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Leadership is one of the oldest phenomena, the psychology of which people would like to understand. After all, leadership is most often associated with key figures on the chessboard of life. And it is on these figures that, first of all, the outcome of any party depends, since they are the centers of the entire system. Many people have a desire to become leaders and manage the system themselves, because by becoming a leader, we have significantly more opportunities and prospects, we gain access to more resources and bonuses. When becoming a leader, we make certain investments: first we work for the image of the leader, and then the image of the leader works for us.
How to become a leader
One of the questions that most researchers have asked themselves is: “Are leaders born or made?” How do you answer this question? My opinion is that they become leaders. Anyone can become anyone. But not at once! In support of this, there are a large number of examples of people who blinded themselves with their own hands and became leaders in many fields. Yes, a certain percentage of people may have leadership potential, but the potential itself is not a guarantee that a person will become a real leader in life.
The concept of leadership is quite broad and ambiguous. Therefore, I will not bring it. Better read this quote.
A leader has two important traits; firstly, he himself goes somewhere, and secondly, he can lead people.
— Maximilian Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution
More important is understanding how you need to develop to become a leader. And to do this, you must go through certain stages in the development of the personality of a successful leader. And there are 4 of them in total.
He is his own leader. This is the zero level, which is a prerequisite for becoming a leader. Here you need to understand yourself, take responsibility for your life, be able to motivate and discipline yourself, set goals and achieve them.
Leader in the situation. This is the first level - leadership at the micro level, when a person takes responsibility for the actions of an entire group in any situation. We see this kind of leadership most of all in childhood or adolescence, when a leader appears among friends in the company.
Leader in the team. This is the second level - leadership is already at a higher level. Such leadership involves solving more important and complex goals. As a rule, leadership qualities begin to manifest themselves acutely at this level, from 20 to 30 years old, when a person gets a job.
Team leader. This is the third level - leadership at the macro level. A person has an ambitious goal in life and he assembles a team to achieve it. Successful leadership at this level requires the development of certain leadership qualities.
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Naturally, I think you want to reach the last level! Therefore, now let's talk about what qualities you need to develop to become a leader.
Strive for productivity and results-driven work
Develop leadership skills through the habit of working for results. To develop such a habit, Maxim Dorofeev in his book “Jedi Techniques” suggests perceiving any task from the point of view of two approaches - “did” and “did.”
For example, your wife instructed you to buy something at the store and bring it home in the evening.
- You go to the store in the evening. Choose a retail outlet in front of the house. When you ask for the desired product, it turns out that it is out of stock. You go to several more stores, but it’s too late - they are either already closed, or they have also run out of goods. You go home without the groceries you need. This is the "did" approach.
- When your wife asks you to buy groceries, you ask why she needs them. Having found out that she plans to make dinner out of them, you are interested in what alternative will suit her if the necessary products are not on sale. Then go to the store near work so you can buy the groceries you need before the last minute. As a result, you arrive home with delicious products and get a satisfied wife. This is the "did it" approach.
To be productive and work for results, you need to be proactive. Try to train yourself to think ahead - always ask yourself, “what if?” Gradually, you will learn to anticipate problems and be able to become as effective as possible in solving any problem.
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Internal qualities: internal integrity, confidence, proactivity, self-control.
Now let's look at each of the qualities in more detail.
VISION
Leadership begins with this skill. The leader's vision must be based on the idea of creating or reforming something. Vision allows you to create an image of something new and helps you draw pictures of the future, building perspectives. Thanks to this leadership quality, a leader can set a global and audacious goal. The ability to create a vision will help him rally and inspire people, making them want to follow him. Unlike a dreamer or a science fiction writer, a leader constantly asks himself one very important question: “How can I make this a reality?” And here you can move on to the next leadership quality - the ability to set goals.
GOALS SETTING
Goal setting allows a leader to articulate his vision into a very specific, tangible result. This leadership skill allows you to clearly see the goal, not just the distant future. When the result of an activity is formulated, the goal becomes clear, understandable, and clear. A leader's goal should always be ambitious and challenging! This approach gives a certain state - a state of passion. This is why a leader achieves much more than many other people.
PURPOSE OR PERSISTENCE
A leadership quality that allows, when faced with difficulties, not to stop, but to find solutions to the problem and move on. There are no barriers; there are insufficient resources at the moment. It is enough to be persistent and collect them, moving on until the result is achieved. Jumping over the abyss 98% and 100% are not the same thing. Don't confuse determination with stubbornness and obstinacy. To develop perseverance, remember that there are no defeats, but only feedback that helps you gain experience and draw the necessary conclusions on the way to achieving your goal.
FLEXIBILITY
In the process of moving towards a goal, a leader must be flexible. This is the ability to have more strategies and choices. This allows you to act most effectively in each specific situation. One of the types of flexibility of mind and actions is the ability to go beyond the system. As recommendations for developing this leadership quality, when setting a goal, you need to imagine at least 3 ways to achieve it and try to determine the optimal one. Remember that the most direct path is not always the shortest! Find an interesting path to achievement that no one has taken before.
