The Irish presidential campaign is just weeks away with voting taking place on the 26th of October. This got us thinking here at Rezoomo.com what type of presidential skills would be relevant for a CV. Of course, leadership skills are vitally important for any of the Presidential candidates and are also very important for your CV especially when you’re searching for an executive, management, or supervisory position. They are also valuable for entry-level candidates, as strong leaders have more opportunities for growth.
We have looked at some of the most common leadership skills employers look for and that are also relevant to becoming President of Ireland.
Communication
Leadership begins with the skill to be able to communicate clearly in both conversation and writing. It’s up to you to make sure everyone on your team are familiar with group and individual projects, what’s required of them, supports in place and more. But because communication goes both ways, be sure to demonstrate your ability to listen as well as talk.
Example
Project managers must be excellent at communication as they must make sure that everyone involved in a project is aware of what to do and when to do it. They must also need to be able to communicate effectively between different teams or departments.
Problem Solving
The greatest leaders, teams, ideas, plans and aims don’t always go to plan so leaders need to overcome any challenges that they may face. The ability to work through adversity and remain optimistic is key. The leader must come up with a plan to rectify the problem. This doesn’t mean they do it on their own, they should seek help from their team around them.
Example
Good leaders who see a project going over budget need to find methods to reduce costs but still meet targets. To be able to fix the problem they may organise a brainstorming session with their team.
Delegating
When you oversee projects and people in a leadership capacity it is important that you make sure that everything gets completed on time and how it should be done. All team members need to be kept productive with a reasonable workload. Delegating isn’t as easy as simply giving out jobs to different people. You must consider which person would be suitable for the task considering their strengths and weaknesses.
Example
A good leader making an ad campaign gives direction while delegating design, copy, and other tasks to the most appropriate people without having to micromanage or doing too much themselves.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Leaders need to know when to give good feedback and constructive criticism. By giving good feedback it helps people become more productive, happy and loyal. While giving constructive criticism helps the person develop, do better and progress in their career. At the same time, leaders should look for feedback about what they are doing right and what they could do differently. Looking for feedback shows respect and dedication to the team but being genuinely open to suggestions is vitally important.
Example
In this case showing leadership would be saying “You dealt with that customer very professionally, but perhaps if this occurs again to report it to the manager sooner please.”
Conflict Resolution
Conflict is generally bound to happen in any workplace. A good leader should know that conflict damages morale and productivity. They must realise that small arguments need to be nipped in the bud and not allowed to fester. The issue must be dealt with quickly and it shouldn’t be solved with an announcement from above. There should be an effective conflict resolution process which makes all parties feel they were heard, treated fairly and shown respect.
Example
If employees argue over how best to do a task, have them take some cool down time. Then let them explain their points without interruption. Try to integrate something from each suggested approach in the final instructions.
Motivation
When it comes to motivation there is a big difference between just managing and truly leading. Good leadership is about much more than just telling everyone what to do. It’s about presenting them with a vision and inspiring them to want to achieve it with you. To do this, leaders must make all people feel valued. They need to know that the company’s success is also their own. They also need to feel like that they are growing both personally and professionally in their work.
Example
Developing a respectful company culture that promotes work-life balance, providing workers with professional development opportunities and offering incentives such as bonuses or profit sharing are great ways to increase productivity and inspire great efforts.
If you hope to land a job that puts you in charge of employees or a team in any capacity, convincingly highlighting effective leadership skills in your CV will be essential to your success. And showing these coveted skills helps you stand out from the competition even for an entry-level or other non-leadership positions or even becoming President of Ireland.
