Established workplace leaders understand the daily leadership challenges of their role.
Since they have the benefit of years of experience, they’ve developed tactics and methods for overcoming these challenges. However, first-time or newer managers can find common workplace challenges overwhelming. Lack of motivation, burnout, and change management can all get in the way of success in the role.
This blog post will explore the five most common leadership challenges all managers will face at some point in their careers. Below, you’ll also read some practical tips to help you tackle them when you’re performing your own duties.
There are many reasons leadership challenges arise. These challenges can present themselves on a personal level, such as in the form of fear or anxiety over the role. They can also surface as a result of business change, or a high workload.
Leadership challenges also often present themselves at inopportune times. They require a solid base of skills and knowledge to draw from, to overcome them.
How to recognise and overcome common leadership challenges
Taking a closer look at the five common leadership challenges below will provide a better understanding of their root causes and help you find the most practical way to work through them. Let’s begin.
1. Overcoming fear
Many consider fear a leadership challenge, but some of the best leaders use their fear to drive them on to success. Fear can present itself in several circumstances, such as change, the potential to make a bad decision, and the possibility of failure.
Great leaders recognise their thinking patterns, acknowledging their fear and refusing to pay it more attention than it deserves. By owning their fear, they exert control over it and empower themselves to make the decisions that serve the best interests of themselves, their team, and the business. Pay less attention to the ‘what ifs’ and what could go wrong, and instead shift your focus to the positive possibilities.
True leaders understand that things will go wrong from time to time. However, they also believe in themselves. They trust they’ll be able to address those issues as they arise and do so effectively.
2. Keeping yourself motivated
Motivation can be fleeting. The key to staying motivated is to take stock of all the good things happening within your team and use these as the springboard to regain momentum.
Sometimes a leader must assess the impact of their leadership and recount their successes to motivate themselves again. It’s important to stay away from wasting time dwelling on previous mistakes or negative situations.
As your team looks to you for motivation, it’s best to lead by example. Focus on the excellent work you’ve done already, and get back into the mindset that allowed you to be successful in those projects previously.
3. Avoiding burnout
Leaders tend to work longer hours, taking on unnecessary tasks and trying to push through fatigue. A great leader, however, will delegate tasks to their team and trust them to complete the task to the best of their ability.
Burnout is an inevitable result of taking on too much and overworking. Not only will this negatively impact your day-to-day performance, but it can also have far-reaching consequences for your mental health.
The best way to overcome burnout is to avoid it. If you find yourself feeling exhausted, now is the time to start delegating more work to your team. Give yourself more time to concentrate on the tasks at hand, and improve your existing skillset and knowledge through an online professional development course.
Our courses take into account your busy schedule and allow you to complete them from the comfort of your own home. The tools you acquire will enable you to start managing your time better and position to face other challenges intrinsic to leadership roles more easily.
4. Developing, coaching, and mentoring your employees
A good leader knows to look inwards to identify areas of his or her skills and experience that need developing. An even better leader understands that as much as they need professional development, their teams need it too.
By upskilling your team members through in house training and professional development courses, you’re equipping them with the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively. This means fewer requirements for you to review their work and a higher quality output across the board.
Mentoring your team members takes place in the course of your daily activities. They look to you for tactics and strategies they can incorporate into their work ethic. Paying attention to their development needs will help you identify potential issues, and you’ll be able to address and rectify them before they become a bigger problem. By encouraging your team’s growth, you’re fostering their ambitions and supporting them in becoming the best employee they can be.
5. Guiding change
A good leader will rise to the challenges change presents, and guide themselves and their teams through it. Leaders need to understand, through clear communication and engagement from senior stakeholders, how these changes will affect themselves and their teams.
Planning for the potential events or consequences that change triggers allows a leader to devise tactics and strategies that will mitigate problems. Leaders must reassure their teams during uncertain times, encourage open communication, and foster a positive attitude towards that change. Providing a source of consistency throughout that change period sets great leaders apart from good leaders.
Identify, address, enjoy success
Identifying any of these leadership challenges will take time and commitment. The key to overcoming them and enjoying the success of your role is to address them by taking action. We’ve developed our courses to help managers and leaders identify their skills, improve their knowledge, and equip themselves with the resources they need to fulfil the requirements of their role and excel in it.
Why not book your place on one of our upcoming professional development programmes, sign up for an online course, or rally your team together for in house training courses? We’re here to discuss your specific needs. You can reach us by filling out this form. We’re ready to take your leadership to the next level — are you?
