Understanding who you are and how you want to be perceived could be the trick to becoming a great manager. Life coach and founder of Careercake.com, Aimee Bateman, explains why getting to grips with your strengths and weaknesses can make you a better leader.
Our level of self-awareness is one of our greatest tools in life. If we’re able to comprehend what makes us tick, where we thrive and where we could improve, and truly understand the reasons why, we could all make better decisions.
But this can also apply to our working life. If we fully understand how we behave in certain situations, we can increase our level of influence on those around us.
So exactly who is Aimee Bateman?
For CEOs, having a clear and concise definition of who you are will, in turn, create more focus for the rest of the organisation. However, you could be simply re-evaluating your working practices and considering the year ahead, attempting a fresh start and thinking about how you really want your colleagues to perceive you.
Taking a good look at your strengths and limitations – and either using them or improving them, respectively – benefits the business and makes better leaders. But there are numerous reasons why getting to know you, inside and out, will be good for your business.
Aimee’s 7 tips to improve your leadership…
- Use your strengths
Assessing your weaknesses is important, yes. But knowing your strengths – the aspects of your job that you’re naturally good and enjoy doing – means you can capitalise on them and make better decisions. Consider writing down your strengths and sticking them up at home to remind yourself of them before a busy day at the office.
- Delegate to focus on stronger areas
Surviving in business also means understanding your limits, and not taking on tasks that you know you can’t deliver. Don’t be afraid to delegate – this way you will able to give your full attention to tasks that have landed and be confident you can see them through.
- Surround yourself with the right people
If you know exactly who you are, you will attract the right people to complement your strengths and fill your gaps, the areas in which you think you might be slightly lacking.
- Be yourself and earn respect
To be effective in your role, you’ll need to be respected by your colleagues – whether they’re in a senior or junior position, they need to see and like who you really are. If you know you’re not being yourself in business, this can be ineffective and draining.
- Set goals for self-improvement
If you know who you are and your strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be in a great position to set the right priorities for self-improvement in order to boost your personal and business improvement.
- Understand how you’re perceived
First impressions are extremely important, and despite working for years to build a good reputation, it can be ruined within minutes. If you know how your colleagues and managers perceive you, ask yourself: is this how you want to be thought of? If not, consider which three words you’d like people to use to describe you. It’s important to always keep these words in mind and ensure that, when you communicate to others, whether via email or face-to-face, or have career decisions to make, you reconcile that action with one of your three words.
- Be aware of your body language
If you’re keen to change perceptions of you at work, be careful with body language, be seen to be going over and above your duties, be sure to communicate constantly with colleagues, and most importantly, try not to expect immediate results.
Succeeding in business all begins with knowing who you are, and working out exactly how you want others to think of you. Do this and you’ll make strong connections, succeed in maximising your strengths and open yourself up to many opportunities.
