We are born leaders, even in our current situation right now, may it be online or face-to-face interaction. There are lots of leadership competencies that we can find online or even by reading a book.
I have been a leader for over 25 years and I met lots of people every day, right now let me share with you my TOP FIVE RETAIL LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES.
Humility
One of the foundations of great leadership is knowing how to be humble. As a leader, we must be consistent and disciplined in treating our employees or the people around us. Treat everyone with respect regardless of their position, role, or title. A Leader lets his or her people know that we actually need them. For some, they don’t like getting feedback. As a leader, we must be open for constructive criticism from the people that worked for you, not just the people that you worked for.
Accountibility
Not all people love accountability. Without it, there is no growth in you being a leader. Accountability is one of the key ingredients to be a great and successful leader.
When you make people accountable for their actions, you’re effectively teaching them to value their work, to value what they have. When it’s done right, accountability can boost your team members’ skills and confidence. When their unable to do it – lead them, show them how you value your work as their leader.
The team’s mistakes are your mistakes. A great leader knows how and when to say: “Sorry”. when things are not going well. Let’s keep in mind that it’s not just about responsibility, it’s about taking the next step to make things right.
Communication
One of the main fundamental skills in leadership is Communication. Lack of communication ruins everything a lot. A leader communicates with a clear purpose. How will you influence people if they do not know your mission and vision in your company? Without a clear purpose, your people will just work for money not because they are caught by the vision of the organization.
Nowadays, we have so many tools to use to communicate. Engagement plays a big part in communication. A leader knows how and when to engage people by asking the right questions. Quality questions will result in quality answers. Specific-solution-based questions will give you a solution based answer.
Being a leader, it’s not just you who you are building, it is also the people around you by communicating with a clear purpose.
Approachable
I will be sharing the story of Sam Walton. Best known for founding WALMART and Sam’s Club. The guy who genuinely cares for his people. The founder and well-known entrepreneur, who just walks in his store almost every day to know if his people are doing well. Regardless of the position, role, or title. Great leaders encourage feedback from all members of the organization. The best example of an approachable leader – Sam, he was able to grow not just his business but also the morale of his employee.
Decision Maker
How many decisions do you make in a day? Are you confident in your decision making or do you get “paralysis analysis”? Great leaders are decisive and confident in their decisions.
As a leader, we make decisions every day. And each of us makes decisions differently. For some, we sometimes follow a decision-making process – a step-by-step process where we gauge ourselves before making one decision. A leader can sometimes make a quick decision based on their instinct or depends on the need to make a quick decision. Are you the type of leader who is confident enough to make a decision? It’s okay to make wrong decisions… we are not sure if our decisions will work, that is why some leaders are in the “paralysis analysis” stage, because for them once they make a decision it should work.
Remember this, wrong decisions can be fixed but a scattered team is a recipe for disaster. Your job as a leader isn’t always to make “THE RIGHT” decision. But it’s to make “A DECISION” in order to keep the team together. Your job as a leader is to be decisive and confident in making decisions.