Leadership 101: Tips to Be a Better Leader in the Workplace

What will you do when you need to make a tough decision concerning your team and your company’s standards and policies?

Being a leader is a challenging situation to be in. You want to do what’s best for your people, but you also need to look at your decision’s possible impact on the organization.  

Cases like this can either disrupt your team’s balance or improve their performance. It all depends on how you deal with the situation. To borrow a line from Harvard Business Publishing’s Learning Design and Media senior manager Vanessa Boris, “great leaders have great teams, and poor leaders have teams that struggle” even if the individual members of the struggling team show capability and potential to do great work. The way you lead your team reflects their growth and performance. 

If this is so, how can you develop yourself into a great leader? How can you make purposeful decisions to make your team flourish while ensuring that everyone is aligned with company goals and objectives? 

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Importance of developing good leadership skills 

Whether leaders are born or made has long been debated.  

Those who believe that leaders are born argue that great leaders have innate genetic leadership traits (e.g., humility) that help them go through certain life situations. 

Those who assert that leaders are made, meanwhile, say that without the right situation, development, and awareness, those characteristics may be wasted. Leaders need more than just skills to become a great leader. 

For me, leadership should always be intentional. While some people appear to lead effortlessly, what we don’t often see is the work they put in behind the scenes to grow and improve. 

As research shows, even leaders seen as “naturals” have invested significant effort in developing themselves. Great leadership is rarely accidental — it’s built with purpose. 

And so should you. 

Improving your leadership skills is about making conscious choices to refine your strengths so you can be of better service to those you lead. You have to acknowledge that you don’t steer the boat alone. Instead, every little thing you do and decisions you make affect the direction of where your team is heading. 

In other words, the way you lead is contagious. When you have good leadership skills, you can empower your team and inspire them to take pride in the work they do. The more they do better at their respective duties, the more meaningful their contributions will be to the organization. And when they perform excellently, great opportunities may come their way. 

Like they say, what goes around comes around. Good leadership brings great opportunities to everyone: you, your team, your organization. 

Apart from this, being an effective leader can also result in: 

• Stronger teamwork 

• Increased employee motivation and engagement 

• Higher productivity and efficiency 

• Lower turnover  

• Better corporate culture 

• Healthier work environment 

But of course, developing your leadership skills also leads to several personal benefits, such as: 

• Career growth 

• Personal and professional fulfillment 

• Better work opportunities 

• Improved decision-making 
• Increased self-awareness 
• Greater career satisfaction 

What makes a good leader? 

[IN PHOTO] Our team during one of our monthly in-person meetups.

Each leader has their own leadership style. Despite their differences, most of the effective leaders I know share certain qualities. 

Here are 5 characteristics of a good leader. 

1. Goal-oriented

When trekking a mountain, would you rather follow an experienced guide who knows the way to the summit or a novice hiker who just tagged along for fun? 

Naturally, most would choose the experienced guide — unless you're in it purely for the thrill of the unknown.  

Great leaders are like seasoned mountain guides. The summit represents your team’s goals, and your role is to lead the way with clarity and purpose. Your primary mission? Keep the team moving forward and steadily climbing toward success. 

When you’re clear about what you’re doing, where you’re going, and how to get there, your team will find it easier to trust you and follow your lead. 

2. Empathetic

Leaders should always remember that they're working with humans — people who have unique motivations, are going through different life situations, and have distinct maturity levels. 

To put it into perspective, think back to your first corporate stint. As a newbie, you must’ve made mistakes and submitted output that’s far less polished than what you can complete today.  

Having a supportive manager who helps you grow beyond your limits can leave a lasting, positive impact. In contrast, a toxic one who fixates on every flaw can damage your confidence and mental well-being.  

Empathy is a non-negotiable quality of a good leader. Displaying empathy towards your team builds trust, supports mental health, and creates a healthy work atmosphere. It’s about becoming the kind of leader you wish you had or had been looking up to — the one who nurtures someone’s potential instead of trampling down on their growth. 

3. Balanced

There are two sides to being a leader in a corporate setting.  

The first one is guiding your team towards the fulfillment of your shared organizational goals, their individual key performance indicators, and their work expectations and concerns. 

The other side is reporting to the management and making decisions that are aligned with their directives. 

Balancing these two sides is essential to effective leadership. You serve as the bridge — the person who sets the expectations at both team and management levels to minimize possible issues arising from the quality of work produced or the quality of life at work. 

4. Judicious

Being judicious, or the ability to make sound judgment, goes together with being a balanced leader. 

In fact, it is considered as a central leadership quality due to its role in “governing the crucial function of thinking and reasoning effectively.” This skill guides you on making the right call at the right time because deep down, you’re aware of what your team needs and what your organization expects. 

When geared with the ability to make situationally appropriate decisions, both your team and the management can trust that your choices are for the best of the majority — a perfect example of good leadership at work. 

5. Altruistic

When you become a leader, you need to learn how to put your personal interests aside. It’s no longer about you but more of the people you lead. As mentioned earlier, your team’s performance is a direct reflection of your leadership. Strong leaders build strong teams.  

Being altruistic means being present, supportive, and empowering. It’s about helping your team solve problems and encouraging their growth through independent decision-making. 

