What Is Strong Leadership? (And How It Affects a Workplace)

Leadership is an important trait in every workplace, as it determines if and how a company can achieve its goals. As a result, companies often consider this an important requirement during hiring processes. Understanding how to become a strong leader can help you know what to do to improve your leadership skills. In this article, we define strong leadership, outline the qualities of a strong leader, detail how to become one, and list the benefits of being a strong leader.

What is strong leadership?

Strong leadership is the ability to motivate people to do their very best. It's the ability to influence and challenge your team to achieve goals. A strong leader builds relationships and connects people through shared goals and beliefs. These thriving relationships help encourage seamless workflow among employees and increase efficiency in problem-solving. This is important in every workplace, as strong leaders determine how team members and employees generally can work towards a goal. They also optimize the workplace for employees to help ensure the best possible output. When employees experience good leadership, they develop trust, loyalty, and confidence at work.

Related: How to Answer "How Would You Describe Your Leadership Style?"

Qualities of a strong leader

Some qualities of a strong leader include:

Vision

A great leader acts with foresight and works with a vision. They consider the company's future goals and use them to plan strategies and courses of action for the company, teams, and employees. While they make plans to solve short-term plans, they prioritize long-term aspirations. They look ahead, determine what the company requires to meet these goals, and communicate it with the employees.

Accountability

Strong leaders hold others to high standards when completing tasks and projects. They also hold themselves accountable for their actions and tasks. When employees are conscious of this, they tend to do higher-quality work. In addition, a company with strong leaders can help ensure it gives employees the right resources and time necessary to complete their tasks efficiently. The goal is to mitigate any factors that impede productivity and efficiency.

Read more: What It Means to Lead by Example (And Leadership Styles)

Self-awareness

A strong leader is aware of their unique skills, strengths, and weaknesses. They leverage these skills and strengths to perform optimally while making up for their weaknesses. In addition, they're happy to learn from others and don't hesitate to admit that they may not have answers and solutions all the time. A strong leader is also aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their colleagues and team members and considers them when assigning tasks. They leverage this diversity to help ensure they achieve team goals.

Support

A strong leader considers support important to team growth and provides it readily to employees. Such leaders constantly engage employees personally and in groups and develop a culture of open communication. These meetings allow employees to share their perspectives and challenges, and areas where they require assistance. A leader notes these areas and carries out activities that help employees receive adequate support.

Related: 14 Questions to Ask Leaders for Career Growth

Results

While good leaders focus on individual experience, they're also goal-oriented. They develop strategies to find a balance between the two such that they can focus on and work with individuals to produce results. Strong leaders also develop a common purpose to build cohesion between teams. When employees feel connected, they become motivated to produce results. These leaders also set clear guidelines and outline performance metrics to direct employee effort so they can work in sync and achieve common results.

Perspective

A good leader enjoys the diversity of employees. They appreciate the different perspectives that employees bring and consider them when making decisions. In addition, they encourage team members to share their opinions as they constructively critique them and think of creative ways to solve problems. A strong leader understands that different employees have different skill sets and uses them to achieve team goals.

Passion

A strong leader has a passion for achieving company and team goals while seeing their team members improve. They show their passion by coordinating teams and influencing team members. These leaders believe in the company's goals and the ability of their team to achieve these goals. Ultimately, they share the overall goals with their team and influence them to believe in them.

Coaching

Good leaders constantly invest in employees. They connect with individual team members, evaluate their performance, and give recommendations on how they can improve. Strong leaders may also develop reward systems where they commend employees for impressive performance in a given period. Suppose the employees lack skills and knowledge for certain tasks. In that case, a good leader organizes training and seminars or encourages them to attend conferences and industry events to reduce the knowledge gap and become more proficient.

Related: Leadership Qualities and How to Use Them in the Workplace

How to become a strong leader

Here are some steps you can take to become a strong leader at work:

1. Get to know your team

The first step to being a strong team leader is understanding your team. You can plan outings and other social events for employees to connect and communicate. You can also plan one-on-one sessions to understand employees personally. By communicating with them within and outside the work environment, you learn about their experiences, strengths, and weaknesses. You also learn their goals, wants, needs, and what motivates them.

2. Communicate with your team

To become a strong leader, prioritize constant communication with your team. Develop an open line of communication where employees feel free to reach out to discuss issues and share progress. Ensure you create a cordial work environment that encourages them to collaborate with you and others.

3. Encourage your team

Leaders who encourage their teams create a conducive work environment for employees. You can encourage your team by paying attention to their work process and identifying areas of difficulty. Then offer solutions and commend improvement. It's important to let them know you believe in them and trust them to deliver. When employees feel encouragement from their leader, they typically become loyal and build trust.

4. Be honest

Employees generally value honesty in leaders, as it encourages them to see you as trustworthy. You can show honesty by giving candid, constructive criticism, admitting when you don't have answers, and keeping them updated on company news. This can also encourage honesty among team members, leading to increased integrity and understanding.

5. Have fun

While unconventional, you can become a great leader by having fun at work. Develop team bonding events to create fun memories and develop relationships. When employees have a healthy work-life balance, it feels more fulfilling. They also have less tendency to feel overwhelmed and work efficiently.

Read more:

• How to Become a Strong Leader (With Qualities and Benefits)

• What Is Referent Power? Why You Need It and How To Build It

• 29 Leadership Words for Your Resume (With Definitions)

Benefits of strong leadership

Some of the benefits of good leadership in the workplace include:

Organization growth

A strong leader supports individual growth while celebrating collective achievement. They also help ensure the company hires the best talent for a role and utilize employee strengths and unique talents for given projects. Optimizing talent in the workplace can help ensure sustainable growth in the company and achieve its goals and vision faster. In addition, a strong leader works with the company's vision and factors it into the company's activities and projects.

Increased productivity

When employees work under impressive leadership, they're conscious of their performance and produce top-quality work. They also understand the company's goals and aspirations and understand their part in it. This understanding helps them become more confident and be proud of their work as they feel valued. They also leverage healthy workplace relationships to perform tasks, complete projects, and assist teammates in meeting deadlines.

Ability to thrive through difficulties

Encountering occasional challenges is common in every workplace. These challenges, ranging from a possible merger to a drastic fall in demand, affect everyone from the management to stakeholders and employees. When a company has strong leaders, it can react easily and use available resources to manage the situation. In these situations, a strong leader communicates effectively with employees and lets them understand the company's new direction and how they contribute to it. Employees are more likely to perform better when they feel included, which may help the company recover quickly.

Increased morale

A strong leader focuses on motivating and influencing their team to achieve the best possible results. When employees feel motivated, it increases their morale and may positively impact their output. In addition, when employees feel like they're part of a company's culture, they're happy with their work and are more confident about it.

Increased confidence and trust among employees

Companies with strong leaders tend to develop a strong workplace culture that encourages trust and confidence among employees. Employees also rely on each other as they trust each other's work and their ability to meet deadlines while producing quality work. They can also approach their peers or mentors for help when they encounter difficulties, as they understand their leaders are always there for them. Finally, they can share ideas and critique each other's work as they understand that they're working towards the same goals.