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10 Boss Skills To Master Before Leading A Team

If you’re looking to get promoted or you’re starting a new job as a manager, here are some things that you should prepare for and skills you should gain before deciding to lead a team.

1. Vision

Been a manager, makes you responsible for not only your team, but also for a multitude of projects and tasks.

Good leaders are able to clearly see and act on the vision, manage projects, and can develop their team at the same time.

2. Adaptability

As a leader, sometimes you’ll manage several departments at once that are vastly different from one another. Despite this, you’re the boss so their success is still your responsibility. It’s important that you know enough about what they do and how their department should operate so that you can know how to manage your expectations and be able to answer questions and help when needed

3. Project Management

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Being a manager, you’ll be expected to clearly communicate and execute projects from start to finish. During this period, in order to successfully execute a project, you need a proper management of task.

4. Delegation

As a boss, it’s easy to get obsessed with your work. In other to  avoid becoming a control freak, delegation is required. Keep in mind, delegation does not mean pawning off all of your work to your team. Instead, it means understanding the role that each team member has, the deadline of the work, the nature of the project, and strategically assigning portions of the task to each member based on those elements.

Once you start delegating though,  remember to also trust and verify the work.

5. Organizational

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Being organized comes naturally for some people but seems impossible for others. Nonetheless, when you’re responsible for people and projects, it’s critical that you keep your space at least neat enough so that you can clearly find what you and your team need. Also, being organized in your space helps you become organized in other aspects of your work life including managing your team and project timelines.

6. Versatility

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Shit happens and things change in business. Sometimes, these changes are very unexpected and it disrupts you and your team’s normal way of work. As the leader, you have to be able to be adaptable and be comfortable with change. On the same note, you have to be able to know how to properly prepare and communicate these changes to your team.

7. Prioritization

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As a boss, you’ll often be given several assignments that might have conflicting due dates, or you may discover that you actually don’t have enough team members to efficiently execute. Being able to prioritize with limited team members, stretched resources, and conflicting deadlines will help you become a better leader.

8. Emotional Intelligence

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Emotional intelligence is defined as “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.” Having emotional intelligence will help you understand and motivate your employees, especially at times when they need it the most.

9. Confidence

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Having a high level of confidence will help you get past the hard times when employees are underperforming. Maintain your confidence, and understand how to instill a high level of confidence in the people you lead.

10.  Boldness

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As a manager, you may find yourself between the thin line of wanting people to like you versus just wanting to become a good leader. Sometimes you have to have hard conversations and make the tough decisions that people won’t like. You have to be bold enough to remain focused and to also not be intimidated to tell your team members what you need from them.

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Venus Williams: When You Feel Like You Can’t, Train Your Mind To Feel Like You Can

American Express enlisted athlete and successful businesswoman, Venus Williams to discuss the initiative, the importance of women in business and the balance between work and life outside of work.

The multinational financial services corporation is one company that is working hard to empower women to be more ambitious in the workplace and to take up their rightful positions as leaders despite male domination.

This week, during the Global Women’s Conference in Miami, American Express announced the launching of a new initiative called, “The Ambition Project.”

“There are going to be a lot of moments where you feel like you can’t, but you have to train your mind to feel like you can.” — Venus Williams 

The Ambition Project has been in the making for two years now, this is when the AMEX executive committee (six of whom are women) learned that only a third of the company’s senior associates had ever described themselves as ambitious. This discovery led to the question of how to help their female colleagues achieve their ambitions.

Venus took part in the chat about The Ambition Project and shared her own ambitions.

“I was taught ambition and I’m happy to have had that guidance but of course having a natural love for what you do helps you to be ambitious. Having all of that created an opportunity for me to just go for it. This is why I always recommend doing something that you love,” Venus revealed to HelloBeautiful in a private chat.

The prized athlete signed on to be a spokesperson for AMEX’s initiative because it’s important.

“Sometimes women are not encouraged to be as ambitious as men. Women need to support. They need someone to have their backs and tell them, hey you can do this, which is exactly what AMEX is doing. It’s amazing to have a company like American Express behind this because they can really move the needle and create a new normal that really makes a mark for people. I am excited that this is happening and that American Express is taking a special interest in women and helping them in realizing that their ambitions can change the world.”

