by Fatima Sheikh | Mar 28, 2022 | Personal Growth, Personal Life
In 2018, I was lucky to be selected to participate in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) program for Cohort 6, West Africa. I was super excited and could not wait to show my true leadership skills. Before that, I was already the vice president of my Community Development Service (CDS) group. You might say I was craving leadership roles and all, but you are wrong. I am extremely introverted, a loner who loves her space and privacy. But I thought to myself, what exactly does it feel like doing something new, something out of the box, something I was not comfortable with? And I gave leadership a try; I did not only excel at my YALI program but aced it and was recognized among the top twenty-three participants in the Cohort.
What was my take home from these experiences? A lot and I am willing to share with you. Are you an introvert who loves his/her space just like I do, or on a quest of improving your leadership career? Here are some tips for you.
Tips to Improve Your Leadership Skills
1. Master Public Speaking
This was my biggest fail, during the beginning of my leadership role. I will always have panic attacks before any of the meetings. But constant practise and rehearsal helped me out.
Some people are born public speakers, while others aren’t. Either way, great public speaking skills go a long way in helping you communicate effectively with your team members. Join public speaking clubs like Toastmasters, you will be glad you joined.
2. Learn to Delegate
Being a leader isn’t just about being the boss and carrying out tasks all by yourself. A good leader is always concerned about how the followers carry out dedicated tasks. As a leader, you must guide your followers, educate them, and also delegate tasks to them. Don’t be a jack of all trades and delegates.
This is one of the hows improve your leadership skills
3. Analyze Your Strengths and Weaknesses
We all have our strengths and weaknesses and knowing them and working on them goes a long way in improving our leadership skills.
Take a personality test, ask your friends and family for their honest opinions on your strengths and weaknesses, and then work on them.
4. Get a Mentor
Getting yourself a mention is one of the ways to improve your leadership skills. We all have that one person we aspire to be like. We see ourselves being that person or even better. Get yourself a mentor. Learn from them or ask them to guide you on your journey.
Many are willing to help especially if you are serious-minded.
5. Become Self Disciplined
Just like George Washington said:
Nothing is more harmful to the service than the neglect of discipline; for it is discipline more than numbers that give one army superiority over another.
George Washington
A leader is not a true leader unless he or she possesses self-control and master self-discipline. Every leader or aspiring leader should have a professional order in carrying out their daily activities or assigned tasks. This will go a long way in moulding you to be a refined and respected person.
If you are naturally disorganized or late to work or meetings, build a daily strict regime to help you perform better and stand out from your peers.
Conclusion
Leadership does not only mean leading a town or a nation. You can be a leader in your own home to your siblings, spouse, or children, and having these leadership skills will always come in handy. Fortunately, leadership is learnable, so take courses, read materials or watch your mentors and parents execute their leadership style and learn from them.
Being a better leader is not as difficult as it might appear. With constant practice and hard work, you will achieve your goal of being a better leader.
I hope you find this write-up helpful. If you do, kindly leave a comment for me in the comments section. You could also tell us about any leadership position you have held previously. Thank you.
by Precious Alex-Toji | Jan 31, 2022 | Personal Growth
Landing your dream job depends not only on your college degree and your working experience. There are top skills employers are looking for when selecting the right candidate for the job.
Irrespective of the position you are applying for, employers are always on the lookout for these skills to make sure you are fit for the position. These skills are commonly referred to as soft skills.
Soft skills are those skills and attributes that are interpersonal in nature and influence how individuals relate to one another. On the flip side, hard skills are those technical skills required to function in the workplace such as computer literacy.
When applying for a job, you must show in your resume that you have these top skills employers are looking for. A combination of these skills with your technical ability makes you irresistible to employers.
The Top Skills Employers Are Looking For
1. Communication Skills
Communication takes place in the workplace every day and it is one of the top skills employers are looking for. In a world of technological advancement, employers are looking for individuals who can communicate effectively and pass messages across, verbally and written.
Effective communication is a very rare but essential skill needed in the workplace. Having strong communication skills makes you a valuable asset to your employers.
The key to communicating effectively is keeping your message simple and clear. You have to ensure your message can be understood immediately while passing information across. Compare these two scenarios:
Text A– “Good day, Agnes, can we go out later when you are done with work?”
