Leadership: Action or Position?
What type of leader do you want to be?
You don’t need a title or position to be a leader. People that lead without a position are encouragers and connectors meaning, they help others succeed. A leader’s responsibility is to develop people to achieve desired outcomes. This means developing people is always a work in progress. Action is the key to success in many things in life, leadership being one of them, action produces results. So how do you take action and become a strong leader?
Lead by example
To lead by example means to guide others through your behavior instead of your words.
- Inspire others to push themselves.
- Don’t say one thing and do another, your actions need to mirror what you say.
- Your attitude towards others will help you set a strong foundation. Address conflict calmly and productively making sure to diffuse the situation while finding a solution.
- Communicate kindly, respect those around you when you communicate.
- Bounce back after failures. Failure is a way of life, it can happen anytime we take a risk or make a decision, but always keep trying. If you feel defeated and ashamed that can stop you from reaching your full potential which will show others to quit. Show others
how to bounce back! - Take care of yourself. Self-care is so important, not just for you but for your team. Your physical, mental, and emotional health matter when it comes to leadership.
“Lead by example, show why you are the leader.” – Brian Holt
Be accountable for your own mistakes
As a leader, taking accountability cultivates a sense of trust and respect from others. If you make a mistake and fail to admit that mistake, others will see that as you thinking that being right is more important to you than being honest with your team. Your team’s talents and energies are put towards supporting their leader rather than protecting their position in the organization, while creating a culture in which employees can feel safe to take important risks and own their mistakes too. Taking responsibility demonstrates that leaders value integrity. Leadership actions are learning from your mistakes, working with your team to problem solve, helping others to avoid the same mistake and moving forward.
Acknowledge and appreciate others
- Give credit where it’s due, do not take credit for others’ work.
- Be generous, recognize people and make sure they are valued.
- Everyone will work harder when they see others are being recognized because they will want to be that person getting recognition.
- False acknowledgement will not develop confidence nor lead to improved performance.
- The more specific a leader will be when acknowledging someone, the better the impact will be.
- Validating others helps to shape cultures within organizations.
“Never claim to be the best, learn from the newest person in the room.” – Brian Holt
Our goal here at Balanced Action Marketing Firm is to mold every new member who joins us into a leader so they can be as successful as they want to be and become the best leader they can be with the tools we have given them. We as a team foster an entrepreneurial spirit to lead by example, be accountable for our own mistakes, as well as acknowledge and appreciate others.
