Being a leader is not easy. It requires one to pursue the truth and do what needs to be done for the organization’s betterment. Oftentimes, the biggest critiques of leaders are their own mentors and role models. Just because the experienced leader is unable to grasp the junior leader’s vision, they refute it completely and instill a fear of failure in them. But great leaders are the ones that mute dissenting voices, trust their intuition, and follow through with their plans even when it seems that the whole world has turned against them.

History is filled with such great leaders who dared to travel on unexplored paths, overcame countless challenges, and all the while remained determined and achieved extraordinary feats in pursuit of their dreams.

When it comes to organizational leaders, the story is no different. Every day, organizational leaders face countless challenges that make them question their judgment, reconsider their leadership style and evaluate their own beliefs and practices. But a true leader is one who stays committed to their goals, inspires the team members to deliver their best, leads by example, and remains determined in the face of opposition.

A leader must be able to communicate the goals, visions, and values of the organization clearly so that everyone contributes and works towards shared objectives. But despite their best efforts, most organizational leaders come across these few basic challenges, and it is either their ability or inability to overcome these challenges that define their careers and mold their future.

4 Leadership Challenges and How to Overcome Them

1. Conflict Management

Too many cooks spoil the broth. But the tension sprouts when it finally comes down to swallowing that broth. Who should take the blame for the crisis situation that the organization is in? This blame game results in conflicts that the leader must manage and resolve. All leaders are required to be good conflict managers. Their team members count on them for justice and accountability. They trust that their leader will remain impartial and take the necessary actions against the aggressors or problem creators to ensure that such problems are avoided in the future.

At organizations, conflicts can arise over things as simple as the delivery of a wrong quotation to a client or over major issues such as, an important project that turned out to be an absolute disaster and led to public embarrassment and thousands (if not millions) of dollars in losses.

To effectively resolve conflicts, the leader must first remain completely impartial and hear both sides of the story. They must take all the necessary details into consideration and run all the background checks before arriving at a conclusion. If the conflict started as the result of a simple misunderstanding, the leader must play the role of a mediator to help the two opposing parties see eye to eye. They also must emphasize the shared goals and motivate the team members to work together to achieve them.

It is to be noted that quite often, conflicts will have less to do with professional commitments and more to do with personal, cultural, or ideological differences between team members. In such cases, the leader must express respect for every team member’s personal beliefs and encourage the team to embrace diversity. A good leader will know how to use diversity as a strength for the organization.

2. Resource Allocation and Manpower Management

Leaders must know their organization and teams inside out. They should be well aware of the required as well as the available resources that are needed to complete tasks and projects. Resources are inclusive of tangible resources like financial funding, equipment, workspaces, as well as intangible resources like the right talent and time.

Organizational leaders should be able to allocate the resources depending on the budget and funding of the project and should be able to source additional materials, equipment or funds in case the available resources are not sufficient to complete the project within the deadline. A good leader will always save the organization’s resources from being wasted.

Likewise, they should have the right skills to manage human resources effectively. They should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each of their team members so that every person feels worthy and is content about the fact that their skills and talents are being utilized to the maximum. Leaders should be able to assign projects based on the member’s expertise and at the same time provide sufficient learning and growth opportunities for all team members so that everyone can learn from one another and grow together with the organization – not just a few.

To manage resources and manpower efficiently, a leader must conduct an in-depth evaluation of the organization, its available resources, and the talent pool. They can seek help from their human resource department or use their soft skills to study and gauge the potential of all their team members or get professional help outside of the organization.

3. Miscommunication

Be it our personal relationships or professional correspondence, miscommunication is a common occurrence, especially because every person has a different style of communication and interpretation. We all interpret messages based on the information that is available to us or in relevance to our past experiences.

Miscommunications are quite common in an organizational setting as well. At times, a leader is unable to get the intended message across to their team, and this breakdown in communication affects the project’s output. Team members may end up delivering the wrong assignment, mix up the deadline or fail to follow through with the project because their role or the instructions were not clear to them.

Miscommunication also causes a strain on the relationship between the leader and team members because leaders may feel like they did their part to convey the message, but the team members failed to carry out the instructions, and the team members may feel like the leader is sabotaging their project and career.

Whatever the case, to avoid miscommunication, a leader must make him or herself aware of their team members’ communication styles. They must also make themselves available to answer their team members’ questions at all times and make sure that everyone is on board and aware of the requirements and progress of the project.  If communication is taking place over online mediums, leaders must use modern-day technology that is convenient for everyone.

Moreover, miscommunication can extend project deadlines, affect team members’ performance, and reduce the overall efficiency and profitability of the organization; therefore, leaders must learn to be as transparent and clear as possible. There are several professional communication courses and workshops that leaders can enroll in to improve their communication skills.

4. Growth and Innovation

Organizations survive on growth and innovation. They need to stay ahead of the competition, and the only way to do that is to keep innovating the products and services or programs that they have to offer to their stakeholders. Transformational leaders don’t just encourage new voices and ideas, but they lead by example and strive hard for continuous growth and innovation. They encourage their team members to think creatively and explore extraordinary ideas for ordinary problems.

To ensure that growth and innovation remain the organization’s top priority, leaders must first learn to be open to criticism and take ideas from even the most junior members of the team. They should embrace new trends and technology and utilize them to solve the challenges that are faced by the organization. They must also encourage visionary thinking and motivate their team members to think from 10 or 20 years from now. In order for an organization to be growth and innovation-intensive, its projects should create demand rather than just meet the current demands of the industry.

The world owes a big thank you to visionary leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk (and many others), who transformed the world through their futuristic thinking and are continuing to be role models for other visionary leaders.

Final Word

If you want to be a transformational leader for your organization, you must build your skills and learn to lead and manage your teams effectively by learning all about leadership development. At Stratagems, we provide leadership and followership development and skills training to members of professional industries, business professional groups, membership-based organizations, and teams of any kind. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help.