Leadership is more than a title or a promotion. It’s not about being the loudest person in the room or barking orders. If you really want people to follow you, you don’t need a nameplate on your door. You need to have a vision of where you want to go and the skills to handle people.

At BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, we work with some of the Top Leadership Keynote speakers in the industry. These keynote speakers have led armies, built companies, and done research on how to lead under pressure and in extreme situations.

Here are four of the skills experts say you need to lead in today’s businesses.

1) Trust

Trust is essential for people to follow leaders. According to Thomas Kolditz, “When you don’t have certainty. When you don’t know what’s around the corner. When you don’t know how the day is going to turn out, then the only way that you can lead people is through trust.”

Five ways that leaders can build trust with their team are through integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty, and openness.

2) Empathy

One way to connect with your team is through empathy. According to Bill Benjamin,

“When people feel their leaders are more empathetic, they’re more willing to step in with new ideas. They’re more willing to take a risk to try something new.”

You can do this by taking time to understand the needs of your team and being aware of their feelings and thoughts. You need to connect with them personally before you can expect them to take risks.

3) Listening

The most effective leaders know how to listen. According to Omar Johnson, “As leaders, we think our job is to talk, to communicate. The bigger part of our job, the more important part of our job, is listening.”

The best way to listen is to study your team member’s body language and ask them open-ended questions. By asking open-ended questions, you allow people to describe their work situation as they see it—making them feel heard and understood.

4) Empowerment

The leaders who accomplish the most empower their team members to handle problems. According to Tiana S. Clark, leadership is about “power and how we wield it to first empower ourselves so that we can then empower others.”

Some ways you can empower your team are by delegating tasks based on your team’s skills, providing clear expectations, and giving them the necessary resources to complete their work.

If you would like to learn more about leadership skills or hire a Top Leadership Keynote Speaker, contact BigSpeak Speakers Bureau today.

For more on leadership speakers, read

Our 15 Top Booked Leadership Speakers of the Year

Top Leadership Experts to Improve Your Soft Leadership Skills