Last week we looked at four survival skills for success as a leader: teachable, a good listener, the ability to forgive, and core convictions. As stated last week, without these skills, failure or mediocrity are likely outcomes.
This week, let us look at two more of these survival skills for successful leadership.
Delegation: Delegation is about the ability to relinquish responsibility to others. These responsibilities may include things that you either do not have the time or the ability to do well.
Many leaders struggle with this one. For some it is a matter of ego; they believe that as leader they must do it themselves in order to maintain control. Other leaders believe another person will not do the task in the way they want it done. Still other leaders simply do not know how to delegate.
Moses was a leader who did not know how to delegate. His father-in-law Jethro observed the long days he was putting in at the office and suggested to him the art of delegation. If Moses had continued putting in those long hours, both he and his people would have paid for it: Moses with his health and the people by receiving bad judgment from a tired man.
I once had a boss who struggled with delegating even though he knew he needed to delegate some things. He would “delegate” something to me, yet follow up on the same thing as I would discover later. I once had to say to him, “Either trust me to get the task done or don’t. But do not ask me to follow up on something, and then follow up on the same thing yourself.”
Many leaders are overworked, tired, and delivering at a mediocre level because they are not delegating. Some have even quit – or are thinking about quitting – because they do not have the survival skill of delegating.
In order for leaders to be successful, they must learn the art of delegating.
Communication skills: Leaders must know how to communicate clearly and powerfully. This is as important as any of the others in that, at the very least, it is the leader’s responsibility to communicate the mission, vision and purpose of the organization. Also the leader must communicate well in order to motivate, confront, cheer on and unite those she is leading.
A pre-requisite for good communication skills is a heathy self-esteem. A leader must like who he is before he can like others in a healthy way. A leader who is not aware of her own shortcomings, or is in denial of her shortcomings, will have trouble communicating in a positive and heathy way with those she is leading.
A leader with good communication skills has the ability to bring out the best in others even when the topic is difficult or heated. Good communication skills are not about winning the argument, but about achieving clarity for all involved.
While there are other factors that contribute to the success of leaders, they will struggle to succeed if they do not work at being good with the six survival skills discussed during these past two weeks.
Remember, we have been talking about survival skills, not gifts. Some leaders may be naturally gifted in one or more of these areas. But skills imply that they can be – and should be – learned if leaders want to be successful.
In which of the survival skills are you doing well already? Which ones need development?
If you desire to evaluate your leadership survival skills, I want to offer you a complimentary leadership development coaching session.
If you would like help in achieving your goals in any area of your life, call us at 208-880-0307 or email us at errol@errolcarrim.com to schedule a complimentary coaching session. To read Errol’s other posts, visit Christ-Centered Life Coaching.
Photo credit: Nguyen Vu Hung (vuhung) / Foter / CC BY