To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.
Andre Malraux.s
Overcoming Leadership Challenges: Strategies for Success
Being a leader is not a fairly easy job. I think; managing people is one of the most difficult tasks. You need to pull the best out of your team members & hold them even in the worst situations. We all want to become a leader, but have we ever put a thought on Leadership challenges faced by a leader? Leaders today face new challenges due to the pace of social, technological & economic change.
Do these new challenges need a new type of leader?
Remember, a leader is just like the captain of a plane. One wrong move & the complete blame comes on you.
We have various types of people around. You may or may not like someone at the workplace, but that does not mean that you begin being rude to the person you are not comfortable with. As a leader, you genuinely need to be unbiased towards everyone.
Every individual does not have the trait of being fair towards people. As humans, we generally tend to develop feelings of jealousy & hatred towards people we do not like. Always remember, such negative vibes have no room in the professional world. Sit with your junior, listen to their offenses & always try to come up with innovative solutions for keeping up with changing transformation process.
Also Read: 26 Best Leadership Books Of All Time
Challenges Faced by Leaders
1. Moving from Me To We-
There’s an ideal image of leaders; that they transform, inspire & motivate others to achieve great things. However, while it’s true that somebody has to get the wheels spinning, sustaining momentum doesn’t happen without the assembled efforts of many.
Organizations that split their functions into silos face a repetition of leadership challenges of communication & decision making that will not vanish until those individual silos—the “me’s”—learn how to intercross, share information & align themselves toward a shared purpose where they realize that “we” is stronger than “me.” Team performance leads the business performance, so forget about me. Focus on us.
2. Over-Control-
Some leaders can’t truly entrust their employees. This creates a culture of micromanagement that suffocates independent thinking, suppresses creativity & leaves leaders too focused on the short-term VUCA goals.
3. Lack of Problem-Solving & Negotiation Skills-
Problem-solving & negotiation are crucial skills that leaders, teams, and individuals should expert at regardless of the type, sector or size of their organization. However, these skills are not generally taught in a way that enables positive outcomes, successful application & true understanding.
4. Sharpen Effectiveness-
The challenge of developing the pertinent skills — such as prioritization, time-management, decision-making, strategic thinking & getting up to pace with the job — to be more effective at work.
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5. Managing Stakeholders-
The leadership challenge in the workplace of managing relationships, politics & image. It includes obtaining managerial support & securing buy-in from other departments or groups.
6. Innovation for Innovation’s Sake-
Many leaders does this mistake & develop a culture of innovation for innovation’s sake when the goal should truly be innovation for elevation’s sake. When leaders force innovation first &foremost, they are pushing their people into an “innovate first/assess later” mindset. This always leads to failure & irritation, as innovative ideas combined with ineffective, superficial collaboration & non-existent negotiation skills can swiftly swirl recklessly out of control.
To reach the stage of effective innovation, leaders & their people must first experts at collaboration, problem-solving, negotiation & strong leadership skills. Then they should turn to innovation when teams are working together collectively & are ready for the disruptions innovation automatically brings to the table eventually leading to effective business transformation.
7. Guiding Change–
The challenge of mobilizing, managing, understanding & leading change. It includes knowing how to reduce consequences, control resistance to change, and deal with employees’ reactions to change.
8. Leading a Team-
The challenge of team development, team building & team management. Particular leadership challenges involve how to inculcate pride, how to lead a big team, how to provide support & what to do when taking over a new team.
The leadership challenge is to listen to everyone’s beliefs & come to a jointly advantageous solution.
Leader’s Tip:
Accept adaptability: It takes flexibility and open-mindedness to navigate and resolve difficult problems.
How to Overcome Top Leadership Challenges
1. Set Goals
Be energetic in setting goals, as well as making the timelines & deadlines, necessary to keep yourself & your teams on track. While no leader can entirely avoid surprises, goal setting offers a map that you can return to time & again to refocus on your top priorities while handling other leadership challenges in management.
One time-honored approach is the SMART method. When setting a goal, make sure it’s:
- Specific. Write down a complete description of what achieving the goal would involve.
