How to Improve Your Leadership Skills at Work: A Complete Guide

It’s all too easy to get stuck in the routine of day-to-day tasks in the workplace. But, it’s just as important to carve out space to develop the skills you need to advance within your organization. That’s why developing leadership skills in the workplace is a must, whether you want to move into a leadership role or simply become a more effective leader.

In today’s workplace, leaders are faced with more challenges than ever, whether it’s managing complex interpersonal dynamics, working in global environments, leading organizations through a transformative period, or a combination of all three. The ability to adapt leadership skills to meet the moment is the difference between success and failure.

“Because our environment becomes more turbulent, more volatile, more uncertain and ambiguous, new problems show up every day,” says Sebastian Fixson, associate dean of academic programs and innovation at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business and professor of innovation and design at Babson College. “The future of work is innovation work.”

Here is how you can develop the leadership skills you need to innovate in organizations of all kinds.

Developing strong leadership skills is crucial for career advancement and success in any organization With good leadership, you can motivate teams, improve workflows, and help your company achieve its goals.

Whether you’re a new manager or an experienced executive, there are always opportunities to enhance your leadership abilities. The good news is that leadership skills can be learned and improved with deliberate effort over time.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to become a better leader at work

Assess Your Strengths and Development Areas

The first step is to identify areas where you excel as a leader, and those that need improvement. This self-reflection will help you focus your efforts on building skills in the right places.

Consider how you perform in these key aspects of leadership:

Communication: Are you able to communicate openly and frequently with your team? Do you tailor messages for different audiences?
Delegating: Can you effectively assign tasks and empower others to succeed in their roles?
Decision Making: Are you able to make timely decisions with confidence and think critically?
Motivating Others: Do you inspire your team to bring their best effort and enthusiasm to work each day?
Problem Solving: When challenges arise, are you able to develop solutions and overcome obstacles?
Developing Others: Do you support your team members’ growth by providing coaching and training opportunities?

Be honest with yourself about where your leadership skills are falling short. The best leaders continue to learn and improve themselves.

Take Leadership Training Courses

Formal training is an excellent way to build new competencies and reinforce effective leadership techniques.

Look for courses focused on management fundamentals, communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, coaching, and other topics that match your development needs.

Options to explore include:

Online leadership courses: Self-paced elearning modules allow you to improve skills on your schedule. Many cover foundational topics at an affordable price point.
University programs: Enroll part-time in a leadership certificate program through a local college or university business school. These provide in-depth education and opportunities to network with peers.
Company training: Larger organizations often provide leadership development training internally. Check if courses are offered and encourage your manager to enroll you.
Professional workshops: Attend industry seminars and workshops to gain exposure to new strategies and practices. Look for sessions on empowering teams, driving change management, building trust, and other leadership themes.

The investment in leadership training delivers a very high ROI if you apply the knowledge in your daily work.

Develop Technical and Tactical Skills

While interpersonal abilities are crucial for leaders, it’s also important to maintain strong tactical skills in your functional area.

As a subject matter expert, your advice will carry more weight with stakeholders and direct reports. Stay up-to-date on industry trends, technologies, and best practices.

Consider learning new technical skills through online tutorials, certifications, conferences, and training programs. Dedicate time each week to expanding your knowledge base.

You’ll also gain credibility by being able to roll up your sleeves and contribute hands-on to projects when needed. Leaders who understand their business at an intimate level tend to earn deep respect from teams.

Find a Mentor

Another way to build leadership skills over time is by finding an experienced mentor to provide guidance.

Look for mentors who can advise you on challenges like:

Managing former peers who are now direct reports
Saying “no” to requests when your plate is full
Providing constructive feedback to underperforming employees
Influencing decisions when you lack authority
Balancing work and personal life as a leader

Schedule regular 1-on-1 meetings with mentors to learn from their expertise. Be open about your leadership gaps and development goals. The perspective of a seasoned leader is invaluable.

You may find mentors within your organization or through alumni or professional networks. Having both internal and external mentors brings helpful diversity of thought.

Set Leadership Development Goals

To stay focused and motivated, establish specific goals around building your leadership abilities.

Good goals have several key characteristics:

Measurable – Goals should have defined metrics to track progress. Rather than “get better at public speaking,” a stronger goal is “do one monthly presentation to my team.”
Time-bound – Give yourself a deadline to achieve the goals, such as 3, 6 or 12 months out. This creates accountability.
Realistic – Be sure goals are within your control and capability. Anything too lofty sets you up for frustration.
Supported – Share your goals with a mentor or manager. Their guidance and regular check-ins will boost your success.

Review goals regularly and adjust the timeline or scope if needed. Celebrate wins along the way!

Admit Mistakes and Move Forward

No leader is perfect. When something goes wrong or you make the wrong call, openly acknowledge the failure with your team. Honesty and vulnerability will be appreciated.

Resist the urge to point fingers or make excuses. Simply state the facts, apologize, and lay out the plan to fix the situation.

Your team will respect you more for this humility and transparency. Doing a post-mortem allows everyone to extract learnings while restoring confidence more quickly.

Then you’re able to move forward with renewed motivation. Dwelling on the failure just holds you back.

Build Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) enables you to manage your own emotions and recognize how others are feeling. This “people skill” is integral to leadership.