Text B– “Good day, Agnes, I’m going to grab dinner at the Chicken Republic when we close from work. Would you like to join me? Bill’s on me.”
If you are the receiver, both sentences tell you that you would be going out in the evening after work. However, Text A does not give you much detail. Text B on the other hand tells you where you would be going, when you would be going, and what you would be doing. This way, you have more information and can either decline or accept the offer.
Improving your communication skills helps you become more efficient and effective in the workplace.
2. Teamwork
The ability to work well with a team is a top skill employers are looking for. Every organization is made up of individuals who need to work together to achieve maximum productivity. Irrespective of the position, it is always in the best interest of the organization when its employees can collaborate on tasks. Hence, employers are always looking for individuals who can work well in teams.
Some of the characteristics of a good team player include trust, honesty, accountability, and open communication. A good team player can be trusted with a task and can deliver at due time. He/she must be accountable and honest in the workplace as this goes a long way in strengthening team bonding.
3. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
In the workplace, situations arise that require in-depth analysis, evaluation, and the need to provide a solution to the problem at hand. Hence, employers are very particular about selecting candidates with the ability to think critically and solve problems.
Critical thinking goes hand in hand with problem-solving. It involves the ability to question assumptions, observe, analyze, and derive a conclusion from data. It also involves the step-by-step analysis of a problem to provide solutions.
Problems are bound to arise in the workplace, particularly work and people related. As an employee, it is expected that you should be able to deal with problems as they arise.
The good news is, like every other skill, you can develop your ability to think critically and solve problems. Actively paying attention to how experts, your colleagues, or experienced persons handle problems in the workplace can give you a blueprint to solving work-related problems.
Engage in internships, research, or field experience to collaborate with colleagues so you can develop these skills. If you shy away from tasks, you avoid the opportunity to put your skill into practice.
4. Interpersonal Skill
Interpersonal skills are skills that influence how you interact and work well with others. Because we interact with people every day, interpersonal skill is a top skill employers are looking for.
Also referred to as “people’s skill”, interpersonal skill refers to how well you can interact and engage with people. Even when you are not in a position that requires you to come in contact with customers, you would still need to interact with colleagues and managers at work.
Interpersonal skill is necessary for building relationships and networks. It involves how effective you are in communicating, your ability to maintain decorum and courtesy as well as having good emotional intelligence.
Employers are also looking for individuals who are flexible and can adapt to any given task to meet a particular objective.
5. Leadership Skill
Have you ever met a person with the ability to administrate and manage people while also bringing out the best in them? Northpad has one of the best editorial managers I have seen.
Employers are looking for individuals who can administer the affairs of the organization effectively. Whatever position you are applying for, having leadership skills gives you an edge over candidates.
Leadership is not limited to those applying for managerial positions. Nowadays, most organizations prefer to promote individuals from within who have exhibited strong leadership qualities.
A good leader listens and pays attention to complaints in the workplace, understands the strengths and weaknesses of each employee, and provides the opportunity for optimal productivity from each employee.
6. Digital Literacy
The world today is run by technology and having a basic understanding of the usage of computers and the internet is a requirement by most employers.
Most organizations make use of computers in their daily operations. Thus, having basic knowledge of how to use a computer is top skill employers are looking for.
Some positions require that you have in-depth knowledge of advanced computer skills. Furthermore, it’s only wise to ensure that you are learned in such a field. For example, a data scientist would need to have an understanding of the use of Excel.
However, some basic computer literacy skill includes knowing how to use word processors like Ms Word or Google docs, spreadsheets such as Excel or Google sheets, the use of the internet, and social media.
7. Flexibility and Adaptability
The ability to be flexible and adapt to changes in the workplace is an essential skill needed in an employee.
Innovations are constantly introduced in the working environment and employers expect you to be able to learn and adapt to these changes.
For example, you can be a social media manager and your employer may ask you to head the communications department. Your ability to adapt quickly to these changes is a skill you can develop.
Being flexible and able to adapt quickly is a quality that sets you apart from other candidates. It shows you’re eager to learn and change when needed.
8. Professional Work Ethics
When building yourself for job applications, you should consider learning the ethics required in a professional environment as it is a top skill employers are looking for.
