Almost all events that occur in your personal and professional life happen for very simple reasons. However, humans are genetically engineered to overthink things and hence they miss the cues from the simple incidents that led up to that event. The achiever, who continually scales new heights on both professional and personal fronts, starts by keeping things simple. It starts with getting oneself ready for success. So what are some of the secrets that will unlock your business leadership potential?
It means understanding that small steps are needed to reach a larger goal, and not allowing yourself to get overwhelmed by the complexity of the task. It means being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and working to improve on them. But isn’t it better said than done and we almost always fail to notice our shortcomings unless someone points them out to us? Probably this is why leadership programs are made. They help identify and work on our weaknesses, thus enabling us to reach our goals more effectively. They also provide us with the tools and strategies needed to become great leaders and work well with our teams.
There are even some programs, such as those by Every Woman (view their leadership programmes), that are made solely to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs and leaders. You may ask what is the need for this, isn’t it? The need is that women often face unique challenges in the business world, including gender discrimination, lack of access to capital, and limited networking opportunities. And these programs are designed to address all those issues and more.
Well, that’s not all. There are more things that make a successful leader. Here are some of them:
Perseverance. Stick with it, put in your best effort, and learn from your mistakes. There may be an unseen 10-year toil behind that ‘overnight’ success you have heard about. Larry Paige at Google understands this. Over the years both Google and Larry have earned a lot of praise along with some brickbats. However, through all this Larry has remained steadfast in ignoring what others say and single-mindedly pursuing the course he felt best benefited his company.
Never say I’ll try. It shows that one isn’t committed to the cause. Always think in terms of how it can get done and then just do it. As a leader, your word should always be seen as sacrosanct. Being dependable is half the battle won.
Focus on team improvement. If you are an executive in charge of leading a team, it is important to focus on improving their performance. As a leader, you may also need to provide guidance and mentorship to your employees so that they can reach their highest potential. To help you become a better coach and improve your team, you may find blogs and articles about how to be a better coach useful.
Learn to manage yourself. Be brutally honest with yourself before criticizing others. Don’t blame others for potentially wrong decisions. It’s a pattern that is easy to form but tough to break. If one can’t truthfully manage yourself, then there’s no hope of managing others.
Keep developing. As an entrepreneur, it is essential to continually develop your skills, so that you can stay on top of your game. This could involve taking the initiative to acquire essential competencies, staying informed on the newest trends, and joining relevant training programs (like Executive Presentation Training program, for instance). Such measures will go a long way to making you a successful leader and a prized resource for your team.
Be caring of others and committed to your beliefs. Max Mosely is a one-time racecar driver and more recently a four-term president of FIA, the governing body for motorsports. Through his forty-five-year association with the sport, he has remained deeply committed to improving safety in the sport. Mosley’s deep-rooted belief in road safety, coupled with his persistence and drive, led to the enactment of the Euro ENCAP – a car safety and performance assessment. This was achieved despite the combined resistance of most automotive manufacturers. One can hear Max Mosley’s thoughts here
Always remember to say sorry and thank you. You should never hesitate to apologise when wrong and always say thank you when you receive. Count the number of times you say both every day. They should be about even. Are they? Saying sorry and thank you keeps you grounded.
The key to success starts with getting yourself in a space where you can succeed. From there on it’s all about your persistence, passion, ability to focus on giving and doing it for 10 years. There have been studies that prove to get really good at something you need to spend at least 10 years doing it. So above all, be patient.