Winning Leadership Qualities

A great leader knows how to break the rules when necessary. Otherwise, he is just merely one of the followers.

Changes are significant, especially when they are put into good use…for the betterment of your organization…farther towards the attainment of your goals. Donna Harrison states, “Great leaders are never satisfied with current levels of performance. They constantly strive for higher and higher levels of achievement.”

A great leader sees what is good and what is bad for his team. If something is already sabotaging his plans, whether it is an action, an attitude, or one of his people, he is never afraid to make changes.

Some leaders do not make changes because they try to conform to what is normal. They are afraid to step out of the comfort zone. What they do not know is that there is nothing normal in this life. Everything is created with a little (or big) eccentricity from the others to make it stand out from the crowd, to make it more noticeable or recognizable. That is what makes them ineffective.

Who would want to follow a leader who instructs the same way as the other leader? I mean, if you have to follow somebody else other than the previous leader you know is unproductive, would you go for somebody like him? I won’t…because I know he won’t do any better.

Be different. Continuously seeking for better and improved ways to do something is not a crime. It is, in fact, genius. It will take you to the top faster. Imagine how long you will be able to reach your goals when you are steady and stagnant for a long period of time. Change for the better.

Bringing Out the Change-Maker in You

“Positive changes in your life will not be finished today, but it can start today,” says David Niven, Ph. D., author of The 100 Simple Secrets of Success.

Here are some techniques on how to handle change properly:

1.   Be creative. Whether it’s a free lunch from somebody who arrives late in a meeting, or a sing and dance when a simple errand was forgotten, new and fun rules can make everyone’s work exciting. Let that mind work and produce imaginative new stuffs. Before you know it, there is no body arriving late any more and all errands are finished on time.

2.   Take risks. In every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It can be good or bad. So, just take calculated risks. After all, nothing is perfect. Do not expect perfection. No one wins all the time. Leaders grow by learning from the mistakes they made.

3.   Continue to learn. A leader does not stop learning. In fact, it is when you become one that you should continue seeking more knowledge. Read newspapers regularly, watch movies and television programs, talk to children, make interviews, visit educational landmarks, and the likes. From new thoughts and ideas you’ve gathered, develop new policies and decisions for you and your people.

4.   Say no to the status quo. John Maxwell describes leaders as “never content with things as they are.” To be leading, by definition, according to Maxwell still, is to be in front, breaking new ground, conquering new worlds, moving away from the status quo.