How Women Can Improve Their Leadership Skills

According to the Women's Leadership Study, recently released by KPMG, it was found that although most women plan to work in leadership roles, majority of them find it hard to visualise themselves as leaders. The study, which surveyed around 3,000 professionals and college women across the US, found that every 6 in 10 women reported that they want to be employed as a senior leader in an organisation and over 50 per cent of them want to be a part of the board. However, 6 in 10 US women also claimed that they tend to find it difficult to think of themselves as business leaders, while sharing how they identify themselves. More than 56 per cent of working women claimed that they were rather cautious about their femininity and moving towards leadership roles.

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Dr. Bernice Ledbetter, Practitioner Faculty of Organizational Theory and Management at Graziadio School of Business and Management of Pepperdine University, wrote in a recent post for The Huffington Post “Fortunately, there are a number of ways that women can develop leadership skills and increase their confidence. Cost, complexity and time commitment vary- but the key is to find the right fit for you. Consider asking your employer to invest in your professional development. Many companies and organizations will pay for classes and trainings. Your boss might also be willing to give you a project that enhances your leadership skills. Sometimes, just asking is all it takes.”

Here are 5 great ways women can build strong leadership skills-

Participate in industry specific seminars

Each and every sector and industry has some associations which conduct various conferences and seminars. Different companies and universities also organise industry specific events which are an excellent way for you to learn from experienced and established leaders and executives, study tips for development and explore latest trends and advancements in your field. Ledbetter wrote “Becoming more immersed in your field and further developing your expertise is one of the best ways to move up the career ladder. ”

Look for online training

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You can find several helpful yet free online resources which can provide you effective guidance for leadership development. According to Dr. Ledbetter “For example, the website Mind Tools has a large index of articles offering advice on topics such as how to delegate effectively, how to build a positive team and how to be an authentic and ethical leader. ”

Pursue a certification program

Several institutes like Pepperdine's Graziadio Business School, offer certificate programmes which have been specifically developed as week-long or short day programmes that focus on teaching a particular discipline. Such type of programmes have been developed for working professionals and aim to offer the flexibility and opportunity to study what they need along with other like-minded individuals. She added “The benefit of getting a formal certification is that in addition to learning valuable information you have a formal credential to add to your resume. ”

Earn an MBA

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 In the article, Dr. Ledbetter wrote “Going back to school and getting an MBA or a MS degree in management and leadership is one of the best ways to develop your leader identity. Higher education helps many students, especially women, develop the confidence, credibility and expertise they need to advance in their career.” This will enable you gain expertise in technical skills like marketing, accounting & finance and learn essential human skills like how to lead a team effectively and manage group dynamics.

Get a mentor

Did you know the most effective leadership training can often come an individual who can show you your mistakes, tell you how to make it right and advice you about the future path towards growth. Dr. Bernice Ledbetter added “Having someone who can give you honest feedback and encouragement is critical for women at every stage in their career. ”

What do you think? How are you improving your leadership skills? Feel free to share your views, concerns and experiences with us by commenting below.

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5 Things You Must Do To Become a Good Leader in 2014

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What sets great leaders apart from the rest? You can have exceptional professional skills and be an expert in your job, but that does not necessarily mean that you are a great leader. You need to be able to adapt yourself to cope with changes and face challenges successfully.

When your organisation faces an exceptional opportunity or a major challenge, how would you manage it? 

 

The fact is you need to possess excellent strategic planning and management skills in order to become an efficient leader. Here’s how you can do this-

• Firstly, you will need to gain the required knowledge and skills by pursuing a postgraduate diploma in strategic management. An online course can help you to manage your job and learn the basic concepts of strategic management conveniently.
• Secondly, you will need to implement your knowledge and skills into your workplace so that you can set specific goals for your company that can be achieved within a set timeline.
• Thirdly you will need to be disciplined and consistent in your performance and actions.

Here a few steps that can help you to become a more successful, respected and effective leader-

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 Learn New Information 

 

You can do this simply by reading various materials that are related to your field and industry. This will not only help you in your professional development, but you will also be able to learn about current issues and trends relevant to your business. You can learn from various sources like trade journals, books, newsletters from reputed companies, magazines. One of the best ways to gain relevant and latest knowledge is by pursuing an online management or leadership course. By pursuing an online management degree you will be able to learn new and effective concepts that will result in improving your performance as a leader. Moreover, when you earn a postgraduate diploma in management online you will gain various insights about different companies and industries as well. 

An online postgraduate course can help you to acquire necessary leadership and strategic management skills, while you continue your full time job. Apart from these, you can also learn from various online sources like online magazine, blogs, videos, podcasts etc. Continuous learning will keep you sharp and improve your knowledge.

Set and Review Goals 

 

It is important to set and review goals for your company and/or department and plan the steps that will help the organisation to achieve those goals. As you progress you will need to identify the challenges and prepare necessary course corrections.

To become a great leader, you need to focus on the bigger picture, the vision for the company and plan the ways to reach there.

Your People Skills

 

Even though this seems simple, but having good interpersonal communication skill is of utmost importance. If you are unable to communicate properly with your team then it will affect their performance and effectiveness. A Postgraduate Diploma in Management will help you to build excellent interpersonal skills.

Communicating with your team will directly result in developing employee engagement as they will feel that you care about them. You can have a brief personal chat with each of your team members about something related to their personal lives like families, hobbies and interests etc. You can also show interest in their work and professional development and thank them for their contributions. Providing continued feedback will also help your team to know their individual weaknesses and work on them. However you need to be authentic and sincere when you communicate with your team members.

Listen

This is one of the most important skills that you need to develop as a successful leader. Listening is different from just waiting for your turn to speak. Ask open-ended questions to your team members so that they can provide sufficient information about the on-going projects and related problems. It is better and more effective to ask the right questions than simply giving directions.

Reflect and Learn from Your Experiences

Reflect on your every day experiences and learn from the steps you took successfully, the things that you could do differently and the things that did not go as planned. It is imperative that you learn from your daily successes and failures as that will enable you to improve continuously. This process will help you to learn from your mistakes and become a better leader.

Becoming a leader is essential for your professional development as well as for the growth of your organisation. You can easily earn a postgraduate diploma in management online to acquire the necessary leadership skills.

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