Communicate, listen, know how to interpret to make the best decisions. Leadership is about working. Here are five tips from professionals to help you increase your impact on a daily basis.

Set a course and know how to communicate it

The leader must first and foremost define a sustainable vision and principles that will guide his daily action. A sales manager who leads a team will have to ask himself the question of what his vision of the business is: should he rather focus on listening to his customers or should he base himself solely on his offer and put it forward? “Establishing a clear vision is crucial to be able to communicate it. Like Steve Jobs and his “think different” policy, this will give meaning to employees and inspire them.”

Beware of perceptions to avoid misinterpretations

“One of the exercises I regularly do with participants in training is to take an object as a painting, to try to bring out the difference between what we see, think and feel when we look at it,” says Valerie Gauthier, a professor at HEC and a leadership specialist. When we express what we think we see, it is actually what we interpret. In reality, we mix everything up. Carried out regularly, this exercise will allow you to think differently about your professional relationships on a daily basis and thus, use your sense of observation to be more vigilant in the face of interpretations.

Ask yourself the question of why and not how: dare to trust

Trust is one of the essential characteristics of leadership. Confidence in oneself, but also in others. “A leader who is too authoritarian will not delegate enough and will minimize the trust his employees will have,” asserts Laurent Buananno, head of a firm on leadership. If the manager wonders how to do things, a leader wonders why it is necessary to do so in order to release energy. He is there to break down obstacles and shake up habits. “Trusting and delegating will allow you to think more effectively about other issues.”

Understand the importance of listening and put it into practice

“Be accessible, open to dialogue… For a leader, listening is more important than talking,” notes Anthony Dechaux. To develop your listening skills, Valerie Gauthier offers a practical exercise that consists of closing your eyes for three minutes and concentrating on all the surrounding sounds and then noting those you remember. Objective: to be able to separate pleasant sounds from those that are not. “When we listen, the brain intervenes and makes us interpret what we hear. This auditory perception exercise helps to remedy this by increasing your ability to discern hearing from actual perception.”

Be proactive!

According to Anthony Dechaux: “There are two possibilities to be recognized as a leader: either to derive legitimacy from expertise in a field, or in human management. In other words, to know how to motivate and manage like sports coaches who have never been great professionals.” To increase its leadership status, only action takes precedence. Be proactive by initiating changes if necessary. The opportunity to set a good example and thus create a ripple effect around you.