Top tips on being a good leader

Luciana Carrion, Purchasing Manager for Major Appliances in Latin America, was recently recognized with the Electrolux Leadership Award for her exemplary leadership skills.

These are her top five tips on being a good leader.

1. Build a strong team

First and foremost, put the right people in the right position, and then spend time understanding and maximizing their strengths. It’s important to support and train them – providing clear feedback – and offer new projects and opportunities as much possible to help with their development.

2. Build good relationships with your team

I believe in leading by example and values. And the more natural I am, the more robust and solid the relationship with my team is. I like to treat people as I would like to be treated, as having respect for others is essential. I always bear in mind that figures are important, but not more important than personal relationships so I reinforce that we need to attack the problems, not the people, in order to encourage productivity and achieve our goals regarding profitability.

3. Be open to taking advice – and criticism from others.

As a leader, I always show resilience and determination to solve a problem. But I also encourage collaboration and find time to listen and discuss potential solutions and alternatives with my team. We make decisions together. Nobody is totally right all the time. Two heads thinking about the possibilities and finding different ways to deal with problems can help lead to success quickly.

I also welcome complete transparency and open communication – and this includes criticism from my team as it helps me to perform better.

4. Inspire through self-confidence

To be a good leader is not difficult if you are able to both support and challenge your team to do their best work. However to be a great leader requires much more. It’s important to remember your team will be looking up to you and learning from you – so inspire them with your own self-confidence. This is key to developing a high performance team.

5. Don’t forget the end goal!

Always keep in mind the end goal – profitability – and challenge your team to have that mindset on a daily basis. Be transparent with your team about the financial figures and what is needed to build on your results year-on-year. Teach them to stay agile, and act on all opportunities.

With these tips, everyone will be satisfied including the employee, leader, team and organization.