering, and supporting the constant pursuit of excellence by the employees throughout the organization.
A good leader can bring out the best abilities in his/her team members and motivate them to work together to achieve a shared goal. A good leader is also organized and keeps the team on track and focused on avoiding delays.
Essential Elements of being an Exemplary Quality Leader
It’s never the wrong time to brush up on the basic elements of leadership. Just having the authority to tell people what to do is not the same as leadership. Without the right leadership skills, you won’t be able to motivate, engage, and guide your team. If you want to be the best leader you can be, look at the five fundamentals below to lead your team to greatness.
Communication
Leadership starts with communication. Effective communication is clear, transparent, and customized to the recipient. A good leader will determine which communication style and method (text, e-mail, phone, or in-person) work best for each team member. Communicating with your team builds trust, rapport, and a culture of shared accountability. Communicate—often, clearly, and honestly.
Knowing Your People
A good leader knows his or her team better than anyone else—their strengths, their weaknesses, what makes them tick, and what motivates them. Take the time to get to know your team and you’ll learn how to talk to them—and how to get things done.
Knowing Yourself
It’s not only important to know your team; it’s important to know yourself. Is this just a job to you, or do you truly want to be a leader?—Do you want to motivate, inspire, and lead people? If you’re just in it for the money or the prestige, you’re not a true leader. Your team most likely won’t be happy or engaged, and neither will you.
Diplomacy
If you’re simply telling people what to do, you’re not going to have engaged workers, and your results will probably suffer, too. Sure, sometimes you have to make a tough call and push through an unpopular agenda item, but for the most part, you should try to show your team that they do have choices. Listen to their needs, take suggestions and implement the democratic process when it comes to projects. Of course, every company, department, and project is different, but, for the most part, giving people the autonomy they crave will result in a more engaged workforce and better results. Gently encouraging a collaborative, democratic work environment will be more effective than forcing roles and expectations on people.
Seeking Out Feedback
It’s hard to do an honest self-assessment. Ask for feedback—not only from your team, but other managers, mentors, and colleagues as well. Feedback helps you to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are and how to use them to your advantage.
Get Started
Ready to start the process of purchasing a QHSE management platform? Let one of our Qooling experts guide you through our platform to see if it can benefit your organization. Get started today!
