Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 6 April 2006 — Page 18

Page 18 • The Muncie Times • April 6, 2006

DR. WORKONE:

Dear Dr. WorkOne, I have been given a new role in my organization that is giving me more responsibility than I had before. I am going to be in more of a leadership role. This position is unlike any position that I have had before. I am used to having a boss and not being the leader. This new position is switching that role. How can I go about polishing my leadership skills to present myself in the best way possible? Jeff Dear Jeff, • Leadership skills need

to be worked on over time. I can give you some simple tips, but you must take them and make them your own. There is no right or wrong way to be a leader, but the way you lead may affect those you are leading. The way you lead can influence and motivate others and I think that is where you should start with developing your skills. A tip that you can start with is indicating to others what your plan for the future is. Since you will now be in a leadership role, I am assuming the vision for the organi-

zation or your department is going to change. By letting those who work under you know what changes to expect they can prepare for the future. In this event where you are becoming a new leader you need to make sure that you are going to create strategies that are going to influence those under you. By creating new strategies, motivation will occur among employees and they will begin to look at you as a leader. Often times as a leader you are put in situations where you must give

constructive criticism to improve one’s performance. You must do this in a way that will not be threatening or make the employees feel negatively about themselves. When you are in an environment where the work is very team oriented then you must make sure that you can help these teams keep on their objectives. They will have specific tasks that they will need to accomplish. Your job as a leader is to keep them on task while letting them work through issues in a productive manner. I think that these lead-

ership tips/skills will help to make your transition into this position a better one. It is hard switching to a completely different job where you are in a more authoritative role than you were before. Take the first few weeks in stride and just remember these tips. Best Wishes, Dr. WorkOne Dr. WorkOne is a service of the East Central Indiana Workforce Investment Board. The Doctor regrets that he is unable to answer every letter, but he will publish questions that have the widest appeal in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him at P.O. Box 1081, Muncie, Indiana 47308-1081.