The challenges of leadership and what it takes to lead people

Leadership requires a lot of energy and effort. And normally, people see leaders, mentors, and motivators as strong, independent, and resilient types of people. But how will people perceive them if they show their vulnerability? In this article, you’ll know the common challenges and practical tips for leading people.

Common challenges in leadership

Inspiring Others

It’s the first common challenge when you take leadership. There is a common belief that leaders should inspire people. However, it is never an easy job. You have to keep motivated and align your words with your action to ensure you will spark inspiration.

Leading a Team

Being people-focus is challenging. You’ll have to create strategic plans for team development and building an effective team. You are always looking ahead on how to instill pride in a team and lead a big team.

Honing Effectiveness

This leadership challenge is about developing the relevant skills you and your team need. Skills such as time management, prioritization, strategic thinking, and decision-making to be more effective your task, and other skills are important in ensuring effectiveness as a leader. (Gentry, W. A., et. al. 2016).

Handling different Perspectives

According to Wooll, M. (2022) almost half (48%) of employees is stressed because of workplace conflict that is handled poorly. There will be times as a leader when you have to manage conflict between team members or between yourself and an employee.

Internal Challenges

Inner battles and dealing with imposter syndrome are common problems, especially for new leaders. Lack of confidence or feeling inferior that you don’t deserve to be in a leadership position is prevalent. There are times that you might question your own skills or judgment which could lead to indecisiveness.

Skills Challenges

Aside from internal is your skills challenges, where you will encounter difficulty in making a hard decision, developing your own skills, and relearning competencies. Leadership will sometimes push you to be versatile.

Learning the common challenges you might face or facing right now, the question is, “what to do next?” Below are suggested practical steps to take in overcoming leadership challenges.

Practical tips for leadership

Identify your Vision and Role as a Leader

To overcome imposter syndrome, you have to look after yourself. Identify your goal, vision, and plans. After learning what you want to accomplish for the team, distinguish your role. Ask yourself what is your leadership identity. Be honest and authentic with yourself because your confidence will radiate naturally.

Find a Mentor/Support

Leading people comes hand-in-hand, you cannot do it alone. Leaders are consistent learners. To sustain your knowledge and wisdom in leadership you need to find someone who is best fit to mentor and guide you along the way.

Keep a Growth Mindset

Relatively, learning is the top characteristic of a leader. Keep your eagerness in learning new skills, competencies, strategies, and techniques. Also, aside from learning new things, be open to unlearning and relearning. Moreover, make feedback mechanisms that you have to your advantage.

Empower Others

Empowered leaders empower others. In terms of effectiveness and efficiency, you will solve more problems faster and more effectively if you empower others to make decisions. One of the tangible impacts of leadership is honing others to become leaders. Empowering your team will tell how much you trust them to take the lead and authority on their craft.

Reward and Recognize Effort

A token of appreciation is a little action of gratitude. This might sound absurd for some business leaders, but people-focus leaders are appreciating every individual in their team. To avoid burnout and fatigue, one way is to recognize the efforts and reward your teams’ hardships.

Witnessing dynamic types of leaders in different sectors of life such as education, religion, and civil can vary. Stunning enough, what leaders do that caught me is their dedication to self and others’ development, and their commitment to execute the plan even if there is a looming presence of fear.

Now, are you ready to take on the challenge of leadership?