What Makes a Great Leader?
Becoming a great leader takes hard work, dedication, and the willingness to self-evaluate the way in which you treat your team members. All bad leaders have one thing in common: insecurity. An insecure leader is detrimental not only to their employees but to themselves as well. How can you run a business and show leadership while feeling insecure? The answer is simple, you can’t.
Think back to previous bosses you may have had or maybe bosses your friends have had, and think about what went wrong. Were they understanding, considerate, and humbled? Nine times out of ten, we’re usually faced with the opposite. When bosses and leaders fail to show appreciation or offer words of encouragement and reassurance, their work environment suffers and it all leads back to insecurity.
What Drives Insecurity?
The driving force of insecurity is often fear. Fear to fail, fear to receive negative feedback and fear of not being the best.
Think about the people you most surround yourself with as a leader. Are you surrounding yourself with people who are intelligent, hardworking, and those who challenge you to be better? If you don’t surround yourself with people who constantly push you to be better, you will never experience growth. Growth and success are ultimately a direct reflection of your leadership.
My friend once said, “you can either choose to be right or you can choose to get things done.” Being a leader doesn’t mean you are always right. It’s ok to mess up and make mistakes along the way, but it’s how you grow and learn from those actions that define your leadership abilities. You ultimately want your team members to feel appreciated, built up, and supported. When you create a safe and healthy work environment, your culture is better –- leading to a lower turnover rate, and motivated employees who actually like their jobs.
Self-Evaluate Your Leadership Style
Take a hard look at yourself. Are you someone you would want to work for? It’s important to evaluate yourself and seek feedback because you cannot be a good leader without identifying your downfalls and weaknesses.
Allow team members to grow on their own and thrive in what they do; and when they do succeed, uplift them instead of taking credit for their work. Simply put, uplift and guide rather than tear down and micromanage.
Empower your team. Seek feedback. Self-reflect. These traits will make you a great leader.
You can watch my full coaching session on How Not to Be a Leader on YouTube, just click play below. Be sure to subscribe to receive weekly updates and access even more coaching tips.
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