Habits of a leaderSome people are born leaders, but all the others can learn from them.

We all know great leaders – they might be your leaders or on the same level as you. But how do you become one? Some people think that you can’t but I’m willing to argue. A leader can either be born or made. It’s not fast or easy – it’s a daily fight for the best results, influencing people the right way, gaining trust and knowledge.

 

However, there are some really simple habits that I have found in every leader I know.  I’m going to share 5 of them with you today. If you try to implement them in your life, you will certainly become better leader.

 

1. Be open minded – What all leaders have in common is that they are able to see and understand opportunities and people that do not fall into their traditional orientation. Being ready to listen without prejudice will allow you to find new ideas, meet great people and excel. This is what “thinking outside of the box” is – making decisions based on non-traditional elements.

In order to see an opportunity, you need to stop following the usual models. Nowadays leaders and executives might meet over 20 great ideas every day but they would not take action. Do you know why? Because we are confined in a strict box. Learn to see beyond the basic information, analyze the niche, and follow your intuition. Leaders know when to act and when to step back. Evaluate some of the situations in your day – what would have happened if you reacted in a different, non-traditional way?

2. Confess your mistakes and learn from them -We all make mistakes. Some of us try to hide them, others – to learn from them. Analyze the situation, what lead to failure and how could have you responded differently. Learn to accept the fact that you are not immune to mistakes – or you will always live in the fear of making a wrong step. Mistakes can be used as stepping stones.

What great leaders never do is hide – take responsibility, explain how you are planning to create an opportunity from your learning. Do not skip the explanation step, it does not mean apologizing . Just do what you do best, show people that you can make it better. This builds trust and admiration for your qualities.

3. Take action – Be an inventor, be the first to take a step. Remember all those people who had great ideas but decided to not promote them? Yes, me neither. If you want to be a successful leader, you want to take the initiative, to do something risky, to change the whole world. If you don’t have enough passion for the things you do, you can never be a self-starter, an overachiever, or remembered.

The key to success is to believe you deserve it and to take actions in that direction. What people see is someone inspiring, driven by passion. This can be you.

4. Look at problems from different perspectives – As an executive you are used to thinking as an executive. But when there is a problem, try to put yourself in the place of all the stakeholders. Ask yourself what is good and bad for you in each one of those positions. Then use the information to construct an efficient solution. The brainstorming game with the 6 hats of thinking represents exactly this – but it doesn’t mean that you need at least 6 people to put it to action. You can be each one of those 6 stakeholders – it might take some time and practice, but the results would be great for your leadership qualities.

Being able to walk in someone else’s shoes is one of the main distinctions of a true leader – you can only understand people if you put yourself in their place.

5. Be genuine – Yes, we already discussed the power of authenticity. I’ll never get tired to explain that when one is true and represents its own beliefs, other people can feel it. Leadership is earned, not won in a war. It’s a step by step process that you can’t fake. You need to be consistent with your actions and the best way to do it is to be true to yourself.

I would like to end with a reminder – The leaders are not always on the highest positions. They are found at any level in an organization or in a community. And my belief is that everyone is a

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