Bill Gates of Microsoft.
Steve Jobs of Apple.
Jack Ma of Alibaba.
These are three of the world’s most successful and most influential leaders of the 21st century.
Can you be like them? Or maybe you think, “But I’m not a technical person.”
Or, “I’m not intelligent at all.”
You don’t have to be a special snowflake to become a good leader. Leaders are made not born.
With enough experience and skills set, you can be a leader at your own right. A leader, who may not be as big as the three I’ve mentioned, but one who can help a company or small business reach its goals.
So, want to become a good leader? Here’s how.
1. Be Goal Oriented
A good leader is driven by purpose. He is focused on achieving a particular goal and will never stop until he reaches it. He wants results and has a compelling desire to get things done.
One who is clear on his goals and has concrete plans to attain it.
One who is overflowing with a passion that there’s no excuse to fail. They can’t fall short of other’s expectations and most importantly, his own expectations.
2. Be Confident
A good leader firmly believes in what he’s doing because if not, then no one’s going to believe him. To be confident, one must have knowledge and experience, without these then one is just considered cocky and conceited. Aside from these, a leader should also possess oozing confidence to gain the respect of subordinates.
A leader maintains a good composure. Calm and collected when some things tend to be falling apart. Never to show signs of panic because he might influence his team.
A confident person is someone who’s not afraid to commit mistakes. Someone who’s open to constructive criticism. A person who takes a stand on certain issues but can graciously back down if proved wrong.
3. Be Accountable
An accountable leader takes responsibility for their own actions, and for their subordinates’ as well, but that doesn’t mean that they will automatically shoulder all the blame. As a leader, one should discuss with the team what went wrong and must teach them to be accountable as well so they’ll develop a sense of responsibility to improve and prevent committing errors and mistakes.
4. Be a Decision Maker
A good leader is required to make an effective and timely decision. Decision making is one of their most challenging tasks because everyone depends on it, whether the company will suffer or benefit from it. And once you made a decision, you should stand by it and be ready face the consequences should things not go as expected.
Great leaders also make decisions based on what they learned from the past. They make sure that they will not repeat the same mistakes anymore and they can connect present challenges from past experiences, helping them make prompt decisions.
5. Be a Team player
A good leader knows how to delegate tasks. You can’t do everything alone and you are there to guide the team to its success. Delegating work shows that you trust your staff and will boost their morale. To assign tasks properly, it is important to know and be familiar with your team members. Be mindful of their strengths and weaknesses. Assess their personalities and if possible, talk to them and spend time with them to discover their passion and interests.
A great leader is also a good listener. Encourage communication in your team. Listen to what your colleagues would say. Who knows? They might contribute fresh ideas that you have never thought of. Or if there are conflicts among your teammates, you’ll be aware and can propose solutions.
6. Lead by example
How can you demand punctuality when you’re always late?
A good leader practices what they preach and walks the talk. They are exemplary role models.
To influence others, everything should be clear on what to expect from the team and make sure that your actions and words support that.
7. Be Creative
A great leader thinks outside the box. With the fast-paced environment we are in, a leader should be innovative and be able to keep up. He can’t always be the traditional one. One should be equipped with rich ideas and turn those into reality.
8. Know how to inspire people
A good leader helps people grow. They know how to bring out the best in them. They share knowledge and help their people develop their skills.
One can motivate his staff and is able to appreciate, recognize, and give the members of the team a pat on the back for a job well done.
Remember that a great leader creates and nurtures the next generation of leaders.
You will not be a good leader in one click.
Everyone can be a leader because leadership is a learning process, but only good leaders are able to turn a team made up of rubble into one made up of gold.
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Joy
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Not a bad list of areas to start with! I guess the problem is that many of these areas are difficult to learn and master.
But hey, we all need to start sometime, so why not today? Just remember to be a team player when it comes to making decisions as well. Using your team normally leads to better decisions and more accountability among the team members.
Great list, there’s loads to unpack but that’s always what makes leadership so interesting. I would say it’s important to pick one or two areas, and focus on them until you reach a level you are satisfied with. And always be learning!