COMMUNICATION
In the modern world, the value of this leadership quality is very high. Being a communicator is important not only as a leader, but also in any other situations. The ability to communicate effectively with the people you need is the key to success. Let's highlight several significant elements. This is the ability to quickly establish contact, win over your interlocutor, listen and hear, the ability to ask questions and receive information. Communication skills will allow you to create the right connections at the right time to more effectively achieve your goal. In the modern world this is called networking.
ABILITY TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE
The ability to motivate is to create an impulse for action that stimulates both oneself and others. Usually there are 2 types of motivation: “From” and “To”. From fear or to love. From minus or to plus. Different situations require different motivations. Alternating them will be more effective. Inspiration is a special way of motivation that allows you not just to create a short-term impulse, but sustainable and long-term motivation. The future should be so colorful and attractive that you want to get into it faster and plunge into it headlong. A leader with a good vision will be able to inspire people with great ease.
ORGANIZATION
It is very important for a leader to be able to assemble a team of first-class professionals in their field and organize the process of activity itself. This includes qualities such as planning, delegation, eliminating unnecessary actions, and so on. The entire team should work together with the leader to improve key performance indicators in a friendly environment. This is helped by the creation of group work, when the result depends on common efforts. This brings team members closer together and allows them to cope with assigned tasks more effectively.
SUPPORT
This leadership quality as a creator and team member includes the ability to provide support to like-minded people and followers in a difficult situation. People will support just such a leader who cares not only about his own interests, but about them too. Without this quality, it will be difficult for a leader to maintain his authority. Moving towards a goal is not only difficult tasks, but also strong relationships.
INTEGRITY
Internal integrity is a leadership skill that integrates all of the above qualities. This is the creation of a balance of all parts and manifestations of a person. A personality is holistic when the entire essence of a person is directed as a flow in one direction, as if subordinated to a single plan. You want to follow a leader when he not only knows where to go, but also broadcasts it with his whole being. A step toward achieving integrity is for a leader to recognize his mission or his own uniqueness. A person who has an understanding of his mission knows or feels what needs to be done, while enjoying the very process of his own activities and life in general.
CONFIDENCE
Confidence is defined as the basic state that a leader should have. The state of confidence is associated with reliability; it seems that you can rely on such a person, you can trust him, you want to follow him. A confident person can be identified by his body: straightened shoulders, slender posture, even breathing, slow and clear speech, keeping his gaze on the interlocutor. All this relates to personal confidence. And there is also spiritual faith in the positive outcome of the plan. This confidence is an order of magnitude higher than the first. And not everyone manages to develop it.
PROACTIVITY
A leader must be active in every way. He tries to go half a step ahead of time. He needs to have the latest information and be at the center of events in order to act first. In the modern world of enormous speeds, delay threatens loss both in moral and financial terms, which ultimately turns into lost profits. As soon as the goal is set, movement begins, and then it is necessary to control the entire system based on key parameters along the way.
SELF-CONTROL
A leadership quality that every leader should have. The concept of self-control includes a number of qualities such as resistance to stress, the ability to take a blow, and self-control, which are associated with critical situations and the manifestation of negative emotions. External pressure can cause poor health, apathy, irritability and even anger. There will always be a temptation to suppress your emotions. But there is absolutely no need to do this. What to do? Try not to fall into them from the very beginning. But what if stress is inevitable? In a state of stress, it is necessary to use breathing practice: take a deep breath, hold your breath, exhale deeply, smile. And so on “in a square” until the required relaxed or controlled emotional state.
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Diagnosis of leadership abilities
Leadership researchers believe that leaders can be found at all levels of business activity, not just at the very top level of C-suite management. The best leaders typically adhere to a common set of values that include “fairness, equity, impartiality, integrity, honesty, trust.” Each person can determine his own and others’ suitability for leadership using the following criteria:
- continuous self-improvement. You are looking for ways to improve yourself - read, ask questions, take additional training. According to S. Covey, most people are characterized by a tendency to limit themselves to yesterday's knowledge, rather than cultivating in themselves the spirit of continuous self-improvement. However, if you do not improve yourself, then it is difficult for you to encourage others to do so;
- service-to-others orientation. You are service oriented no matter how you earn your living. In other words, you ask yourself what others need, not just what you need;
- radiating positive energy, goodwill and avoiding the perception of negative energy and conflicts;
- faith in others. You protect them, see value, kindness and potential;
- rational distribution of time and effort. You try to optimally distribute your life between work, home and society;
- inner confidence, optimism, a fresh look at events, perception of life as an adventure;
- self-criticism, tolerance, recognition of the merits of others and their equal right to self-expression. You appreciate differences. You understand that your method is not “the only right one” and see new alternatives as exciting rather than threatening;
- taking care of physical health, intellectual and spiritual development. You monitor your physical condition through exercise to maintain health, and your intellectual condition through reading; for the spiritual - through meditation/prayer, mental concentration and a psychological attitude towards something with complete renunciation of everything else; about things that can inspire inspiration.
