In the modern world, strong comprehensive pressure is exerted on a person. To become successful, it is certainly worth possessing pronounced leadership qualities. How to develop these characteristics in yourself? What techniques will help you become a true leader?
What are leadership qualities?
Many people are interested in how to develop leadership skills, but not everyone knows what it is all about and what exactly it is going to develop. A true leader should have such features:
- ability to control emotions;
- justice;
- punctuality;
- ability to convince;
- ability to correctly plan time;
- sincere interest in their work;
- the ability to set the right goals;
- ability to concentrate;
- sense of responsibility;
- charisma;
- ability to motivate yourself and other people;
- faith in oneself and in others;
- positive thinking;
- persistence;
- openness.
Discipline Yourself
A leader is one who must be able to organize people. But what can one say about a group if a person cannot organize himself? Thus, self-discipline is the foundation of leadership. One who could control himself would cope with others.
It’s worth starting with the banal preparation of the daily routine. It’s not enough for it to be in your head. You need to transfer it to paper and place it in a conspicuous place. When you learn to follow it unquestioningly, without being distracted, without transferring tasks, without being lazy and without losing control, you can say that you have taken the path of leadership.
Take your life in your own hands
A leader is one who can organize and lead people. But in order to spread its influence to others, one must first control oneself. How to develop leadership skills? Stop complaining about external circumstances and blame others for your failures.
The real leader does not complain about the situation, but analyzes it. He is looking for the cause of what is happening in himself (in actions or inaction). He does not put up with troubles, but is looking for ways to get out of this situation. Simply put, to become a leader, you must take an active position and realize your responsibility for everything that happens.
Figure out what you want
Most people prefer to live with the flow. But leaders clearly know what they want and confidently go to their goal. It is in this direction that leadership qualities need to be developed. How can you lead people if you yourself haven’t figured out which direction you want to move?
Many people are afraid to set specific goals. They are afraid of globalism and responsibility (to oneself and others). In addition, the goal requires concentration (that is, the rejection of everything secondary and secondary). Nevertheless, spraying on everything, you will not succeed. Choose a priority direction and, without doubt, move forward.
Be proactive
Taking the initiative is a great way to develop and strengthen leadership skills. This will teach you to take responsibility and solve complex multicomponent tasks.
For example, you came up with the idea of organizing an alumni meeting. To do this, you need to find your classmates on social networks, choose the most convenient date for everyone, find a suitable place, plan the menu and the event itself.
Take the initiative as often as possible and set yourself such multi-component tasks. After some time, this will not seem to you something complicated, but will cause excitement and give pleasure.
Learn to delegate responsibilities
A leader is not one who takes all the work upon himself, but one who knows how to correctly distribute responsibilities between subordinates. That is, you need to understand who and what knows how, to whom and what can be trusted, and so on. In this case, it is necessary to ensure high-quality and timely control.
You need to develop this ability in yourself starting from the household level. For example, when planning your housework, don’t do it yourself. Share tasks between family members. When organizing an event (as in the previous example with a graduate meeting), shift some of the responsibility to those who most enthusiastically greeted your idea.
Get out of your comfort zone
Fear of change or suspense does not combine with leadership. To constantly try something new is a good option in order to develop leadership skills. The leader does not always go according to the scenario. Sometimes he has to move away from standard schemes, find a way out of force majeure situations, master new standards, and so on.
How to teach yourself to adapt to changing conditions? Start small. For example, change the usual route, before work, choose a new place for shopping, change the daily routine, find yourself some new hobby. Also, think about going on vacation not to the usual "hatched" place, but to some completely unfamiliar resort.
Communicate more
Communication is perhaps the most effective way, giving the opportunity to develop leadership qualities in a child or adult. Only through regular contact with a large number of people (both acquaintances and strangers), you can overcome shyness, develop self-confidence, learn to convey your point of view and listen to others. Also, communication is the only way to know the psychology of people, their types, which you will definitely need if you intend to step on the leadership path.
Think of others
Many people mistakenly understand developed leadership qualities as the ability to achieve their goals. In fact, an effective leader thinks about others, trying to find a solution that will be beneficial to all participants in a given process.
In everyday life and at work, you should not try to bend your opponent to your point of view. This is not a victory (especially if a person is weaker by moral and physical criteria). You must learn to look at the situation from different angles in order to choose the most beneficial solution for everyone.
Move from theory to practice
At the moment, a huge amount of literature is available to people, which contains recommendations on how to develop leadership skills. Numerous trainings are also held which are a success. But reading a book or listening to a lecture is not enough to become a leader.
To come to the desired state, you need to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. You should not just take note of every recommendation, every move, but try it in real life. Well, of course, you should not take everything that is written in motivational literature (or heard at the training), for truth in the highest instance. You should not indiscriminately transfer everything to your life.
Be competent
Is it possible to develop leadership skills? Of course. Even the most humble and insecure person can become a real leader. But no matter how significant the role of personal qualities may be, they will not be appreciated if they are not supported by complete extensive knowledge regarding your field of activity.
Many people mistakenly believe that the knowledge gained during the training is quite enough. Nevertheless, in order to occupy a high position, you must know many times more than the standard program implies than everyone else knows. We can say that training is a continuous process, because in any field of activity some new rules and trends constantly appear.
Learn to be fair
Are you familiar with a situation where a person with a certain degree of influence, in a controversial situation, takes the side of his pet, friend or relative? So, this has nothing to do with leadership. A true leader in any situation must be objective and make decisions based on fairness.
It would seem that could be easier? But in fact, many people are afraid to spoil relations with loved ones, and therefore "assent" and protect them, even feeling that they are wrong. Thus, if you plan to reach heights, cultivate a sense of justice in yourself from the household level to social and business relations.
Admit Your Mistakes
Nobody likes to lose. But the difference between an ordinary person and a leader is that the latter can accept defeat with dignity and admit his mistakes.
Why is this so important? Every day the leader has to make responsible decisions, on which the fate of the whole team depends. If he made the wrong choice, it’s stupid and pointless to shift the blame on his subordinates and take out his anger on them. Recognizing your flaw, you will not lose credibility, but only strengthen it.
How to develop leadership skills in a teenager
The adolescent period is one of the crucial stages of personality formation. It is at this moment that shyness, shyness and isolation may appear, which completely do not contribute to the achievement of success. To help the child become a leader, parents need to adhere to such recommendations of psychologists.
- Treat your teenager with respect. Parents should talk with him on equal terms, be interested in his opinion, ask him for advice. A teenager should feel that in life something and someone depends on him, that he can influence something.
- Get him interested in something. Finding a hobby is a great way to help develop leadership skills. For girls - dancing, for boys - sports. Any hobby stimulates to be better than others.
- Engage the teenager in communication. If you are discussing something with your family, be sure to bring it to the discussion. If guests come home, do not let the teenager sit out in their room.
- Criticize constructively. Many parents sin by criticizing the nature and personal qualities of their children. It’s correct to criticize actions and actions (but not the person). It is also worth forgetting the habit of comparing a child with others. This will not add excitement and "sports anger", but may cause the development of an inferiority complex.
- Give a certain degree of freedom. Approaching the teenage period, you need to gradually wean the child from what you decide and do for him. Let him manage his life himself (within reason). Start with small things like clothing style, hobbies and so on.
- Help shape the right attitude towards lesions. Given adolescent maximalism, any setbacks can be perceived as the end of the world. Your task is to explain to the child that this is an invaluable experience. Together with him, analyze the situation to draw the right conclusions.