In fact, we can all be leaders. It’s like every acorn is almost an oak. But an oak and “almost” an oak are slightly different things. For an acorn to become an oak, it needs to fall into the right soil. Having fallen, an acorn should get a chance to germinate in the right conditions. So a person needs to get into the right environment to reveal full potential.
But! In the civilization in which we were born, each person has the opportunity to show leadership qualities – from kindergarten to infinity. In this article, we share the secret leadership development methods that most popular articles are silent about.
Become a Leader for Yourself
This is the hardest part. Therefore, we started with it. It is much easier to learn how to communicate effectively, build strategies, develop the ability to persuade and inspire, but all these activities do not make sense until you become a leader within yourself. This is a special internal state that consists of a reasonable combination between optimism and realism, self-confidence and faith in the people who will follow you, trust in the world and the acceptance of all the difficulties that await you on your path.
And the first way to achieve this state is through spiritual practices, yoga, and meditation. You must first work with your consciousness, prepare yourself inside, and only then move on to the development of leadership qualities in real life.
Train Your Professional Intuition
Some people are endowed with a natural intuition, but professional intuition can be developed independently of the natural. To make the right decisions, you need to learn to abstract, find energy sources in nature, stimulate your creative impulses and listen to the voice inside yourself.
Develop Your Writing Skills
You probably expected to hear advice to develop yourself as a cool speaker? This is of course also useful, but we live in a time when written communication very often replaces oral. Developing yourself as a leader, be prepared that you will have to write a lot and often. Learn to develop strong points, give real arguments, because you have to convince people very, very often.
If you have not yet mastered this skill in college, then now is the time to start (or continue). Try to write so that not a single phrase of yours allows for double interpretation or hidden meaning. For example, look at how specialists from the translation service The Word Point handle words, and you will understand what accuracy and clarity you need to achieve.
By the way, it is much more effective at first to learn to write convincingly, since after that the skill to speak convincingly will come almost by itself.
Have Own Opinion
Have your opinion on any question and share it in the form that is convenient for you. Sometimes a post on a social network is better than a personal conversation, and sometimes vice versa.
However, do not try to please everyone. A person with a core arouses at least respect. Be honest. Let everyone understand that you are not afraid to speak boldly about what you think.
But! Here you need to feel a reasonable line. Never criticize anyone rudely and give advice that you are not asked for. As soon as people understand that you have your own opinion and in most cases it is true, they will ask you for advice. And here you have to apply the skills to listen and hear about which we will talk about in the next paragraph.
Learn to Listen and to Hear
It would seem that these are similar verbs, but the difference in their meaning is huge. Well-known personal growth coach Richard Branson once said that we have two ears but only one mouth, so it would be cool to use these tools proportionally. In other words, listen more and speak less.
Develop the ability to listen to the interlocutor without interrupting him. Very often we listen only to insert our opinion, and sometimes it is enough just to listen. A leader is a person who is trusted by those who follow him, and trust can be formed only through an open and smooth dialogue where each side listens to its interlocutor.
Once you have learned to listen, learn to hear. Try to put yourself in the place of your interlocutor and understand what emotional coloring each of his words carries. Leaders are those who can penetrate the deepest essence of things, understand real problems, pains, and needs, and develop winning strategies based on this.
Develop a Sense of Humor
A person who knows how to joke will always be the center of attention in absolutely any company. Because the people around him just can’t ignore the really funny situations or phrases.
Also, humor inspires, relaxes, helps to cope with stress and is another source of energy. On the leadership path, you will often have to support your team, and sometimes making them laugh will be the best thing you can do.
However, there is a fine line, having crossed which you can create a reputation of a clown. Therefore, if, in addition to constant attention, you want to feel a serious attitude to your person, do not abuse jokes too much.
Learn to Give Before You Get
You need to understand that even despite the opportunity to develop leadership qualities in yourself, it still does not make you an instant leader. For leadership, personal desire alone is not enough – leaders, as a rule, have the opportunity to “give” something to their wards. It can be a thing, money, a good offer, jobs, a solution to a problem or the like.
If you want to become a leader, then first you need to give. As a rule, people feel a subconscious desire to thank you right away and this will be the first step to build a trusting relationship between you as a leader and your team.
Conclusion
As you can see, it all starts within us. As soon as you feel that your inner core is strong enough to withstand the onslaught from the outside, people will also understand this and follow you.