- Measurable. Set targets that you can evaluate to judge progress.
- Attainable. Stretch goals are fine, but you also need to make sure that achieving the goal is possible.
- Realistic. Be sure you understand what you will likely need — in terms of talent, resources & time, to achieve it.
- Timed. Create deadlines for striking milestones on the way to your goal, as well as for achieving the goal itself during the process of transformation.
2. Inspire your Subordinates
Don’t expect your juniors to focus on work if you are not serious about your work. Try to understand the psychology of your employees.
Suppose an individual who leads a team of seven employees also has a reporting boss. Now try to inspect your relationship with your boss. How would you feel if your boss insults you in front of all? Yes, you would never like to see your Boss’s face again and he/she would become your biggest enemy. Yes, your team members also go through the same feeling when you scold them in public. Always keep yourself in other’s shoes before reacting. Of course, a boss should be a little rigid, else no one would listen to him/her but it doesn’t mean you need to be a Hitler.
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3. Uplift Open Communication among Team Members
A leader needs to know what his team members are up to but yes there is a difference between knowing & interfering.
You should give your team members the space they need. Win the trust of your team members by sitting with them once every week & ask whether they are happy with their current role or not? Always Remember, those employees who are not satisfied with their jobs, generate problems. Let them come up with their offenses & you must offer the most suitable solution. Believe me, if minor issues are addressed at the earliest, you would never have a problem later on, especially while you’re on the path of organization transformation.
4. Delegate More
If you delegate, you’ll be more productive handling leadership challenges & you’ll authorize your colleagues to take more ownership. Effective delegation involves a repeating cycle of 4 key steps:
- Considerate your Preferences– Productive delegators prioritize their workload & decide which tasks to keep & which to pass on to someone else.
- Being Clear About the Purpose Of The Task- A task’s purpose gives it meaning. By aligning this purpose with a team or individual beliefs & goals, delegation can become an opportunity for personal growth, ultimately helping the organization to grow and have a better business transformation.
- Knowing Your People- To delegate efficiently, you must give tasks to people that match their skills & knowledge. It means that you have to understand your people & extract the best out of them. Once in a while go out with them for client presentations, sales meetings, and so on. You need to make sure your employees that you are always there with them, even in the toughest times.
5. Amplify Your Unique Value
Prioritize by concentrating on doing the most important tasks that only you can do. There will always be more things competing for your attention than you have time and energy to do. Prioritize the most important tasks that only you can do & pass on everything else.
Leaders generate value for their organizations by focusing on the unique contributions only they can make. Understanding what those unique values are for you, and delegating everything else allows you to amplify the value you create for the organization. This is part of increasing your self-awareness & understanding your leadership brand so you can perform your duties well during leadership transformation.
Leadership is no rocket science. The need is only to treat your subordinates with maximum care &respect.
Leader’s Tip:
Create a supportive workplace through empowering team members, fostering cooperation, and fostering a culture of learning and creativity.
Final Word
Leadership Challenges are going to come your way every day at any time. They are going to shape who you are as a leader, how you work, how you inspire your team members, how you fulfill the organizational goals, and so on. There are many obstacles in the path to leadership that need to be properly looked upon by the leaders, otherwise, they could cause hindrance in the future. The leaders can start by defining their own goals and beliefs, which are the guiding principles for making decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can leaders handle resistance to change during a challenging period?
Leaders can handle resistance to change by clearly communicating the purpose and benefits of the change, addressing concerns and fears, involving team members in the decision-making process, providing training and support, and leading by example through embracing and demonstrating the change themselves.
What role does self-reflection play in overcoming leadership challenges?
Self-reflection allows leaders to identify their strengths and weaknesses, understand their impact on others, gain insights into alternative approaches, and continuously improve their leadership skills and decision-making abilities
Key Takeaways:
- Overcoming difficulties promotes leadership and team development by fostering personal and professional progress.
- Communication is essential. Building trust through open and efficient communication also helps to align objectives and solve problems.
- The ability to bounce back from setbacks, persevere, and lead others through hardship are essential traits for leaders.