When planning their careers, many professionals aspire to management positions and, over the years, seek development and technical knowledge to achieve this goal. What many do not consider, however, is that the lack of certain behavioral skills can harm leadership chances .
Although the leader needs a good technical foundation to assume his/her duties safely and be able to be strategic, a large part of his/her occupation involves his/her ability to deal with the team, creating good communication and motivating employees.
And this is only possible if the professional who wants to follow this path develops behavioral skills. This is because their results are directly linked to the team’s progress and, if poorly managed, the team will not perform as desired.
What not to do if you want a chance at leadership
When setting career goals, it is important to prioritize the development of leadership soft skills. Even if you are motivated and have technical knowledge, if you adopt certain attitudes, managers may see you as incapable of taking on this responsibility. See which actions can take away your chance of becoming a leader:
1 – Ignore communication
Talking is very important for the leader because they must communicate with their team members, their superiors, clients and in some cases even managers in the market. If there is no clear and constructive communication, there will be misunderstandings and tensions.
2 – Reject feedback
One skill that will count in any leader’s favor is their ability to improve themselves. And this goes far beyond being informed about the market and having in-depth knowledge of the company where they work.
Professionals who do not accept or deal well with negative feedback miss the chance to work on their personal development and prepare themselves adequately to take on this role, as feedback is a valuable tool for continuous improvement.
3 – Lack of empathy
The best way to motivate employees is to observe their performance and have honest conversations. This involves being empathetic, which allows you to understand their limitations and even suggest opportunities for your team.
Having empathy is very important in one’s private life as well as in their professional setting. A lack of this quality may result in a toxic workplace. Empathy is not only important for the micro-level as it is important to empathise on a macro-level as well, which includes understanding and perceiving people’s needs and emotions that are vital for any good leader.
4 – Avoid making decisions
Leaders need to make decisions, even if they are difficult. Avoiding decisions can create uncertainty and paralyze the team. Improving this skill requires self-confidence , and the more prepared and informed the professional, the more capable he or she will be to make the right decisions.
5 – Be inflexible
In addition to developing empathy to better manage the team, exercising flexibility and adaptability will put the professional in a position to grow. Not only because of the ever-changing dynamics of the market, but because innovation is a constant requirement in organizations, and new things invariably need flexibility to happen.
6 – Not developing a strategic vision
As we said, the best way to define a leader’s work is to divide it into two pillars: team motivation and strategic planning. For this second pillar, in addition to the constant search for new knowledge, the professional must always be aware of the business and the market in which he or she operates.
Industry news, the area of your concern, and the company you’re working for are equally important. Staying proactive like this will allow you to have the expectations of what the company wants to achieve and to formulate strategies to achieve targets in due course.
7 – Not building relationships
All those issues bring in the aspect of social skills, and particularly here a liaison is needed between people in the team, management and between the company and the market. Knowing people, building a database of contacts both in the organisation and across the industry is a must to see what’s on, and of course to cope with ideas.
It would allow, if one and the same professional seeks a more senior position – to find a mentor, who is already a leader in the company or, or virtually just any professional, who you liked, will be useful for them to figure out how to do this.
To do this, he must be able to identify problems and propose solutions, in addition to seeking to assume responsibilities, volunteering for challenging projects and tasks .
The most important thing to keep in mind when aiming for this type of position in your career is that it is a process of constant improvement. No one starts out in the market ready to lead a team, but in small, day-to-day situations, dealing with colleagues and excelling in projects, it is possible to improve these skills.