HOW TO BE A GOOD INTERPERSONAL LEADER
Dr Adrian Cohen
Leadership is a skill that must be nurtured. When it comes to facilitating personal and professional development in others, leadership personnel must continually strive to improve their tactics and overall approach in order to bring out the best in those they oversee. The common goal behind interpersonal leadership is not individual success but rather the recognition of a collective purpose. Interpersonal leadership may not be intuitive for everyone, but for those who want to lead by building upon others’ potential, learning how to be a good interpersonal leader is essential.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS As suggested by the name, interpersonal leadership is dependent on strong interpersonal skills. A leader should strive to prioritize the development of their interpersonal skills so that they can communicate effectively with others and facilitate an atmosphere of feedback, constructive criticism, and collaboration. Among these key skills are active listening, empathy, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. Many of these skills require constant practice, but working to improve in these areas will make an interpersonal leader more effective in the long run.
STRUCTURE
An interpersonal leader is responsible for cultivating the right environment that promotes individual and team success. As such, a leader in this role must establish a structure and framework to help guide team members and encourage independent action within the proper parameters. In this vein, interpersonal leaders should serve as educators and advisors, providing guidance in regards to important concepts, patterns, and solutions. Setting this kind of structure with the use of frameworks allows team members to operate independently while also granting them the resources to guide and assist them in their day to day work.
CONFIDENCE Because interpersonal leadership is focused on individual productivity as well as a common goal, interpersonal leaders must work to instil confidence in their team members. While leaders should strive to give their team members a reason to trust them, their top priority should be identifying ways to give all members a reason to believe in themselves. To do this, interpersonal leaders should help team members recognize their strengths while also identifying any weaknesses and providing advice on how to improve in those areas. Another way to maximize an individual’s potential and self-confidence is to allow them to focus on their strengths by compensating for any weaknesses.
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