There are many different kinds of leadership. American culture tends to value a dynamic, action-oriented leader but that is not how leadership always has to look.
Every great leader has a different leadership style. Some great leaders are quietly thoughtful, others are boisterous and outspoken, still others are firm and strict. Identify how you best lead (for some help with this step, click HERE).
Leadership is not just a skill that you use in the workplace. It is a skill that you use in your life and as a way of living. It’s not just something that you pull out when needed. True leadership is not a title that you put on between 9am and 5pm. You are a leader if you decide to be a leader at any time in your life.
Your Career is Part of Your Life
If you’re thinking that you’re not ready to be a leader, I would say let’s start by looking at your entire life, not just your hours at the office. That is, the more you practice leadership skills in your life, the more confident you’ll become.And let’s just debunk this myth about leadership training: you don’t have to take a leadership course to be a great leader! Training is not the solution to becoming a good leader, although it can be rather helpful; everyday practice and trial and error is what will build your leadership muscle.
Styles of Leadership
There are different styles of leadership. There are leaders like Donald Trump, who are more provocative and play the bully. On the other hand, people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lead with their vision. Gandhi led by example, as did Rosa Parks.There are many types of leadership, even among well-known people. And none are better than the others.
You do need to know what kind of leader you want to be. What does great leadership look like to you? You need to set up goals so you can start acting like the leader that you want to be. You don’t want to wait and learn to be that person, you want to take action and think as that leader right now.
You can check in and ask yourself: “What would that leader do at this time? How would that leader think? What actions would this leader take?”
Make a Leadership Style List
Think about and write out the kind of leader you want to be. Consider leaders you know personally, people you’ve known in the past, or historical figures you admire. Choose someone you know personally, and choose another that you haven’t met but that you admire, and list what you admire about both people.It might also be helpful to list leaders that you don’t admire and understand why. For instance, if you don’t respect a certain leader, list why. You can list 5-10 of your impressions and that will help you pinpoint what kind of leader YOU want to be.
Create your own ideal leadership profile that you want to become by looking at your lists, and describing in a paragraph what that would look like for you.
What are the actions you can take today, right now, as the leader you want to be? My clients start to see results from this exercise very quickly.
Often, people don’t realize they are already leaders. A lot of them are scared to be leaders, because they assume that you have to be a person you don’t want to be (say difficult things, be super aggressive, or take on huge responsibility) and they don’t realize they don’t have to be that way. There’s a way they can do it that resonates with them, aligns with their values and is still effective.
For more insight into your style of leadership, click HERE to receive my complimentary Leadership Discovery Tool.
KINGSMITH.
No comments:
Post a Comment