Being a great manager is all about knowing how to lead. For a long time it was presumed that the person in the room with the highest IQ would be the best leader, however, we now know that this is absolutely not the case. Being a great leader is all about balance, balancing firm leadership with care and compassion for those who work below you, combining a mixture of emotional intelligence, business acumen and soft skills to create an environment in which you and your team can thrive.

Below are three simple ways to improve your leadership style, all caveated with easy mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Learn to delegate If you try to do everything yourself you will restrict both your own, and your team's, professional growth. Delegating tasks to specific employees who have specific skills is incredibly empowering for both you and them, it gives them a sense of ownership and growth and frees up your time and energy to concentrate on bigger tasks and continue in your own professional development.

However...

Delegating is a skill and should be actioned with care and thought. It’s not a chance to offload work, it’s an opportunity to involve your team in the decision-making process and build on individuals’ strengths and work ambitions. Additionally, it’s important to still get your hands dirty and lead by example, never delegate a task you wouldn’t be prepared to do yourself. If you work hard for them, they are more likely to work hard for you.

2. Get to know your team better Our work and personal lives are intrinsically interlinked, if someone is having a tough time at home or going through personal issues it’s going to affect their work. A good leader will understand this and make an effort to get to know their employees on a personal as well as professional level. Asking questions such as ‘what has been your best day at work in the last year?’ and ‘when are you at your happiest?’ will help you to understand what makes each team member tick inside and outside of work and reassure them that you actually care about their personal and professional development.

On the flip side…

Don’t let yourself become an emotional dumping ground for your employees’ problems. Listen with empathy but recognise it’s not your job to solve all their problems, especially their personal ones. By being open and offering space and time to talk you are communicating you care but be cautioius about offering too much advice on personal issues.

3. Praise good work openly and give constructive feedback Doing this will create a positive and inclusive work environment where your employees feel like you care about their professional development and that their hard work and achievements will be recognised. This includes team bonding and work socials as celebrating successes with team experiences can be a great way to highlight individual successes and bring a team together.

However…

Make sure to take feedback on what your employees want to do at these team socials. Your team will be made up of people of different cultures and personalities and what is fun for one person might not be for another, the same goes for receiving feedback. Some people love lots of praise while others will feel uncomfortable being the centre of attention. Talk to your team individually and collectively to find out how they like to receive feedback and what kind of things they like to do for fun. Work drinks in the pub aren’t always the best option.