Tag: leader

You don’t need to be in charge to be someone others look to for guidance and leadership. Managers are constantly looking for standout colleagues they can trust who can command the reins while away from the team on pressing business. Here are a few specific ways you can become an inspiring leader.

Help Others Detach Fear From The Unknown

When there’s an apparent lack of leadership, imagination may run wild, leading to destructive speculation about what disasters await failure should a decision or project go awry. Instead of feeding the fear. Be the inspiring leader who diffuses those fears. Keep everyone focused on the task and the positive outcome that awaits the team once the work is done. You’ll become the person people approach for guidance when they experience unfounded fears over unknowable outcomes. 

Be The One Who Listens 

Everyone likes to hear themselves talk, especially when there’s no clear focus in the room, like a team leader or manager. Instead of competing to be the loudest voice in the room, listen. Qualify the ideas of others who speak up and bring others into the conversation by prompting their thoughts on the matter. By bringing everyone together through active listening and supporting your colleagues’ ideas, you’ll grow to become an anchor people look to for support when they’re trying to relay their ideas to the rest of the team. 

Quell Dissent

We’ve all been in a meeting where the second the manager in charge leaves the room; someone starts bad-mouthing their decision-making or directives. The time to nip that destructive talk is the first time it happens, but it’s never too late to step up and remind everyone to exercise a little professionalism. There are productive ways to disagree with management, but once a direction has been chosen, it’s the team’s job to deliver, and being the glue that holds a group in unison by dispelling destructive talk makes you someone who can be trusted to say what needs to be said.

When You Notice Greatness In Others, Say So

It’s encouraging to hear you’re doing well from your peers. Most people can spot a shallow or self-serving compliment from a mile away. Still, you’ll genuinely connect with your colleague whenever you can zero in on a specific, work-related job done exceptionally. Beyond that, tell their superiors what a great job they’re doing, especially if you’re on the same upward trajectory within the company! Doing so expresses confidence that others will value and look to whenever a genuine opinion is needed come performance review time. 

You Don’t Have To Be in a Position of Authority To Be A Great Leader

Ultimately, someone has to take the lead in group work settings to maintain focus, direction, and cohesion when the boss leaves her team to achieve their goals. That leader may as well be you. Consider these ideas, and when you see an opportunity to flex your leadership muscles, go for it! It takes time and lots of practice to become a great leader. Every opportunity is another chance to grow into the type of person others look to for guidance, inspiration, feedback, and reassurance. Get out there and cultivate your leadership qualities in your next team setting!

Team meetings can become battlegrounds where colleagues jockey for position, jousting with words, experience, and presence for approval and consideration for advancement and accolades within companies of all sizes. Navigating tense meetings can often feel like make-or-break moments where careers are decided, and trust is forged or shattered with every contribution. 

So how can you stand out as a valuable, essential member during team meetings? Here are several great ways to make your mark during your next team meeting:

Be The Most Prepared Person In The Room

Study up on the meeting agenda before the meeting itself and come prepared with answers to questions you think others may ask. If the plan is vague, send a quick email to your manager or the meeting organizer asking for a quick rundown of the main topics they’ll bring to the table. 

Knowledge is power. When you arrive prepared, you’ll appear confident and reliable just by having a few choice contributions waiting in your back pocket compared to team members who just waltzed in late and are more concerned about their venti latte. 

Whenever you’re able to speed up a meeting by offering information immediately to answer a question or set up a topic of conversation, you’re showing you value everyone’s time enough to come prepared. In today’s high-speed corporate world, you cannot buy or fake this kind of trustworthiness. 

Those Who Are Loudest in Meetings Often Have The Least To Say

Being the person who jumps in the most during meetings often has a negative social effect overall, as teams will often equate that to “spotlight syndrome,” where they’ll feel an over-speaker is talking just to be heard and not for the good of the team. 

You do not have to be the one who answers every single question, nor do you need always be the first to offer up responses during pauses in the conversation to be noticed. Those who choose this strategy come off as selfish or attention-seeking for their efforts. The key is to speak efficiently when you do have the floor, stay on task, and treat those you’re talking to with a respectful benefit of the doubt. When you encounter teammates who are overstepping just to be noticed, let them. More often than not, they will fizzle themselves out as they flounder, trying to appear relevant, and when the conversation lulls as a result, you can swoop in with a concise talking point to bring everyone back on track, which will endear you to management and your colleagues for righting the ship.  

Kill Them With Kindness

Empathy is at a premium, and those who can not only maintain their composure during stressful meetings but help their colleagues do the same, are regarded with immense value by management during group meetings. Fear is a powerful motivator; it takes real emotional fortitude to see past the negative possibilities and focus on what is possible with earnest collaboration. 

If your contributions rally people toward the common goal, that’s the epitome of being a team player! Nay-saying and baseless argumentative “what-ifs” may sound productive on the surface but are usually fruitless fear-mongering that wastes valuable time and sows unnecessary worry throughout the team. Focus on being a thoughtful, positive contributor by uplifting others while reinforcing your positive contributions to the conversation.

Review The Previous Meetings And Thank The Presenter

While not necessary after every meeting, it is a thoughtful gesture to send a timely message of thanks to whoever championed the meeting and offer a few uplifting comments about specific insights you gleaned from their contributions. Most people will be surprised at first but will welcome a quick note of appreciation for the work they put into presenting in front of the whole team. 

Building connections this way will often open the door to collaborating or asking for your thoughts in the future, which is a great networking opportunity that can lead to projects and even promotions or future job opportunities!

Summarize The Expectations Going Forward Prior To The Wrap-Up

When the meeting is winding down, be the one who asks for clarification on the expectations for everyone between now and the next meeting. What are the expected goals team-wide? Who has to focus on which core responsibility? Does everybody understand what they must do between now and your next meeting? Are there any points of confusion that need clearing up before everyone breaks for lunch? 

By championing points of clarity for your team, you’re looking out for both individuals and the greater good of the entire team, which saves time and confusion for everybody and helps everyone hit the ground running!

Team meetings can feel treacherous, but if you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be much more helpful, trusted, and welcomed during your next meeting.