But of course, being altruistic doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your well-being. To help develop high performers, you must also prioritize your emotional fitness. This way, you can be more resilient in facing challenging situations and have enough mental capacity to support your team’s needs. 

Read Next: People Management: How to Handle a Growing Workforce 

How to be a better leader in the workplace 

Managing a growing team can feel challenging. But with strong leaders to back you up, this role becomes easier and more fulfilling.

Working on your leadership skills is just the beginning. Over time, you’ll encounter different situations that would test your ability to resolve issues and cultivate a healthy work culture. 

Here are some ways to put your leadership qualities into practice. 

1. Maintain a pragmatic approach in resolving conflicts or concerns

When caught up in a conflict that involves your team members, it’s crucial to stay rational, identify the root cause of the problem, and learn the reasoning of both sides. 

For example, if a team member reports receiving unreasonable requests from another team, avoid quick judgments. Dismissing the concern may make your team feel unsupported, while rejecting the task outright could strain inter-team relations.  

To resolve it, it’s best to keep your cool and speak with the other team involved. Ask them about their requests, clarify expectations, and communicate your team’s workload. Collaborate to find a workable solution and prevent future misunderstandings. 

2. Set clear expectations

Expectations should always be with clarity.  

For example, at D&V Philippines, we conduct annual planning at the start of each calendar year. At this point, counselors (team leaders) meet with their counselees (team members) to discuss the latter’s individual key performance indicators (KPIs) and what they need to do to achieve their desired performance ratings. By mid-year, they meet again to check the counselee’s progress and if they experience any roadblocks in achieving their individual targets. 

But of course, setting clear expectations and reviewing progress doesn’t only happen during these formal meetings.  

When it comes to proper expectations-setting, the most important conversations happen on a regular workday, typically in a more relaxed setting — when you’re checking up on their workload, during your casual conversations, at lunchtime.  

Make sure you practice active listening during these moments so you can learn if their expectations are still aligned with company goals. 

3. Always keep the broader organizational goals in mind

We’ve discussed earlier that leaders must be goal oriented. Your team can find it easier to follow you when you know where you’re heading and how to get there. 

To do this, you must always keep the broader organizational goals in mind. This will serve as your guide when making strategic decisions that will benefit your team and the organization. 

4. Keep your team engaged and motivated

Employees perform best when they feel appreciated and supported. No matter how good they are at work, when they don’t feel valued, their morale will eventually decrease. Before you know it, they’re no longer performing like they used to — ready to leave and find a place that makes them feel seen. 

Corporate leaders — team leads, supervisors, managers, and basically anyone with direct reports — have a huge role in engaging and motivating their teams. 

[IN PHOTO] Our team took the time to go on a summer activity to strengthen our bond and get to know each other better.

Keeping your team engaged doesn’t have to be superfluous. While big company events like employee recognition programs can help, the key lies in the small things you do. This includes: 

• practicing effective communication, 

• asking your team about their day, 

• giving them constructive feedback, 

• coaching them so they can improve more, 

• commending a job well done, and 

• recognizing their efforts. 

If you’re on a remote or hybrid setup, your responsibility as a team leader increases because you need to make sure that everyone is still engaged with their work and the company. However, facilitating engagement can be even more challenging since you don’t see your team face-to-face every day.  

Our team, for example, follows a hybrid work setup. To keep our team members engaged, we conduct an internal annual survey among our associates on their leader’s performance.  

The goal of this annual team leader survey is to gather constructive feedback on leadership performance, identify areas for improvement, and support the ongoing development of effective, supportive, and accountable leaders within our team.

We also continue the activities that our team members find enjoyable. For example, based on their feedback, they enjoy our monthly meetup and onsite activities. Aside from serving as their breather from work, it also gets them closer with other team members, giving them the assurance that they have a team they can rely on. 

5. Learn your strengths and weaknesses

Successful leaders know where they’re good at and where they struggle the most. Despite their limitations, they still lead their team towards success. 

Applying the same principle lets you become a better leader. With self-awareness, you can work to improve your strengths to compensate for your weaknesses.  

Afterall, leadership isn’t about doing everything alone. You have a team — people who may be good at where you’re lacking. Your role is to unleash their potential and help them thrive at what they do best. With your guidance, everyone in your team can play up to their strengths and make up for each other’s limitations. 

Final thoughts 

Being promoted to a leadership position is a significant milestone. However, it's important to remember that true leadership isn't defined by the title you hold, but by how you embody it every day. It's reflected in the small, consistent actions we take, the decisions we make, and the character we build over time. Leadership is lived, not just labeled.  

And if you’re looking for a company that can support your growth as an accountant leader, D&V Philippines may be the best place to go. Visit our Facebook careers page today to see our current job openings.  

Meanwhile, if you’re a business executive who wants to work with competent accountants, you might be interested in checking out our services. Contact us today to check if we’re the compatible service provider for your needs. Not yet ready for a call? Download a free copy of our outsourcing guide instead. 

Raquel De Belen is a Senior Director of Global Operations at D&V Philippines. Connect with her on LinkedIn. 

—Written in collaboration with Mary Milorrie Campos, a senior content and creative specialist at D&V Philippines.