Today I’m going to be answering very important question, “can anyone be a leader?” Now if you’re new to leadership and you’re interested in becoming a leader, or you looking towards the leaders of today, and thinking I can’t be like them, then this post is for you. Also, if you’re in a position of leadership and questioning whether or not you are a leader, this this post is also for you.
Can anyone be a leader? In short, the answer is yes. A common misconception is that people believe that leaders must come from a special background, go to an exclusive school, or run with a well off circle of friends. That, can be the case, but in most cases, is nonsense and I’m going to tell you why. In particular if you’re quite young and looking towards leaders in government, companies or CEOs, or any person that you admire and you think I can never be like that person then your biggest priority is to change your mind set.
Think about this differently. You might’ve heard a saying which goes along the lines of leaders are born, not made. Yes, some people are born with a more natural ability to behave like a leader, such as authenticity or calmness. However, this is not the case in reality because regardless of whether you’re born with an affinity towards leadership or not, leaders are practiced, self-aware and earn their influence. Do you think Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama, or anybody like that, was a leader when they were born? When they were 5, 6 and 10 years old? No, they were just normal kids. They may have had some characteristics which made them more charismatic, good at communication, but without practicing the behaviours of a leader, they would not be who they are today. They had to listen, learn and grow.
So if you’re interested in becoming a leader, step one is to throw away the notion that you can’t be one. Influence is the currency of leadership and through behaving like a leader you can develop influence, no matter what industry or country you operate in. The next step is to understand the three core principles of leadership:
- Adaptability
- Right Behaviours
- Experience
Adaptability is all about being able to listen, absorb and adapt to any situation to create a positive outcome. Without this principle you will be rigid and narrow minded which will limit your growth as a leader.
Right behaviours are a combination of ten elements covering behaviours such as: communication, listening, sovereignty, confidence and decision making. When understood, these behaviours can simply be applied to challenging situations requiring a person to stand up and behave like a leader to create a positive outcome. These right behaviours enable you to develop trust with people, which allows you to form a connection and results in influence to be used for positive collective benefits.
It is important to note and understand that this influence gained from these connections should be used for positively benefiting all, not for personal ego driven gain as this can incur serious consequences.
Experience is about utilising your life experience and drawing on the experience of others to ensure you can make the best possible decisions.
When these three principles are combined you’ll notice significant growth in yourself and your level of influence. As you practice these principles you’ll find that the art of leadership will become more natural to you. Its then up to you on where you apply your leadership abilities. It could be at home, in the workplace, in community groups, in sport groups or the political stage. Wherever you exercise your practiced ability to lead just remember these two key messages: remained disciplined to behaving like a leader, and ensure you use your influence to benefit the collective.
If you’d like to learn about my three core principles of leadership in depth and support my work, then click on the image of the book below to order a copy of my Leadership Simplified Handbook – a short and easy to read guide to leadership.
Thank you for reading, JT
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Thank you!