Be a leader, start the Leadership journey!!

 266 total views

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and actions“. I believe that everyone has leadership qualities. Leaders are not only the People who lead others or a team but leading ourselves in every situation of life is also glorifies personal leadership quality.

People who can lead themselves with every aspect of life, It may be mentally, emotionally, socially and psychologically are the best leader. Such kind of people can also lead others or a team. 

For example, if a person is maintaining self-health, fitness, work hours, sleeping hours, family and overcoming laziness smoothly, then he has good leadership qualities. Another side if a person is not able to maintain self-health, fitness, work hours, sleeping hours, etc, then the person could never be a leader because in this case laziness and health issues are leading them. The person who cannot maintain themselves will never become a good leader. 

A well said by John C Maxwell ( an American author), “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way“. So start your leadership journey by becoming self-leader first with some of the leadership quality:

1. Learning and adaptation

A sentence by Benjamin Franklin that “If an individual empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”. A good leader always tries to learn and adapt to the thing which suits his growth and fits the journey.

2. Honesty and integrity

Well said by Hilary Hinton “Zig” Ziglar( an American author), “With integrity, you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt”. Truthfulness is the best foundation for trust, which plays a very important role in the success of individuals, so try to be honest with the people around you.

3. Confidence and courage

As a leader, you have to be confident, show some assertiveness to gain the admiration of your subordinates. Your confidence will give a foundation to others to work with you and your followers trust you with your decision. Courage and confidence are the 4 C’s of success. Confidence cannot be built without courage.

             Winston S. Churchill had well said that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue those counts”. So one should have the courage to accept the failure and rise again to move towards the goal after a fall. Keep courage and move with confidence towards your dream because “It takes courage to grow up and become who you are”.

4. Vision

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion” said Jack Welch. A good Vision always turns an individual into a special type of person and a transformational leader. A clear vision and a good idea always motivate an individual to accomplish success. 

5. Inspire Others and be a network builder

As John Quincy Adams puts it, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”. One of the difficult jobs for leaders to inspire their followers. Still, it is the most important quality for the leaders to pursue. When it’s tough to move ahead, they look up to you and see how you react with the situation. Stay calm under pressure and always keep the motivation level up. If you handle it well they will follow you. As a leader, one should have a visible positive approach that can inspire and motivate others. 

Until you communicate your vision to your team and tell them the strategy to achieve the goal, it will be very difficult for you to get the results you want. Try to be communicative as much as you can, with a positive attitude. Your positive attitude will build a positive network, which will help you in a tough situation.

6. Accountability

The best example of this trait is former Indian cricket captain M. S. Dhoni. I am always inspired by him. He is always setting a good example for the followers. If we focus on his carrier, he always takes more the share of blames and loss and little less the credit of winning the match. As a leader, you should have to be sure that every one of your subordinates is accountable for what they are doing. If they do well, give them a pat on the back but if they struggle, make them realize their mistakes and work together to improve. It will create a sense of responsibility and build a better trust to perform well.

7. Creativity, innovation and strategic planning

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old, be creative and do something innovative. Creativity and innovation always distinguish leaders and followers. To be ahead and accomplish success, a leader must have to be creative, innovative. A powerful strategy will work as a booster for your innovation and motivate your followers. Think out of the box to come up with unique ideas and turn those ideas into reality.

8. Identify the opportunity

A leader makes more opportunities then he finds. Opportunities are not ready-made, it is a reformation of a situation. A true leader tries to find opportunities in everything they see and hear. They try to pave away from these findings to lead a trail of success. A tough situation always not be a wall between you and your goal. It might be an opportunity to enhance your work and further going. So tough situation will never kill you, it will make a stronger you. Try to convert your tough situation in an opportunity for the path of success.

9. Decision-Making Capabilities

A well said by Theodore Roosevelt, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing”. A leader may take time to make a decision and think about but always stand by it, because it is going to affect the mass followers who are looking at you. Although most leaders take decisions on their own, it is highly recommended that you consult key stakeholders before taking a decision. After all, they are the ones who will benefit or suffer from your decisions. So don’t take any decision in a hurry, be open while taking the decision.

10. Empathy

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer“, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a loaded sentence for the leaders. Leaders should develop empathy with their followers. Understanding the problems of your followers and feeling their pain is the first step to become an effective leader. Even that is not enough until you work hard and provide your followers with a suitable solution to their problems. So, empathize with followers, stay with them.

Conclusion: To become a good leader you should try to build all the above qualities in you. Some of the qualities may help you to be a leader but you can t be a good leader. “Always remember, try to share the opportunity and accomplishment because Great leaders create more leaders, not followers. Then only you can be the best leader, i.e leader of leaders“.