How to Get a Promotion and Become a Workplace Leader

Skills

Leaders use occupational skills, organizational skills, and human relation skills to achieve a goal. Here are 13 tips on how to best utilize and showcase these skills in the work place. These skills will be the cornerstone that gets you a promotion.

Look at change as a challenge and opportunity for improvement.

Form a vision to make complex things simple and obscure things clear.

Make a plan to transform the way things are presently done into a more successful method for the future.

Earn you co-workers respect with ethical behavior.

Demonstrate knowledge of your field and profession. This means staying up to date on policy, procedure, and accurate job related information.

Keep yourself emotionally healthy and leave personal problems at home.

Manage and cope with stress in a productive way.

Listen and evaluate job related problems and suggestions that are put forth by co-workers.

Motivate and then empower others to follow?

Realize that there is always room to grow & learn new things.

Have confidence in your actions and presence.

Do not seek to become friends or form personal relationships with co-workers. Instead, you should desire fairness and cooperation.

Always think before you act. Use this process to make well thought actions: data collection, plan, implement, and reevaluate.

Ways To Lead

There are three ways that people lead. Depending on the situation, there is a time and place for each of these types of leaders. However, the laissez- faire leader will often fail to accomplish the goals set by an employer. The autocratic leader will often isolate coworkers and subordinates. He / she also fails in goal accomplishment. The democratic leader often accomplishes goals and creates a calm work environment by using a combination of democratic and autocratic styles. The democratic leader has the best chance for advancement.

1. Task-oriented leader or autocratic leader

   This type of leader thrives on power. There is little regard for the other employees. Every thing is centered around reaching goals through task accomplishment. Seeks little input from other employees.

2. Democratic leader

   This leader shares responsibility with other employers. They enforce policies, but with concern for other workers. They often seek input from others and encourages group problem solving.

3. Laissez-faire leader

   This leader gives away much of their responsibility to other employees. Employee welfare comes before policy and has a need to please other workers. Allows others to act without direction. Often tries to make friends with subordinates.

Key To Being A Leader

Now, that you have the skills and know what leaders do, the question is: “How will you lead?” One of the main tasks given to a leader is getting subordinates to meet goals set by an employer. This is not an easy task. In order to meet goals, you must first motivate. Motivating people can be complex, but it is the key to being a successful leader. Understanding Howlett’s hierarchy of work motivators will help.

Howlett hierarchy of work motivators

• Level 1: Salary, Benefits, Working conditions, Supervision, Policies of agency
• Level 2: Safety in the workplace, Job security
• Level 3: Affiliation, Interpersonal relationships
• Level 4: Recognition, Growth, Responsibility, Nature of job
• Level 5: Achievement, Advancement

Level one through three are considered externally motivated needs -(exist outside a person.) If these needs are met, the person is able to go to level four. Otherwise, the employee will become dissatisfied with their job. Dissatisfied employees become less productive or quit. Levels one and two are internal motivators-(within the person.) Meeting the needs on the Howlett hierarchy will motivate employees and produce productivity. It is challenging for a leader to oversee employee needs, while still obtained employer goals. It can be done, though. The ability to motivate is the key element in achieving a leadership role.