Venus agrees that women face many barriers when it comes to breaking through the glass ceiling. “When you think about the strides that women have made just in the last 30 years, it has been huge,” she added. “Sometimes we need that nudge. Sometimes we need that vote of confidence. Sometimes we need that support and that’s why this initiative is so important.”

The amazing athlete believes in leading by example, which empowers her to go hard in every aspect of her life. “I think that by doing your best, you inspire other people, doing something positive in your own life can inspire others to do the same. Every day, I try to do my best for myself so that everyone can see what they can be too.”

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WCW | Our Woman Crush Wednessday is Juliet Ehimaun

Juliet Ehimuan is an expert and entrepreneur who currently serves as Google‘s Country Manager in Nigeria.

In August 2011, she was listed in Forbes ‘ “20 Youngest Power Women In Africa.”

According to London Business School Reviews she is one of 30 People Who Are Changing the World, according to London Business School Review.

Below is a brief profile of her by London Business review

  • Juliet Ehimuan wants to raise human dignity by helping to develop human capacity and create opportunities for growth. But Ehimuan is not a charity boss or a UN chief. As Country Director of Google Nigeria, she’s a global tech leader whose contributions to technology and entrepreneurship have won her multiple awards and recognition, including being named one of Forbes’ 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa and featuring in the third series of the BBC Women of Africa strand, Power Women.

She is a member of the London Business School Global Women’s Scholarship. In 2012, she won the “IT Personality of the Year” at the 2012 National Information Technology Merit Award.

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Meghan Markle’s British Vogue Issue The Fastest Selling In The History Of The Magazine

With Megan Markle becoming a member of the royal house, her space has constantly been thrown in the spotlight.

It’s common for members of the royal house to appear on magazine covers but when Meghan was asked to guest-edit the 2019 September issue of British Vogue she further edged herself into history.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, announced that the issue was the fasted selling issue in the history of British Vogue, having been sold out in 10 days, and was the best-selling issue of the decade. In its 103-year history, it was also the first time a September issue was guest-edited.

Meghan’s concept for the issue was to put a spotlight on women who are making a positive change in the world. Instead of her face on the cover, she had the likes of supermodel Adut Akech, English actress Gemma Chan and activist and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“You have an editor’s eye, I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Edward says about Meghan’s editorial direction. Wit this influence as Duchess of Sussex is the clear cut reason for the success of the “Forces of Change” issue.

Although Meghan,  has recently stepped away from her official royal duties, she was expected to join the list of other royals who have graced the magazine’s cover – but she chose to pay homage to other women instead. Other royals like  Princess Diana in 1981 and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, who appeared in 2016 have graced the British Vogue’s cover.

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Meet Juliana Stratton, Illinois First Black Lieutenant Governor

During black history month, light is shed  on many people who show and prove that black lives matter.

Juliana Stratton is one such person, she became the first African-American to serve as Illinois’ lieutenant governor. She is also the fourth African-American woman in U.S. history to hold a lieutenant governorship.

A lawyer and politician she has been serving as the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois leading the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative, and chairing the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council, the Military Economic Development Council and the Illinois River Coordinating Council.

She began her own consulting firm which focuses on alternative dispute resolution and served as a mediator, arbitrator and administrative law judge for several government agencies.

Born September 8, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois, she has been known with notable works such as sponsoring 38 bills, eight of which she managed to sign into law, including legislation on prison and criminal justice reform.

Lieutenant Governor Stratton previously served as Director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, and a Deputy Hearing Commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection.

Stratton advocates for the creation of safe spaces for the youth, and is also a restorative justice practitioner and trained peace circle keeper whose aim is to improve public safety and building stronger communities.

She was also a founding board member of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center and served on the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Protective Association.

On her words during her inauguration ceremony after she took the oath of office she remembered how her great-great-grandfather, William Stevens, rose out of slavery.

