Being a leader is not something that you have or do not have. Leadership is a quality and that means you can develop leadership as a skill if you do not personally consider yourself a leader. There are many different qualities that make up leadership and developing those can help you develop your overall leadership skills.
You may not have all of the qualities that are mentioned below but you can start to think about what those would look like and how you can develop those and use them in your everyday life.
Here are 5 qualities that will help you become a great leader:
Having a Vision
Nothing is going to ever going to get accomplished if you do not have a vision of some kind. This could be something on an individual level of what you want to accomplish during your lifetime or something as big as helping a company grow and flourish.
To have a vision, you need to have some kind of ultimate goal and really think about what it will be like. What does it sound, taste, smell and feel like? After you have this figured out you can set smaller goals that you can accomplish. Doing this day after day will bring you closer to your main goal and vision.
Confidence
This quality is a little tricky because confidence can quickly become arrogance if it gets out of hand. Having confidence is knowing that you are prepared and you do not have to worry about what others are going to think of you as you present something or make a comment in class.
If you find that you do not speak up when you have an idea or something to say could mean that you need to develop self confidence. This can be done by spending some time with yourself and understand what you are capable of becoming.
Growth
Every leader is not going to be perfect and will need to be resilient enough to overcome these struggles and grow into something greater. Take D Gary Young as an example. He started off with a small business and was able to build it into a billion dollar company. This did not happen overnight but took years to accomplish. With his vision he was able to grow a company that influences thousands of people every year.
Having a mindset that is set on growth allows everything around you to grow and become better. This could be the employees that you manage or it could be yourself and how you handle stress or communicate your ideas to others.
Incorporate Feedback
You are always getting feedback from everyone and everything that is around you. This can be something that is really good and can be used to your advantage or it can be something really bad that is always bothering you. If you have a situation that keeps occurring over and over again it may be time to look in the mirror and see what you could do differently.
Determination
Life is going to be hard at some point in time. You will need to be determined to find solutions that work and be willing to do some hard work. Let’s say you are trying to find a job. You may apply to a lot of companies and go to a lot of interviews but you do not get any offers. This can be absolutely defeating and depressing. With the right amount of time and work on your resume and interview skills you can find a job if you are determined enough.
This may seem like a lot and can be overwhelming if you feel like you do not have any of these qualities. Remember that you do not have to do everything at once and becoming a leader is a process that takes time. Be patient with yourself and remember that your hard work will pay off.
