A successful leader is not just born into their skill set.
As John C Maxwell defined leadership, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Leaders do not just tell others what to do, yet instead, they inspire others to follow them.
If you are looking to become a successful leader, it is inherently important that you have a full understanding of yourself first. This doesn’t mean that you need to take off on an epic “Eat Pray Love” self-discovery journey, but it is important to first put the focus on yourself before you will be successful in convincing others to follow you. Here are just a few reasons why.
1. Develop a greater understanding of your learning style
It is hard to know how others learn and can be inspired by you as a leader if you have not discovered what you as a learner need too. As a successful leader, you are charged with leading and inspiring your team. This can only be accomplished by exploring what your learning style is and understanding how to teach in a way that meets all needs.
2. Increased Confidence
There is nothing like having the complete confidence to feel like you can tackle anything the world throws at you. With time spent exploring who you are as an individual, you can discover everything that you are capable of, leaving you feeling unstoppable. When a successful leader is first confident in their abilities, it will promote a greater sense of inspiration to motivate their whole team.
3. A stronger understanding of yourself will make you a more effective communicator and a leader.
Communication skills are key for a successful leader to efficiently manage their team. Effective communication not only conveys a message through spoken word but also helps to build empathy with those you are speaking with. Understanding yourself and your values will help you know what you want to say and how you will say it. It will also give you a stronger awareness of how others view you increasing your confidence as a communicator.
4. Improved Emotional Intelligence
Having a high level of emotional intelligence is crucial to inspiring others to follow you. A successful leader needs to be able to respond versus react in situations and maintain a positive attitude to inspire others. They also should be open to critique from their peers and realize that it will help continue to shape them as a successful leader. The beauty of taking the time to explore who you are as an individual first is that it helps you understand your level of emotional intelligence and work to increase it if need be.
5. Realizing your own personal limits to better delegate tasks.
A successful leader is also charged with handling delegation within their team. For that, it is important that you have an understanding of your limits as far as workload wise. An individual who is tuned in to their workload limits is secure enough to know when they are overwhelmed and can trust their team to delegate the task instead.
What Makes a Successful Leader
While any individual can tell others what to, a successful leader will instead motivate and inspire others to do it. To truly lead a team, it takes confidence, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and many other qualities as well. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly understand what your strengths and weaknesses are in these areas which can only be found by exploring who you are as an individual first.
Orglearn is a team of employee training consultants that offer leadership building services such as professional coaching and virtual learning. These plus other forms of training are designed to strengthen your team promoting a more effective work environment.
We are excited to help transform your entire team into a group of successful leaders!
If your company is in need of a team of trusted employee training consultants, contact us today!