“On Dec. 3, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state. Two hundred years later, with the DNA of my formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather William Stevens as part of my genetic makeup, I am proud to stand before you as our state’s first black lieutenant governor,” Stratton said.

“These brothers, formerly enslaved, were industrious, and continued to build this community,” Stratton said.

“They farmed the land, growing cotton, vegetables, and fruit, and tended to livestock and poultry. They helped create every institution their tenants needed to live full lives: a church, a school, a general store, a post office.”

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Ntsiki Mazwai wants women to stop ‘hiding’ afros under their weaves

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Chimamanda Adichie Comes First At This Again!

Award winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will become the first black woman  to deliver the address of the University of Pennsylvania at the 264th Commencement since 1978, and will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. This will take place on the 18th of May.

The announcement was made by the Vice President and University Secretary, Medha Narvekar.

Amy Gutmann, president of the University said: “We are honored to bestow our highest degree on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and have her address our graduates at Penn’s 264th Commencement. Her compelling narratives and absolutely fascinating commentary on complex cultural issues elevate the power of the individual voice.”

Penn trustee and chair of the trustee Honorary Degree Committee Julie Beren Platt, stated that: “It will be our pleasure to welcome renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as our 2020 Commencement speaker and to celebrate the contributions of all of our extraordinary honorees. Their exceptional achievements encompass world-changing discovery, creativity, scholarship, the guardianship of justice, and compassionate service to others. We are privileged to honor them as we celebrate Commencement and our wonderful Class of 2020.”

Congrats to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie!

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Nigerian Academy Of Science Elects Its First Female President

On February 6, the Nigerian Academy of Science appointed professor, Ekanem Braide, as President-elect.

Ms Braide, who is the immediate past Vice-President of the Academy, will be the first female president of the Academy in 43 years of existence when she takes over office in January 2021.

Ms Braide, was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. She was a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, with a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. She is a former Vice-Chancellor at Nassarawa State University, Lafia.

She is to take over from Mosto Onuoha (Professor of pure and applied geophysics) and will then lead the Academy in achieving an improved quality of life for the Nigerian society through the promotion and application of science and technology; as well as strengthen the nation’s ability to deliver the fruits of science to society by the acquisition, growth, and dissemination of sound scientific knowledge and facilitation of its use in the solution of major national problems.

While, Abubakar Sambo (Professor of Mechanical Engineering) takes over from Ms Braide as the new Vice-President of the Nigerian Academy of Science.

Congratulations to her.

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Meet South Africa’s First Black Female Police Pilot Inspiring The Next Generation -CNN

Refilwe Ledwaba is a helicopter and fixed-wing pilot, a flight instructor, an advocate for women’s rights and a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation goalkeeper who made history by becoming the first black female pilot to fly for the police service in South Africa.

“For a long time, I was the only black female that was holding the highest license for helicopters… But being the first for me is not important. The important is the 20th person, the 30th person, then we can start talking,” she said.

The numbers are hard to come by but according to a report by the University of Nebraska, women make up less than 10% of pilots, maintenance technicians and airline executives globally.

Why are there so few women in aviation?

Ledwaba says she’s on a mission to improve the numbers — starting in Africa.

She teaches young pilots in training how to operate aircraft. She also runs the Girls Fly Programme in Africa (GFPA), a foundation with a focus on introducing elementary and high school students to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Raised by a ‘superwoman’

She would later become the first black woman to pilot a helicopter in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Today, she is a contract flyer for various charter companies on the continent.

(Courtesy of Gypseenia Lion / Forbes Africa )
Pic Credit: Gypseenia Lion

Ledwaba, who is qualified to fly both helicopters and airplanes, credits her journey to the strong women in her community while growing up in an apartheid era.

Ledwaba grew up in Limpopo, a province in the northeast of South Africa. Her mother, a teacher, raised seven children alone.

She says her upbringing influenced her chosen path.

“I don’t know how she (her mother) did it, she sent us all to university. So, from a very young age, I always thought I could be anything because I looked at her and I’m like ‘Oh, there’s a superwoman,'” she said.