Ways to improve emotional intelligence include:

Empathy – Listen closely to understand team members’ perspectives before asserting your own. Suspend judgement.
Self-regulation – Stay calm under stress. Pause before reacting to frustrating situations.
Self-awareness – Reflect on your mindset, emotional state, and how it impacts others. Get feedback from trusted sources.
Motivation – Inspire people by linking their roles to higher company goals and purpose. Appeal to their intrinsic motivations.
Social skills – Build authentic connections with colleagues through trust and compassion. Read body language in interactions.

Developing EQ takes commitment, but the payoff in terms of engagement, collaboration and conflict reduction is immense.

Communicate Frequently and Transparently

Communication issues are among the top complaints from employees about their leaders.

Set up structures to inform, engage with and listen to your staff through:

All hands meetings to update the full team and field questions
Regular email or Slack updates on projects, wins, and company news
One-on-one meetings to touch base on goals, get feedback, and mentor
Skip level meetings with direct reports’ teams to hear concerns directly
Office hours where anyone can sign up to talk to you about what’s on their mind
Anonymous surveys to surface honest opinions without repercussions

Be open about organizational changes, and give context to help people understand the rationale behind decisions. This transparency is critical for building trust.

Schedule daily blocks of uninterrupted time to stay responsive to staff needs. Keeping an open door and answering messages quickly reinforces your commitment.

Foster Diversity and Inclusion

Leaders should champion diversity, equity and inclusion at every level of the organization. This could involve:

Reviewing hiring and promotion practices for implicit bias and removing unfair barriers.
Ensuring diverse voices and perspectives are represented in decision making.
Facilitating open dialogues about DEI issues. Listen without judgement.
Challenging and educating those who exhibit harmful, exclusive behaviors.
Expanding employee resource groups and mentorships for underrepresented groups.
Accommodating team members’ needs around disabilities, family leave, religious practices, etc.
Using inclusive language in communications that makes all employees feel valued and respected.

By modeling this inclusive mindset and calling out inequities, leaders send the message that DEI is integral to the company’s culture and values.

Empower Your Team

Give your direct reports the trust, authority and resources to chart their own course. The more you empower people, the more initiative they will take.

Empowering tactics include:

Set clear goals but give staff discretion in how they achieve them. Don’t micromanage.
Allow mistakes as learning opportunities, not failures. Offer guidance to do better next time.
Solicit input on projects and decisions so people feel heard and engaged.
Give credit publicly when staff do great work and make progress. Recognize their contributions.
Encourage calculated risks and innovative ideas to grow skills, even if some may not succeed.
Ask thought-provoking questions instead of providing all the answers. Stimulate critical thinking.
Delegate responsibilities that let people stretch their abilities and gain experience.

The more you trust and empower your staff, the more their confidence and performance will soar

how to improve leadership skills in the workplace

Think Big, Be Bold

Breakthrough innovation requires you to think big. Your work will change how your company creates value today and in the future.

This requires you to think beyond the day to day and look at the long term, an admittedly hard skill to develop and practice with many companies focused on next quarter’s numbers, not necessarily what those numbers mean for the big picture.

As Professor Gina O’Connor said in her Fast Company article, “Innovation has a long time horizon, and companies must invest consistently in order to see payoffs.” O’Connor’s research backs this idea. As a professor of innovation management at Babson College and an instructor in Babson’s executive education program, O’Connor says leaders need to:

Identify and commit to a few future-focused opportunity domain areas, rather than focusing only on short-term issues.
Institute an organizational capability that identifies, incubates, and scales new businesses through the use of portfolio management for so-called Horizon 3 opportunities.
Design a management system that supports new business platform creation and aligns skills, process, governance, resourcing, and metrics, without ignoring the uncertainty inherent in this activity.

Develop a vision for your team, communicate it, and then support your team in making it a reality.

Recognize That No One Is Born a Leader

Not only is no one born a leader, but many organizations do not teach employees necessary leadership skills.

As the Harvard Business Review points out, many individuals in leadership and managerial roles were promoted because of their technical or functional skills. The responsibility is on you to bridge the skills gap between technical expert and effective leader. The bottom line? Good leadership qualities can be taught.

How to Improve Leadership Skills at Work

Why are leadership skills important?

2. Communication A leader’s communication abilities are critical to a team’s success. To understand why, you need to think about the role leaders fill: They motivate others to follow them and work toward shared goals.

How can I improve my leadership skills?

There are several ways you can work to improve upon your leadership skills. These include: 1. Incorporate discipline into your everyday life Discipline is a major component of an effective leader and can work to encourage others to be disciplined as well. As a leader, others will judge your performance based on the discipline you portray at work.

How can you improve workplace functionality as a leader?

Comprehending your team members’ points of view can help you better address their needs, solve problems and find ways to improve workplace functionality as a leader. To do this effectively, try to engage in active listening, asking thoughtful questions and making sure you fully grasp what they’re communicating to you.

How do I hone my leadership skills?

Diversifying your skills is an effective way to hone your leadership skills, since most leaders need an expansive set of competencies to lead entire teams and motivate high-quality work across specialties. Therefore, trying something new can help you avoid over-specializing in a single role and grow your cross-functional knowledge.