5 Tools and Apps to Make You a Better Leader

When you are in a position in business management, with a title like “executive” or “director,” you need to develop and demonstrate leadership skills. Your workforce needs you to think critically and make strategic decisions, but your employees also need you to inspire, motivate and engage them, making them feel comfortable and capable of their responsibilities.

If you are new in your position of leadership, you might be struggling with identifying and cultivating those leadership skills. Fortunately, in the Digital Age, there are some apps for that. Here are some software tools you might use to become a better leader today.

Morning Ritual

Many leaders find that the morning is the best time to do the best work — but taking full advantage of the morning hours is not always easy. Morning Ritual is a mobile app that helps improve your efficiency in the morning time by scheduling the tasks you hope to accomplish and prompting you to move onto a new task when your allotted time is up. Slowly, over time, the app helps you reduce the time you spend on less productive tasks, so you can harness your morning energy and focus for good.

Anyone can benefit from Morning Ritual, but as a business leader, you in particular need to get off the ground running at the start of the day if you have any hope of staying on top of your responsibilities. Morning Ritual makes it easier to understand your morning habits and change them to become a more effective leader within your organization.

WorkHuman

If you have learned anything from the Great Resignation, it should be this: You should be grateful for your team, and you should show your gratitude every day. Though most employees quitting claim they are in search of better pay and benefits, the truth is that misaligned corporate value, vision and culture have failed to provide the support and connection they crave in a workplace. As a business leader, you have the power to improve how your workers feel, most effectively through recognition and praise.

WorkHuman offers one of the web’s best employee recognition platforms. By paying closer attention to when and how you appreciate the work and dedication of your employees, you can create a more positive workplace culture that keeps workers around.

Wunderlist

Gone are the days when a business leader can get by with a handwritten daily to-do list. Because your assigned tasks are so complex, you need a smarter system for staying on top of your responsibilities — in other words, you need Wunderlist.

As an app, Wunderlist functions as a clean and attractive space to keep track of your to-dos. Your app will update across devices, so you can accurately monitor your progress regardless of where you are. What’s more, your list of tasks can sync with your colleagues, so everyone understands the allocation of responsibilities. You don’t necessarily need a robust task management tool to feel in control of your to-dos, and Wunderlist provides simple and effective functionality for any business leader.

Pocket

A good business leader is always learning. You must be plugged into the latest news and developments of your industry, and you should be searching for ways to improve your knowledge and skill to continue climbing your career ladder. Yet, because learning must fit in around your other responsibilities, you need a way to save all the interesting articles and videos you encounter throughout your workday.

Pocket is a simple app that saves articles, videos, images and more. From the app, you can return to these resources and even view them when your device lacks an internet connection. Offline viewing might be essential during your commute or during other business travels, so having Pocket in your pocket can aid your need to continuously learn and grow.

At this point in your career, you likely understand that whom you know is just as important as what you know. Networking is essential in business, but as a leader, you might have less time and opportunity to create and maintain strong relationships with fellow professionals. Thus, you should devote some time to boosting your presence on professional networking websites, like LinkedIn.

In particular, you should try to use LinkedIn to position yourself as an industry expert by producing content that your network can engage with and learn from. In doing so, you not only provide value to the members of your network, but you gain important leverage for your future career.

A new business leader is simply a great business leader in the making. With the right tools at your fingertips, you can harness the power of your time, your workforce, your information and your network for the better.