Effective & Consistent Workplace Leadership

Hi, I'm Dr. Natalie Bittere, and today we're talking about leadership in your career. So leadership is a huge topic, and I'm trying to make it specific to different types of audiences. So today's video is about people who are in employment and if you're working in like a team, one organization and a structure, how you can work on your own leadership skills and become a more effective leader. So the first thing I would say is always try and beat expectations. It's just about taking initiative, really. Most people who are good leaders are not doing the bare minimum. Think about anyone you admire or inspires you or good leader. You know, whether it's in your office or in a movie or a mentor or a colleague, they always go above and beyond expectations. It's a wonderful thing because it means you're taking initiative. You're doing more than is expected of you, which is more than the bare minimum, which is more than other people around you are thinking is possible. So you're always going to be impressive. You're always going to be like, oh, wow, they even did this. Or that report was done so well, or they went the extra mile and did this. It's memorable, it's admirable. People will look up to you and respect you. Shows that you're good at your job, you know what you're doing, you take it seriously. So you want to build that trust and respect in the way people feel about you in the workplace. And that's one of the first things about being a leader. People need to respect you, they need to trust you. They need to know you know what you're doing. It's not just about being the loudest person in the room or the one who asks the most questions or the most pushy one. It's about people truly believing in what you say and what you do. And the first way to do that is to lead by example. So make sure you're going above and beyond. You're meeting your deadlines, you're handling things on time, on the right quality, and you're going the extra mile. I'm not saying burn yourself out by putting in extra hours because so many people spend so much time, but the quality of their work is not that much more. That's why it's so important to understand productivity and your own energy and your time management so that you're being effective. You're putting in quality over quantity. So lead by example and make sure you're beating expectations. Be that impressive person in your office, in your team. We can always count On Sally, man, she's so good at what she does. Or we can always count on Jacob because whenever we ask him for something, not only does he deliver it on time and properly, he always goes extra and even adds in bonus materials that make sure the project go further. So you have to see what you can do to be impressive to beat the expectations that are put on you. Don't do the bare minimum. If your life is hard and it is stressful and you just need to take the boxes and go home at 5, no wahala. It's up to you. It won't be impressive in the office. Maybe you have other priorities right now. But a good way to be a leader and to show leadership in the workplace with your team is to beat expectations. Make sure that they trust and respect that you know what you are doing. The next step, I would say, is about listening. This is where emotional intelligence comes in. It's about knowing the people on your team, in your department, even in other departments. It's about making those genuine connections and actually understanding what people are going through, how they think, what their strengths and weaknesses are. Because then you can take initiative and you can be a leader to the team because you'll know, oh, Jacob is good at this, is good at that. Oh, John is good at this, but he struggles in this area. So when we're assigning people on the project, let me help him with this area and reassign this to someone else. Then he'll believe in you, he'll understand, he'll appreciate that effort you put in for him and it helps you to be more effective in your work. If you know your team members really well, then you can achieve the goals of the company or the project, whatever you're working on, better. Because all human beings are different. We don't all need to be the same. No one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and it's about managing them, using your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses. If you know you're weak in something, don't volunteer for that project. If you know you're strong at it, say, I can handle that extra part. And as a leader in the workspace, it's helpful if you can back up people when they are volunteering, when they're saying, you know, when they have questions, because you know them, you understand them. When Jacob asks that question in the meeting, you know why? It's because his background is in finance. So when we're talking about a marketing project, he's not understanding why you would make this decision. And so you can speak up, because you have that insight, and that shows leadership. It shows you're taking initiative among the group. Even when things are difficult or challenging, you are the one who knows the people. This one has a hot temper. This one is very shy. This one is going to bring up this problem on Tuesday in the morning meeting. You know it because you've taken time to get to know your team. You've listened to them, you understand them. You're making connections with them and understanding their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, their goals, what's driving them, what's motivating them, what's stressing them. Why are they not performing as they used to? Are they going through something in their personal life? Is there another colleague who is being difficult? It's up to you to take that initiative to understand people. And the better you understand them, the better the team can work, and the more they'll listen to you and your influence. Because they trust what you're saying. Because you've shown that you understand each of them and you know each of them, and you're trying to make their lives better, the project better, to make sure the company is moving smoothly so they will listen to your opinion. And that gives you more influence, which is a leadership trait. The last thing I would say is courage. This is a hard one, but it's something you can cultivate. It's just about practicing. Because to be a leader, you have to have courage. We can't all be scared together. Then nothing happens. There always has to be someone who's ready to speak out first, someone who's ready to break the awkward silence, someone who's ready to have the difficult conversation. And that is usually the leader of the.