Work ethics refers to the manner in which you conduct yourself in the workplace. It includes traits such as honesty, decency, respect, promptness to mention a few.
Having a strong work ethic enables you to manage your time and get things done promptly and properly. It also means you conduct yourself professionally in the workplace by respecting the privacy and boundaries of your colleagues.
Conclusion
Whatever position you are applying for, these top skills employers are looking for would give you an edge during the application process. You must begin developing these skills as they are the distinguishing factor when selecting candidates for a position.
In addition, make sure you highlight these skills and how you have applied them in the workplace on your resume and cover letter. You would also want to make sure you are being honest because that’s what interviews are meant for; verifying the contents of your resume.
Is there any skill you would want to develop or put more effort into developing? Let me know in the comment section and I would show you how!
by Fatima Sheikh | Mar 6, 2021 | Personal Growth
Are we born public speakers or do we have to work on building our public speaking skills? This is the question, many ask. This is also the excuse introverts like me use to hide in their shell. In one of my posts, I wrote briefly about my leadership journey and how leadership roles helped me with my public speaking phobia. Have I become extroverted and less nervous during a public speaking session? The answer is No… But I have learned to build strategies and techniques that help me act more confident and relaxed during public speaking. In this article, I will be sharing with you the best tips for public speaking.
Important Skills that Can Help You Learn How to Become an Effective Speaker
1. Practice More Often
When it comes to public speaking, there are never many times enough for practice. Make it a habit to always practice before any public presentation. Never assume you are good to go. Overconfidence is always the biggest cause of public speaking mishaps.
When practicing my speech, I will stand in front of a mirror and assume I am in front of an audience. Before your next speech, watch pre-recordings of your speeches or practice with a friend or family. Practicing is always the shortcut to a successful public speech.
2. Know Your Audience
One of the biggest blunders speakers always make is to assume different audiences to be the same, thereby using similar speaking strategies for all talk situations. Your speech is about them, not you. Make extensive research on your audience, their age group, ethnics, environment, believes, and laws.
You should not use the same speech technique on elementary school kids with working-class adults who might probably know more than you do. Don’t give a talk on the importance of beef in India. Be lucky if you make it out alive.
3. The Act of Public Speaking Demands You Discover Your Style
In my post on leadership, I emphasized the importance of having a mentor or a guide you aspire to be like. Regardless, ensure you discover your style before emulating a role model. Are you a calm soft-spoken person or an outspoken person with a burst of energy? Make your public speaking style in a manner that goes with that flow. Either way, don’t forget to share some stories and jokes with your audience, this keeps them listening with all attention.
Do what you know will make your speech stand out and feel natural.
4. Be Calm, Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.
Roy T. Bennett
As weird as it might sound, I have built the habit of loving failure because failure is the biggest teacher you can ever have. The word Glossophobia was not invented due to your error, and it simply means the fear of public speaking. This condition affects four out of 10 people. Calm down and don’t beat yourself up for making a mistake, you are not alone on this journey.
Learn from your mistakes and do better the next time. Act calm and confident anytime you miss a word or stutter.
5. Listen to Your Body Language
The stage is all yours and yours alone. Don’t stand still, move around the stage at a calm confident pace. Use your voice and hands naturally. Don’t give out nervous gestures. Don’t stand at the corner of the stage like a wet scared bird, that won’t look good on you. Stand straight, articulate your speech accurately and win over the crowd.
This is one of the tips for public speaking worth noting.
6. Ask for Feedback
During my public speaking sessions at the toastmaster club, the feedback always helped me in my next presentation. The format was Commend-Recommend-Commend style. Constructive feedback and recommendation by your audience will be a great advantage to you to prepare better for your upcoming public speaking sessions.
The audience always sees and observes things you probably missed during your rehearsal.
Conclusion
Consistency is always the key to perfection. There is no easy way out of public speaking. Discipline yourself and make it a habit to practice, learn from books, videos, and great public speakers. Don’t be afraid to fail, practice with friends and families or join public speaking clubs in your town.
These tips I shared will not only change your personality but help you build the unique public speaking techniques that will make you stand out and act confident during a public speaking session.
Finally, were there times you were afraid of speaking in public? If yes, tell us about it and how you overcome it.
