Improving Your Leadership Skills at St. Bonaventure University

If you enjoy helping others reach their full potential, facing new challenges every day, and dreaming up creative ways to solve problems, our online Masters in Strategic Leadership may be the perfect fit for you. Although other schools offer strategic leadership degrees, St. Bonaventure University’s program allows you to earn your degree at home while working full-time. While you’re deciding if our program is right for you, we’re going to share some helpful tips to improve your leadership skills on a day-to-day basis.

Work to Sharpen Your Communication Abilities

According to Forbes contributor Steve Olenski, great verbal communication skills are essential for every leader. Therefore, sharpening your communication abilities goes hand-in-hand with improving your leadership skills. To improve your speaking abilities, he recommends preparing conversations in advance and reading more often.

However, becoming a pro at verbal communication is only one of the challenges an aspiring leader has to conquer. It’s also important to master the arts of writing and body language. To sharpen your writing skills, Olenski suggests making a habit of removing unnecessary words. To bring your body language interpretation to the next level, he recommends paying more attention to nonverbal clues and learning to decipher exactly what they mean(1).

The online Masters in Strategic Leadership at St. Bonaventure University will guide you through the process of mastering all these different types of communication. We firmly believe that strong communicators make extraordinary leaders, and we’ll teach you advanced written and verbal communication techniques that will make you stand out in the workplace.

Set a Clear Path to Your Goals

Planning ahead is another excellent way to improve your leadership skills. According to Huffington Post, planning ahead will help you take on new projects, achieve your goals, and bring your vision to life. It can also reduce your stress levels, which will take a massive weight off any leader’s shoulders (2). If you’re working towards a large goal, such as buying your own home or becoming a CEO, be sure to set clear milestones along the way. Celebrating small victories on your journey will put you in the best possible mindset to achieve your dreams.

By searching for online degree programs, you’ve already taken an important step towards planning for your future. You’ve realized that earning your Masters in Strategic Leadership will open up new job prospects and help you achieve your long-term goals. The statistics on our program page show that graduates earn approximately $10,000 more per year after graduating from the Strategic Leadership program at SBU. So if one of your long-term goals is to increase your earning potential, starting our program will be an important milestone for you!

Know Your Strengths and Build on Them

If you’re looking to improve your leadership skills, Forbes writer Trang Chu offers some inspiring words of wisdom in this article. She advises young leaders to consider the differences between learned strengths and natural talents. Her ability to learn quickly, as well as her perseverance, allowed her to succeed in banking and eventually start her own business. Trang considers both of these traits to be strengths rather than natural talents. If she never worked to build on these strengths throughout her life, and relied on talents alone, she probably wouldn’t have ever reached her dreams of opening her own business(3).

By choosing to pursue the Masters in Strategic Leadership degree at SBU, you’ll learn to identify and build on your strengths. You’ll develop essential leadership abilities by taking courses such as Global Leadership and Leadership and Diversity, and you’ll even build a portfolio to showcase your professional development. This will help you impress employers and prepare you for a fulfilling leadership career.

Learn to Lead with Confidence at St. Bonaventure University

Choosing between all the different Strategic Leadership degrees offered across the country is a big decision. But if you’re looking to make a real difference in your life and the lives of others, SBU will teach you the skills you need to excel as a leader. Our online Masters in Strategic Leadership will supercharge your problem-solving skills and teach you to communicate clearly and effectively in the workplace. If you’re a natural-born leader and you’re looking to boost your earning potential, click here to learn more about our program today.

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