The idea that some people are natural-born leaders and some are not is entirely false. Leadership is a state of mind that can be adopted by anyone at will. If you’re looking to sharpen your leadership which will enable you to transform the culture of your organization, here are five ways to get started:
1. Trust Yourself and Listen to Wise Counsel.
Great leaders understand how easy it can be to be tempted on a daily basis by the ego. They understand that to be successful in their endeavors they must turn down the mental mind chatter of outside voices and listen closely to the soft-spoken voice of their heart. First and foremost, great leaders let their direction come from a higher power, whether that be their intuition, God( (what many refer to as their executive coach), or a team of trusted advisors.
2. Lead with Integrity.
Great leaders model truth in words and actions and teach others to do the same. Integrity is all about acting consistent with one’s values, even when it’s not popular or “easy” to do so. Great leaders uphold the values and behaviors of the culture and always choose integrity over deceit or hypocrisy.
3. Take the Role of Leadership To Heart.
The most powerful leaders are not presumptuous and don’t take liberties with the power and privilege that leading gives them. They don’t operate in a vacuum because they know that if their good decisions have the ability to bless and guide people, their bad decisions have the potential to harm them. Great leaders wouldn’t dream of making important decisions without consulting the people doing the work. They are accountable not only to their bosses but to those they have the privilege of leading.
4. Communicate with Clear Intention.
A great leader makes sure to investigate their intention before speaking a word. If upon honest inspection they find the intention behind the conversation is to manipulate, blame, or “be right”, they rethink it, realizing those kinds of conversations are counterproductive. The greatest leaders communicate clearly and honestly without blame, fault, or guilt and speak with the intention of creating WINS for all involved.
5. Make Targets Crystal Clear to Allow for Collective Accountability
Great leaders know that meticulously describing the target is far more productive than assigning tasks based on their own ideas. They understand that allowing the creativity and natural skill sets of their team to dictate the “how”, not only gets the job done well and with far less energy, but forms collective accountability that would be missing otherwise. Great leaders offer support or guidance when needed but ultimately believe in the power of their team to hit the mark.
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If being a great leader is your goal, we hope these 5 tips help you create a thriving workforce where everyone feels like they’re winning at work.