Ledwaba initially planned to become a doctor, and to help fund her studies, she got a job as a flight attendant. She later realized she was interested in learning to fly so she began taking private flying lesson.

Thirteen years later, she has gained experience flying a range of choppers and airplanes.

Changing the face of aviation

In 2010, Ledwaba started the Girls Fly Programme in Africa (GFPA) to introduce girls in elementary and high school to STEM at a young age

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Female Astronaut Christina Koch Breaks Record: “Do What Scares You” She Says

Christina Koch a female astronaut returned to Earth last Thursday after a record-breaking 328 days in space, the longest single spaceflight by a woman.  She did the simple things as soon as she arrived home, like reuniting with her dog, eating her favorite foods and taking a family trip to the beach, Koch said during a press conference Wednesday.

“After 328 days in space, the first six days back on Earth were full of just as much wonder and excitement,” she said. “We all live on a wonderful planet and it’s great to be back.”
Koch described the joy of seeing so many people again and feeling her body reacclimate as “her mind [wakes] up to sensory experiences that define Earth.”
Apart from regaining her balance and getting used to walking again, Koch has been lucky. Unlike previous astronauts who returned from long-duration spaceflight missions, Koch didn’t experience motion sickness. Muscle aches are normal, and she felt a few in her neck — something she compared to a two-week-old working hard to hold up her head after floating in microgravity for close to a year.
She received advice from astronauts Scott Kelly and Peggy Whitson, who also hold records for long spaceflights (Koch has surpassed Whitson’s record of 288 days). They told her to pace herself and do what she loved. Long missions on the space station are “an ultra-marathon, not a marathon,” they’re fond of saying.

Astronaut Christina Koch spent a record-breaking 328 days in space. Here's what she did

Astronaut Christina Koch spent a record-breaking 328 days in space. Here’s what she did-did-CNN
Mentally, Koch decided to focus on the fact that her time on the station was special. So rather than focusing on the things she missed from Earth, Koch thought about the things she’d never have again once her mission was over. This “mental cheerleading” allowed Koch to put positive messages on repeat in her head, she said.
But Koch adjusted well to space initially. One of her favorite moments was when they arrived at the space station. “I regarded it as this amazing place, my new home for the next year,” Koch said. “Something I had trained for so long had come to life.”
It only took three months for Koch to feel like the space station was home, and replacing her routine from Earth with the unusual aspects of microgravity became normal. She forgot she was floating until a new crew would arrive, because they were so excited about experiencing the sensation.
When it was time to come home, Koch’s personal effects making the return trip all fit in a shoebox — mainly mementos donated by friends and family members that she was excited to give back with a new memory attached to their sentiment.
Koch’s message to young people who aspire to be astronauts is to “follow your passions, live the life you’ve imagined and do what scares you.”

Christina Koch just set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman

Christina Koch just set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman
Koch herself knew she wanted to be an astronaut at five years old — but she also knew the chances of becoming one were low. She began with a single-minded goal, but when she went to Space Camp and learned about the process for becoming an astronaut, she made a key decision.
“I wasn’t going to live according to a checklist,” Koch said. “If the experience I gained would allow me to contribute in a great way to the space program, only then would I apply.”

After an historic all-female spacewalk, astronaut has moon dream

After an historic all-female spacewalk, astronaut has moon dream
Koch pursued other passions, like rock-climbing and quitting an engineering job at NASA to pursue work in Antarctica — both of which helped her become a better astronaut, she said.
As far as her records achieved in space — longest spaceflight, and the first three all-female spacewalks — Koch isn’t a stats person who keeps score. To her, the best thing that can happen when a record is set is when someone else breaks it
Koch will never forget how she felt when she saw Earth for the first time. She was in the Soyuz capsule on the six-hour rendezvous with the space station in March 2019, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. She looked out at Earth and exclaimed, “oh, my goodness.” Then she realized how dangerous that could be without explaining her reaction — because in space, it could mean any number of issues had come up. She clarified, “Everything is OK. It’s just Earth.”
“I looked out the window and there was Earth. It looked brighter and way more real than I imagined it could be,” Koch said. “I realized this was real and that I had left our planet.”
Source CNN
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