10 Tips for Being a Better Leader

Whether you're a collections system supervisor or the director of an entire public works department, effective leadership is central to any team's success. Without someone to drive progress, productivity can falter. Consider how you guide your team each day and the overall impact you make. 

Following these 10 simple tips can help you to boost your leadership ability and ensure your team — and overall utility — achieves great success. 

1.     Be passionate. If you don’t believe in your utility and the services you provide, neither will your workers. Start each day with a positive attitude and show enthusiasm for projects and initiatives. Take pride in the services you provide.

2.     Have a clear vision and goals. Set forth clear expectations about the direction the utility is headed in and what the future holds. Make sure that employees are all on the same page and working toward common goals.

3.     Become a role model. Hold yourself to the same standards and expectations that you place on your workers. Model the qualities that you want them to embrace. By becoming more visible and involved, you build trust and respect.

4.     Improve communication. Make sure that you are able to clearly and concisely communicate information. Take the time to listen to workers and acknowledge their questions, concerns and ideas. Show empathy and genuine interest. Become more aware of not only your verbal communication, but also what your body language conveys.

5.     Encourage employee contributions. Some of the best ideas can come from employees. They interact with clients and customers every day and have an intimate knowledge of how well practices and procedures are working. Hear them out about ways to make improvements. Make changes that will improve their ability to do their job.

6.     Provide motivation. Challenge workers to excel at what they do. Give them opportunities to grow and advance. Find out what inspires and encourages them. Praise employees for their hard work and dedication. Set goals to work toward.

7.     Recognize accomplishments. Give credit where credit is due. Acknowledge the work of individuals or teams and the contributions they have made. People like to know that their hard work has not gone unnoticed and that they are making a difference.

8.     Learn to delegate. One of the hardest things for leaders to do is relinquish some of their control. You have a staff for a reason – utilize their strengths and abilities. Allow them to take responsibility for tasks that they are capable of handling so that you can focus on more important issues. You still have the final say so make sure to follow up with them, but it will free up some of your time and reduce daily stress.

9.     Keep an open mind. Be willing to look at things from a new perspective. Encourage feedback from workers and customers and hear what they have to say. This could ultimately lead to increased efficiency and productivity.

10.  Learn from your mistakes. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them. Be willing to accept the blame and move on. Use your errors to make adjustments to the way things are done so that the same mistake does not happen again. Constantly be looking for ways to grow and improve. 

By making a conscious effort to improve yourself and your leadership abilities, you can make a positive impact on your municipality. Not only can it increase productivity and efficiency, it can lead to greater employee satisfaction. Start making changes today for a better tomorrow. 

About the Author

Amanda E. Clark is the president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic Inc., a full-service professional writing company. She is a published ghostwriter and editor, and currently under contract with literary agencies in Malibu, Calif., and Dublin, Ireland.

Since founding Grammar Chic in 2008, Clark, along with her team of skilled professional writers, has offered expertise to clients in the creative, business and academic fields. The company accepts a wide range of projects and often engages in content and social media marketing, drafts resumes, press releases, Web content, marketing materials and ghostwritten creative pieces. Contact Clark at www.grammarchic.net.



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