Are you looking for ways to improve your leadership skills in Nigeria? You are in the right place. I’m sure at a point in your career journey you will be asked to head a department, a division or perhaps a team on a task or assignment. With poor leadership skills or attributes, trust me it can become disastrous. But with this content, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. Even if you have zero leadership skills or potential, I can assure you that by the time you read this guide to the end, the leadership potential in you would have awakened.
Truth be told, being a leader has its ups and down, it’s no understatement if I say it’s not easy. The responsibility to decide for others is on you, and the result is also on you. Also you have to make unbiased decisions, you have to decide what’s best for the majority of your subordinates irrespective of the minority. I’m not saying you shouldn’t care for them, but sometimes you need to make sacrifices.
By reading this content to the end, you will learn the true meaning of leadership, roles of a leader, and how to develop good leadership skills. Seat back and enjoy the ride.
Who Is A Leader?
A leader can be defined in So many ways, you can define a leader as someone who is incharge of managing, guiding and organizing a set of people. Or perhaps define it as an individual who makes rules and gives orders. However the true meaning of a leader is someone who’s followers look up to. They are individuals who motivate and bring out the best in their subordinates.
As a leader, you should know that your subordinates are looking forward to you, so it’s advisable for you not to give them a reason to emulate any bad behavior from you.
There is a quote that says “The roles and responsibilities of a leader are what make them a leader”, to learn more about this, then you shouldn’t quit this content yet. Keep scrolling
Essential Traits OF A Leader In Nigeria
To become a leader, you need to show traits like:
- Integrity And Honesty: A good Nigerian leader must be honest when dealing with their subordinates. Show them you are trustworthy and ready to work with them with an open mind. If you work with optimum honesty with your subordinates, they will begin to have trust in you and work for you with absolute loyalty.
- Problem-Solving and Resilience: You should be able to showcase a problem solving trait. Keep in mind that one of your roles as a leader is to be able to solve problems for your subordinates. This builds the confidence your subordinates have in you, and with this, they will be very happy to surrender and follow your orders.
- Motivation and Inspiration: Leaders should inspire and motivate their team members , give them reasons why they shouldn’t give up and why they should keep striving. For you to achieve this, you need to serve as an inspiration yourself. Tell them about your early life as an ordinary member and how you went from that position to become a leader.
- Strategic Thinking: you should be able to provide strategic ideas on how to solve problems. With this, your subordinates will have more trust in your decision making.
Roles And Responsibilities Of A Leader
By understanding your roles and duties as a leader, you will be able to improve your leadership skills. Believe me a good leader needs good subordinates. Without good subordinates, all your effort will go down the drain. So firstly you need to make your subordinates trust you and be on their good side. Teach them to confide in you and tell them you are their friend. However you shouldn’t be too lenient, you need to teach them that when it’s time to work they work.
Some of the roles and responsibilities of a leader includes:
- Decision-making
- Motivating
- Strategizing
- Conflict resolution
- Organizing team initiatives
- Problem solving
- Giving Roles
- Coaching
- Giving Orders
Developing strong leadership skills to advance your career in Nigeria requires you to be ready to shoulder all the above mentioned responsibilities, with you identifying your roles everything becomes easier.
Moving forward, let’s proceed to the main section of this content where you will get to know the tips on how to develop leadership skills in Nigeria.
How To Develop A Strong Leadership Skills To Advance Your Career In Nigeria
- Find A Mentor: find a leader to look up to, emulate their attitudes and meet them to ask questions. A mentor can be very crucial in your leadership journey so be sure to select and emulate a good leader.
- Be Ready To Learn: Take leadership courses, buy books and consult the Internet to learn more about being a leader. Seek feedback from colleagues and ask them what they think about you. Seek for their criticism and be sure to learn from it.
- Volunteer For Leadership Roles: Whether in your place of work or in your community, volunteer for leadership roles and make sure you perform excellently. Take charge of projects and lead a team, sit down and reflect on your performance, ask people about your flaws and make corrections.
- Learn How To Build Relationships: since your roles as a leader will include interacting with your subordinates, try as much as possible to learn how to interact and build relationships with people. Trust me people love and respect individuals with a friendly nature.
Conclusion
Whether you want to become a political leader, a community leader or perhaps head a department at your place of work, you need to know that with power comes a great responsibility. Your roles and responsibilities will involve giving orders to your subordinates, so be sure to gain their trust and don’t abuse your power. See them as your equal and don’t be too strict on them. Trust me a leader doesn’t exist without subordinates
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