Qualities of a great leader Archives

If you're an executive at a large organization or previously served in such a position, you likely have experience working in large groups or teams. When working in a group to accomplish a goal, have you ever thought about your decision-making style and how it impacts others?

Getting a better understanding of your decision-making style and its impact on others is a quality of a good leader. This subject was discussed in a recent Executive Office Hours session inside Work It DAILY. Executive Office Hours is available exclusively for Work It DAILY's executive-level subscription members.

Decision-Making Styles

There are four basic decision-making styles that people fall under in a team setting:

North - A person with this style likes to take action and figure things out as they go along.
East - This person is a little more pensive with their decision making. They like to look at the bigger picture and consider all options.
South - This person likes to get a better understanding of the team dynamic and make sure that everyone's feelings are taken into consideration.
West - This person likes to pay attention to details and is always interested in knowing the who, what, when, where, and why before acting.

Why It's Important To Know Your Decision-Making Style

If you want to be a good leader, it's important to understand your decision-making style. When leading a large team of people, you'll quickly find out that everyone views teamwork differently. By understanding how everyone makes decisions, you're able to set a direction for the team in which everyone feels includedâand potentially avoid clashes among group members.

When team members don't feel comfortable with the team's approach, they feel less engaged with the company, and that unhappiness often leads to staff turnover.

Understanding the four decision-making styles also allows you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. You can evaluate the strengths and limitations of your style, while better communicating your style with colleagues. You also get a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your colleagues' decision-making styles.

Your Decision-Making Style Is Part Of Your Executive Brand

If you're an executive looking for a new job, knowing your decision making-style is also a good way to see if you'll fit in with a prospective employer. If you get a sense during the interview process that the company's decision-making style process is the opposite of yours, it's something to consider before taking the job.

Ultimately, your decision-making style fits into your workplace persona, which makes up your executive brand.

If you're unfamiliar with your workplace persona, try Work It Daily's FREE Career Decoder Quiz. Understanding how your decision-making style and workplace persona work together will help you determine your professional strengths so you can market yourself more effectively to employers.

Topics like this and more are discussed every week in Executive Office Hours. In addition to a weekly presentation, each session includes personal stories and updates from other executives in the group.

Are you interested in having access to these private sessions? Check out our executive-level membership. Start working with career expert J.T. O'Donnell on your LinkedIn brand and image management today!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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What’s Your Executive Decision-Making Style?

Owners of successful business enterprises will be the first ones to tell you that you need to invest in your people. When you are running a business, you need to rely on the efficiency of each person involved in the organization, whether that person is a front liner or is working in the back office.

Being an owner of a huge corporation entails a lot of responsibilities and that includes hiring and retaining the best people to run your company. You need to look for the best managers who can effectively handle a team of employees.

If you are in the engineering industry, you probably know by now that completing a certain building project will involve hundreds of people divided into different teams. Having the best managers to handle each team is the best way to ensure the success of your project.

Here are some qualities all great managers have:

1. Managers Should Have Strong Interpersonal Skills

The best engineering managers have a way of dealing with people and making sure that each person in the team feels valued. Look for a manager who knows how to handle the different needs and concerns of their team members. It is the responsibility of the manager to keep their people motivated to come to work every day and to be highly productive.

Apart from that, a great manager should ensure that the relationship among their team members is harmonious. Should there be any conflict among the members, they have to be able to iron them out effectively without sacrificing the productivity of the entire team.

2. Managers Should Be Effective In Doing Goal-Setting Activities With Their Team

Each member of the team should feel like they are a valued member of the company. This is why great managers should be able to effectively carry out goal-setting activities with their team. They can conduct strategic planning activities and team-building activities to ensure that each member's goals are streamlined with the entire company's goals.

Apart from goal setting in terms of the company's needs, great managers should also be able to sit down and talk with each team member. Their personal life goals are equally important to the goals that they have for their career. Do they aim to get married in the next few years? Do they aim to migrate with their entire family in the near future? These are things that managers should be aware of. This way, they can prepare ahead of time for sudden changes in the organization and they can ensure proper turnover of responsibilities from one employee to another.

3. Managers Should Be Able To Properly Assess The Skills Of Each Team Member

Employees have different core competencies, skills, and talents that they can contribute to the company. A great manager will be able to pinpoint these skills so that they can help the employee further harness their potential.

Managers should be aware of any workshops and seminars that they could send their employees to. Allowing them to have trainings will further enhance their skills and help them to contribute more to the company as a whole. Understanding the skills and goals of each team member will be highly beneficial to the company because each member will feel more valued and more motivated to work even harder.

4. Managers Should Be Able To Live By Example

The best managers always make sure that they are the perfect role models for their team members. They live by the company's rules and code of conduct. They ensure that they are the perfect shining example of what a model employee is because this is the only way that they can make the rest of the team follow.

A great leader should start by being a good follower. Excellent managers are those who follow the company's standards and bend the rules only if it is for the greater good.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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