Use These Strategies To Be Perceived An Effective Leader

Last Updated on May 4, 2024 by Nadim Alamuddin

If you Google the keyword “how to be perceived an effective leader,” you’ll find more than 98 million results. So, what will be different in this post, you may ask? Fair question.

In this post, I’ll be writing about the strategies I have personally used that may have made me perceived as an effective leader. Ask anyone who has worked with me, and they’d probably describe me as such. But, don’t take my word for it. Check me out on LinkedIn and, at the end of this post, please leave me your comments…

I have been privileged to have worked in many roles throughout my career. I’ve worked in both the consulting and corporate environments. I have worked in a myriad of industries. I’ve been an employee, reporting to a manager or more than one manager. And I’ve been a manager with up to 85 people reporting to me. In every role I took on, I practiced the strategies I discuss here today.

Strategy No.1: Make Time To Get To Know Your Colleagues

This has been the fundamental rule I abide by. I am surprised to notice how few people take the time to meet or interact with others in the same company. People who practically sit within a few feet of each other would rather email each other than talk.

When I say “your colleagues”, these are not necessarily people who report to you, or people within your department who work with you. It could be anyone who works in the same company as you do. They may be sitting right across from you, or in another floor, building or even country. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you allocate time daily to get to know them.

And, if you take the time to get to know your colleagues, what do you think this will do to their perception of you as a leader? That’s right. And, next time you’ll ask anything of them, they’d be a lot more responsive than if they didn’t know you from Adam!

Strategy No.2: Listen To Your Colleagues

In my experience, I was fortunate to have worked in multicultural environments. I recognize that each one of us comes from different backgrounds, education, experiences and/or industries.

Every one of us brings all of this experience to the table. When you go into a meeting, you need to listen to others’ ideas, defend them, make sure they are heard. Even if you think the idea is not the best, don’t express anything negative. Do instill a spirit of respect and encourage more ideas. A by-product of this is that people will feel empowered.

Strategy No.3: Schedule One-On-One Meetings

Another key strategy, if you’re a manager. Your employees feel important when you devote time out of your busy schedule to give your attention to their needs. Use this time to get a progress update, to share important news, to let them express their grievances, to offer your guidance if required, or to just get to know them.

Set SMART goals with your employee(s). This may be part of their performance evaluation, at the beginning of the year. If you do this right, and keep your one on one meetings, neither of you should be surprised at the mid-year or end of year performance review.

Strategy No.4: Communicate Clearly

Here, I wanted to say “delegate & communicate clearly.” However, not every leader is necessarily a manager or is in a position of authority. Regardless, when you delegate or ask for a task to be done, you must be absolutely clear of what you need. The task should have an objective, a deadline date and enough details to get the person or team working on it.

Meetings & Conference Calls

If you’re chairing a meeting, your presentation should be short, concise and always begin with the objectives that you want to get out of the meeting. Otherwise, why waste people’s time to meet?

When doing conference calls, speak clearly and concisely. Think before you speak. Conference calls can have bad lines, static, and, if you’re not communicating clearly, you may risk being misunderstood or misinterpreted. This leads to a slew of challenges.

Delegate & Follow Up

If you are in a position where people report to you, when you delegate, your “instructions” must be clear. Allow your team to ask any questions to clarify further and don’t leave anything to ambiguity. Make sure to set time bound instructions and communicate that you will follow up by a certain date. And make sure you do.

Timely Updates

As a leader, you are likely to be in a position where you’re getting a holistic view of your companies news, projects, and overall status.

Don’t keep your team in the dark. Set up weekly meetings, dedicating the first 5-10 minutes for a company update. You need to share the company vision, mission and important information with your team so that you’re all working consistently towards the same goals. Let your employees know that their efforts contribute to the overall success of the company.

Strategy No.5: Express Gratitude

Another key strategy that works wonders. Give a pat on the back to anyone who deserves it. It’s your job to recognize performing employees. Do whatever it takes to acknowledge their good work and efforts.

I had an experience in the past where someone came to me and told me that they don’t practice “praise” in their culture because people will slacken off as a result! I was surprised. In my experience, if anything, saying “thank you” has always encouraged and motivated people.

I send “Thank You” emails to colleagues that I don’t even manage. It’s a practice to give credit where credit is due. I used to work for IBM, who used to have a “Recognition” system which allowed employees to give praise to other colleagues by sending greeting cards with a copy to their managers. In turn, if you get recognized by a colleague, you would get points towards a Rewards program. A great way to keep people motivated.

Strategy No.6: Roll Up Your Sleeves And Dig In

Just because you’re in a position of authority doesn’t mean you’re above others. Do not make the mistake to undermine your colleagues. Each one of us has a skill and a role to play and, when we all do our part, it is called team work.

When I see a need for my skill set, I “forget” my role, and I take full ownership of a task and drive it to completion. As a team player, you need to pitch in where you can. You need to contribute for the overall benefit of your company.

Strategy No.7: Lead By Example

If you practice all the above strategies, and have a positive motivational attitude, you’ll definitely be perceived as an effective leader. People will start to emulate your behavior, your attitude in the workplace.

You need to be consistent with your actions, delegate and follow up, respect others, empower them, do whatever it takes to keep them motivated and performing in their roles.

Of course, there will be conflicts in the workplace. And, when these occur, remember that you, as a leader, should be in a position to resolve them, rather than escalate them. Find out the root cause, and if it’s a certain colleague, take him/her aside to somewhere private and have a discussion to get it solved. Never reprimand in front of others. This is another trait that will get you perceived an effective leader.

Are You Perceived An Effective Leader?

As I have highlighted above, are you surprised that most of the strategies have little to do with management and everything to do with your own attitude and behavior? In this technology age, where we prefer to email one another, or chat via WhatsApp, shouldn’t we be paying more attention to interacting and helping each other?

Hey, thank you for stopping by! Did you notice that I deviated a bit from what I usually blog about? Would you please leave me your feedback on this? Do you want more posts of this nature? Have you had success in other strategies? Let me know!

For more posts of this kind, be sure to read:

• Setting The Right Goals Is The Secret To Success
• Have You Figured Out What Your “WHY” Is Yet?
• Revealed: 7 Secrets To Better Time Management For Entrepreneurs
• The No.1 Key To Getting Results

If, on the other hand, you want to know more about blogging, there are some recommended posts listed on the right. If you like to work with images, check out this post, which informs you about some great websites where you can find free images for your social media and/or your blog posts:

• Stunning Image Sites That Make Blogs Stand Out

Featured image by Michael LaRosa on Unsplash. I chose this image to depict the leader of the pack, in wolves.