Examples of developmental exercises
Who am I?
Write down 10 truthful answers, starting each with the pronoun “I”.
Analyze the answers for compliance with leadership qualities, and determine what prevents you from being (or becoming) a leader. If you have described yourself, for example, as a quiet person, think about how to fix it and work in this direction.
Dialogue with the inner critic
If you are too self-critical and think that nothing will work out for you, learn to object to the “inner voice”. Write down everything you doubt. Re-read what you wrote down and try to make a decision without thinking that it might be wrong.
Success Diary.
At the end of the day, celebrate your successes. You should write down at least 3 positive things, even if the day is not good. Exercise develops positive thinking and provides additional motivation.
Opinions of others
Ask friends and family to list your strengths and weaknesses. Let them answer honestly why they respect you, and what character traits or habits of yours irritate them. Record this interview. Read the notes calmly, because the description was given by your close people who love you, no matter what. Exercise helps get rid of internal fears, discomfort, and motivates you to start working on yourself.
"Learning from others"
Write the names of 3 famous people with whom you personally know. This could be a manager, an athlete or a scientist.
Give each a rating (for example, on a 5-point system).
Give each person a description as a leader.
From their inherent qualities, select 3 that you would like to develop in yourself.
Development of motivation
Think about your best achievement in school, sports or other activity. What did you do better than others that influenced your victory?
Try to clearly answer how you managed to become a winner.
Imagine explaining this to other people so they can improve their results.
This exercise can be performed several times for different achievements.
Avoid micromanaging
This is a continuation of the point about delegation. Try to develop the so-called quality of “free will” in relation to employees. Avoid excessive control over people's actions.
The logic here is this: if you entrust a task to a person, it means you trust him. By microcontrolling, you seem to show the opposite, which means you irritate and reduce the motivation of the staff.
It’s better to do the opposite - set a task, but do not prescribe a complete algorithm for its implementation, if possible. Strive to demonstrate trust in your subordinates and help them be creative in solving problems. Consult with them, but do not become immersed in the work you have been assigned.
Your task is to create conditions and check the completion of the task in a timely manner. But let the employees figure out how this problem will be solved.
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What should a leader be like?
Basic leadership qualities are developed at an early age. But if for some reason the parents did not raise them in the child, when he becomes an adult, he can develop them in himself on his own. For example, long-term vision
Every manager must accumulate knowledge and experience in order to anticipate a critical situation and be able to make forecasts, which is very important in business. Listening is another valuable character trait.
A born leader must understand that he cannot be an expert in all areas. Finding the right employees, combining their efforts and achieving the goal is his main task.
A true leader is always self-critical. He knows how to admit his mistakes and apologize if he is wrong. Learning and learning again is the main “commandment” of a leader. The ability to be flexible, adapt, and focus on innovations in a particular area is a guarantee of the success of any enterprise. A true boss must be decisive, energetic and courageous. He is always an example for his subordinates.
Be Passionate
Well-known coach and consultant Tony Robinson, in his guidance to leaders, recommends doing only what causes an upsurge of feelings and passion. The coach believes that passion is a natural amplifier - if we “burn” with what we do, then the result will be better, there will be more energy for work.
Tony Robinson says that a passionate person will seek innovation in completing tasks, can infect other people with his ideas and motivate them to do better - these are the key competencies of a leader. In addition, a passionate leader is a living example for employees - looking at a leader who is completely dedicated to his work, subordinates will subconsciously do the same.
Focus on your strengths
Another tip from Tony Robbins. In many self-development books, coaches suggest analyzing your competencies and qualities, and then focusing on correcting mistakes and developing weaknesses. This, Robinson is sure, is a mistake - it will create an average person without any special advantages.
It is much more effective, the coach says, to develop strong qualities. Since these qualities were perfectly trained without much effort on your part, literally subconsciously, it means that you can improve them many times over. Especially if you focus on training them.
The weaknesses will remain at the same level as they were - no big deal. To level them out, you can delegate tasks and hire assistants who are strong in them. This is the principle of entrepreneurship, and therefore leadership, to create opportunities and solve problems through a diverse, successful team.
Don't be afraid to change
A project is a living organism: different people, situations, mistakes. Everything can go differently at any moment than you planned. Therefore, be flexible to find a way out of any situation. Don't be afraid to take risky decisions and make sharp turns.
What will you get?
Openness and flexible thinking.
Delegate
The need to learn how to competently delegate tasks is discussed in many self-development books and lectures by leaders. One source is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The politician argued that the best leader would be the one “who has enough common sense to choose good people and restraint not to interfere with them.”
The point of delegation is not simply to transfer tasks. An effective leader analyzes the situation before delegating - it is important for him to make sure that the subordinate has the necessary skills and capabilities to solve the task. Therefore, train the skill of delegation - look for suitable people and create situations in which they can prove themselves.
