What becoming a better leader means
Becoming a better leader means growing your expertise in whatever industry or niche you’re in; being willing – and able – to share your insights with those around you; being good at not only sharing your expertise and insights, but also at teaching others how to apply them so they don’t make the same mistakes; and being someone who your followers can trust and view as an authority figure.
It also means big potential for your business.
Deliver value with integrity and passion, and your fans and followers will always be there.
Learn to take responsibility for your actions, and use your failures and missteps as learning experiences. You’ll be amazed by the lessons you can carry with your for years to come, and how those lessons can truly help others.
Make helping others achieve their goals through sharing the lessons learned, skills and knowledge you already have BIGGER than your own fears.
6 steps to becoming a better leader-
1. Follow leaders who you look up toThis is sort of like writers following the writers they admire. If you’re following true leaders, then you’ll have a lot to learn from them in order to become a better leader yourself.
Take Action: Pick out 2, 3 or even 4 leaders who you admire – either for their speaking abilities, their expertise in a particular industry or niche, their ability to teach others who can learn from their mistakes – and read their articles, follow their speaking engagements and check out their presence on social media and within online communities. You’ll soon find that leaders have an effective way of getting out there and being seen and heard.
2. Practice the things that make you uncomfortable
A lot of you who want to become better leaders probably know exactly what it takes to get there, but the reason you’re not a better leader right now is that you’re scared of those things.
These things might include becoming a better speaker, building stronger relationships, taking yourself out of your comfort zone for travel and other engagements… Guess what? All of these things will help you become a better leader.
Take Action: Start practicing those things that make you uncomfortable with a mentor or friend. Before you know it, you’ll not only become better at doing these things, you might actually grow to like them!
Anything that makes you uncomfortable WILL make you stronger after you’ve achieved it.
3. Tell yourself every day that you’re a leader (and believe it!)
You love staying on the negative side of things, right? You’re not good enough at this, or strong enough at that. It’s comforting to know these things because it means you can’t fail. How can you fail at something you’re not even good at in the first place?
If you already know you can’t do it, then it won’t be a surprise when you don’t.
To become a leader, you have to believe that you are a leader, and then start ACTING like one.
Take Action: Look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself every day that you are a leader.
4. Learn something new about your expertise, industry or niche every day
I don’t care what expertise you have, or what industry or niche you’re in; these days, things are changing by the minute.
In order to maintain your leadership level and your expertise – your ability to teach people things that will keep them from making the same mistakes you did – you need to stay on top of the changes that are happening around you.
Take Action: Do keyword searches for words and phrases that are trending in your business world. Then, find relevant articles, writers and publications who keep up with the latest and greatest and add them to your Feedly, (or whatever platform you use to track your favorite feeds). This way, you’ll be able to go to a single source for updates relevant to your industry or niche.
5. Gather resources you use and that you would recommend to others
If you’re being looked at as an authority figure by others, then you better believe you’re the one those people will be looking to for resources and advice. This is why it’s important to have a collection of resources that you not only have used and believe in yourself, but that you also feel strongly about recommending to others.
Take Action: Every time you use a new resource or tool, take notes on your experience with it. Once you have an ongoing list of resources, you can start to build out a resources page on your site to share with your followers.
6. Read
In addition to following leaders who you look up to, and learning something new about your expertise, industry or niche every day, it’s also important to read, read, read!
Business books abound, proven by our list of The Top 10 Business Books recommended by today’s top entrepreneurs, and in every one of these business books you’ll be introduced to new strategies, new ideas, new resources and new inspiration. Keep the mind at work!
Take Action: Make a list of the top 5 business books you want to read, and set a date that you want to have them finished by. Then, hold yourself accountable to that date.