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Written By: Lauren Adley
Even though there are still many companies out there in the world who have strict rules and regulations that make it difficult for women to move up the ranks and occupy leadership positions, there are also companies that provide opportunities for qualified women to move up the ranks.
If you find yourself a recipient of a promotion to a leadership position as a woman, there’s no need to panic. You can do a great job, may be a better job than a man. Leadership depends on your competence, your people skills, management skills and a lot of other skills. These factors have nothing to do with gender. Regardless, I’m going to be giving you eight tips to perform your leadership duties effectively.
The Leadership Tips for Women
1. Keep networking
Networking is very important for any leader. You need to networkwith your colleagues, higher-ups, suppliers, external parties, mentors and even your employees. Your network exists to bail you out when you need help. More importantly, you need to make strong connections with everyone on your network, so the network can be effective. You should make sure you cultivate good relationships with people around you. You can also build a support network of like-minded people like yourself. 2. Self-confidence is a mustAs a leader, you depend on your followers and those you lead to believe in you and follow your orders. However, how can they believe in you and trust your orders when it's obvious that you don't believe in yourself? While leading people, self-confidence is very important to carry people along.However, some people can easily misinterpret self-confidence as arrogance. Therefore, you have to be careful to watch how the self-confidence you're projecting impacts the people you lead.Related: Confidence is everything in leadership 3. Lead by exampleYou've probably heard this phrase so many times, it just seems like something people say, especially since other execs in the company seem to be doing the opposite. Well, you're not other executives in the company. If you want to be an effective leader, you must learn to lead by example.If you want your employees or team members to be punctual, you need to show, instead of just giving orders. Show them in your daily routine that; since you, as the leader are always punctual, then they have no excuses. In other words, talk the talk and then walk the talk.This applies to other areas as well: dressing, company culture, manners, etc. Jamie who once won the Best Dissertationaward in college said; she was inspired by his supervisor who always lead by example, and not just giving out orders without demonstration. So, set the tone you want your employees or team members to follow and you'll have no problem with them following your orders. 4. Sharpen your communication skillsA good leader has effective communication skills so that when employees get orders from the leader, they immediately understand what they need to do. In a company, an organization or a business, communication is an important two-way street. This means that you need to learn not to just communicate your concerns, goals and your satisfaction to your employees effectively, but to also listen to their own concerns, goals and satisfaction.Leah, who is a team leader and a four-time winner of Best Essayof the year is of the opinion that; listening skills constitute important part of effective communication. As a leader, you should have the ability to listen to what is being said and what isn't being said. This helps the company to keep going forward with little to no setback.You should also be able to communicateat the level of understanding of the group or employee you're trying to communicate with. 5. You need a mentorPeople don't become what they want to be overnight. To become an effective leader, you need to find an effective female leader/role model or mentor that you look up to and turn to, whenever you have questions or need help. You can't know everything, even if you've been in the business for a long time. Sometimes, you'll need help from someone else. This is where your mentor or role model comes in.People usually pick their mentors from individuals who have succeeded in doing what they'd like to excel in as well. Of course, there are so many other important factors involved in picking a mentor. Regardless, you should have a mentor who can help you see things objectively and make the best decisions. 6. Keep clear boundariesAs a leader, you can't just allow anything to slide. Sometimes, you have to enforce certain boundaries clearly to ensure that your employees or team members know what you will tolerate and what you will not. If everyone in the office is aware of what you will not or can't tolerate, then things will go smoothly, with less friction between you and the other employees or members of your team. 7. Humility does not hurt your leadership role in any waySome leaders think the only way people would respect them is if they adopt a superior outlook and attitude. This is not true. In fact, it will only propagate dislike and disrespect from employees and team members. A humble leader endears clients and employees.Humility doesn't mean allowing employees to do whatever they like or not being self-confident. For Jenny, the leader of an australian essay writingteam, humility means owning up and apologizing for mistakes, being open and asking for feedback and sharing the credit for success with all those involved. 8. See the big pictureA leader is someone who has great foresight to see the big picture. Based on their understanding of people, the business environment and the business itself, a good leader can see the role of everyone and everything in the success of a project. This is why a good team leader will be able to accurately select the right person to delegate with certain tasks.Related: How does your clock measure you as a leader now?If you make it to a senior management position or any leadership position as a woman, you need to do your best and work hard, and don’t ever see your gender as a limitation. Also, if you want to earn respect, you will need to prove your credibility and show that you worth the respect.Lauren Adley is a writer and editor at Book Review Service and EssayMama. She is dedicated to her family, work and friends. She is keen on reading, playing the guitar and traveling. If you need dissertation help online you can write to her. She is interested in educational, marketing and blogging issues. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter and Google+.