A Leader is nothing if not followed.
I take leadership so incredibly seriously because for me it’s not management – and it’s not even professional so much as personal.
To me – a good leader is someone that you respect, you admire, and you (by definition) want to follow because you find value in their company (whether that value is education, wisdom, safety, humor, behaviors, etc.). I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few of these folks in my career – that I respect so much to this day it continues to humble me when I get the chance to reconnect with them.
I’ll never stop criticizing my own leadership and trying to be a better at it because I believe that good leadership is also synonymous with being a good person. It’s a journey by the way – not a destination.
All of that said – with all the “expertise” I see documented on what good leadership looks like, I am not sure the message is clear enough for people.
It’s not a science, and you don’t need a course or a coach for this. It’s pretty simple.
Here’s 10 steps – I guarantee will posture you as a better leader for your family, your friends, and your team:
1: Have Empathy for people – not everyone thinks or feels like you – embrace that difference and try to learn from different perspectives – don’t fight it.
2: Be Humble: You’re wrong a lot. Admit it. Apologize for it when necessary.
3: Help People: You’re not too good to roll up your sleeves. Help others.
5: Be Kind: Conceal frustration for the sake of learning, and the solution.
6: Listen to people: REALLY listen and seek to understand through kind questions- assumptions make an a$$ out of you and me.
7: Genuinely collaborate: Seek expertise and opinions of your team – they’ve got great ideas, and you need them.
8: Allow failure: For yourself and your team.
9: Laugh: It’s not that serious – I promise
10: Do what you Say: Follow through and have integrity
I could go on – but you get the idea.
Just try to be someone that people want to follow – not what you read in a book or heard on a podcast.
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