Becoming a leader is not an end goal. The ultimate is to develop as a leader. Any leader who stops growing begins to decline and will eventually expire. It is the dream of every leader to improve with each passing day. So, here are some tips on how to develop your leadership skills.
Learn to follow
The first step to becoming a good leader and honing your leadership skills is to become a follower. Nobody can lead who is not a follower. Your leadership will be defined by your ability to have followed others. Even as you lead, you must recognize that you don’t lead yourself in every sphere. You also have leaders in other settings or spheres. You should look at and learn from them. No human is an island. There are numerous things you can learn from other leaders. Following and obeying other leaders will make you win the trust and admiration of others. Besides, as you follow, you learn some of the challenges of leadership. You also learn how to relate with followers and leaders alike.
Learn to be a team player
Good and enduring leadership sits on the shoulders of a team. No leader can succeed without the input of a team. Teamwork is like an ongoing work of an army of ants. Although the ant kingdom has its queen and king, nothing of monumental value can be achieved if the royalty allows everyone to go their way. But by the collective efforts of all the ants, an anthill is formed. An anthill is a wonder. And that’s the power of teamwork. If you are not a team player, you will not appreciate the benefits of teamwork and your leadership potential will not fructify.
Take initiatives/responsibilities.
If you must grow as a leader, you must not always wait for people to identify problems and compel you to solve them. You must not also be a problem identifier only. You must learn to take. Your move or initiative may not be the best. But it says so much about you and your leadership ability. Do not sit back, expecting others to always do things right. When things are not done right, arise and let your voice be heard. Always make your impact felt wherever you find yourself.
Learn to accommodate and handle differences.
Every growing leader must recognize that whenever and wherever humans gather, there must be conflicts. And these conflicts are triggered by individual and group differences. People have unique ideologies and preferences which are bound to be opposed by others. But a leader recognizes these differences. He learns to accommodate them and use them for the benefit of all. It takes a great deal of bravery to do this without compromising your integrity. Your bravery will enable you to know when to squarely confront someone and reprimand him/her for allowing their differences with others to hinder the common good. Your bravery will also help you bring warring factions together for the common good.
Self-develop and re-tool.
Learning never ends. You cannot be a leader, or an exceptional one, without constantly learning, unlearning, and re-learning. Human society grows/advances. Anyone who wants to be an effective leader must grow in the same way. There are numerous ways of developing. Reading books, attendance to seminars and conferences, having dates with leaders who can mentor you, maximizing leadership resources on the Internet, and so on. All of these will sharpen your leadership skills.
Embrace challenges
Leaders are known for embracing challenges. While followers are often overwhelmed by challenges, leaders not only embrace them but also look for them. Your ability to solve problems makes you a leader. Whenever you identify and surmount challenges, you boost your confidence and your leadership skills are sharpened. Those practical victories are essential to your credential as a leader. People do not always care about your academic leadership credentials. What marks you out as a leader are your practical victories. Embrace challenges and opportunities to stretch yourself. The more you are stretched beyond your comfort zone, the better you become.
Maintain the right association
Your company of friends and associates matters a lot. Every leader needs to be socially integrated to avoid isolation. But not everyone should be incorporated into your circle of friends because you are influenced by your friends as much as they are influenced by you. You need the right company for emotional support. You need to be listened to in your downtimes. Your leadership skills may begin to get blunt if you don’t have the kind of company that can provide such emotional support when you are distressed.
Make personal discipline a priority.
Personal discipline is the ability to stick to your plans, convictions, and ideologies when no one is watching. Personal discipline is one of the greatest needs of every leader. Without personal discipline, your vision and goals will never be achieved. Personal discipline is the motivating force that drives you off your comfort zone to implement what you have envisioned for yourself and others. Personal discipline will make you not give up despite any form of discouragement. Your leadership skills will not be fully developed if you have not mastered ways of forgoing instant gratification. Personal discipline brings you onto this path.
