How to be a “Smarter” Leader

As a leader, we are always striving to be better, but have you considered being smarter? By smarter, I do not mean intelligence, but rather being more agile and resourceful in the way you work and lead. Similar to working smarter not harder.

How do you become a smarter leader? Where do you begin? And why should you consider it?

What is “Smarter”?

Often, the best is not the smartest. The best car in the world is not affordable to most people, thus we choose the best car in our price range, i.e. the smarter choice.

Smarter is getting the best results with the least resources and in a way that suits the underlying team or company. Working smarter is more agile, flexible, and allows for more input from everyone involved.

How to Inspire Your Team to be “Smarter”?

People are set in their ways, and changing to a more flexible approach can take some convincing. Perceived effort is a great way to inspire people in your team into a new way of working.

You need to start by creating a culture fully focused on being smarter! Make it part of who you are as a company and how you operate.

How to Build a “Smarter” Culture?

Building a new company culture starts with you as a leader. You need to live and embrace the culture as part of who you are.

Some key parts of building a new culture:

• Develop a Lingo – develop a language and terminology that you use. From presentations, to marketing, to sales, and even internally, use and embrace your own lingo.
• Constant Learning – working smarter requires you to constantly be learning and growing. Build a culture of learning in your organization.
• Praise & Encouragement – make praise a consistent part of your week. Find team members who are really embracing the culture and give praise where it is due.
• Have Key Indicators – develop key indicators of success as a culture and what you will judge each other against. This gives everyone a clear goal to aim for and standard to live up to.

Becoming a smart leader and building a smart company takes time and effort. Start with your culture and the rest will follow.