Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2013. Its references to texting and WhatsApp as the new habit of checking your phone reflect 2013.
We’ve talked a lot about leadership, about the mistakes people tend to make when managing teams, and about other, more technical concepts in how leaders run things within a company. As in any profession or trade, there are better professionals, bad ones and mediocre ones. Leadership is no different, and as in any profession, we can all improve.
One thing is clear: we can’t lead others if we can’t steer ourselves. According to Carrie Kerpen, most good leaders tend to feel healthy and attractive, so in leadership that’s an important place to start.
(Read: How to be a more charismatic and persuasive leader)
Carrie Kerpen says that when she had to take over her husband’s position as head of the company, it wasn’t her best moment: she had been caring for a dying parent and her two children and had been out of work for a long time, which took a toll not only on her mood but also on that feeling of being healthy. Kerpen points out that many executives don’t think exercise matters, when a well-oxygenated brain usually thinks better and makes better decisions.
1. To be a good leader, focus on yourself first
If you don’t feel good about yourself, it will be hard for others to see you as a leader. Exercise, switch to a healthier diet, lose weight if you need to, go to the hairdresser, wear clothes you feel good in. Make sure you like what you see in the mirror.
Once you’ve improved your physical (and therefore mental) image, let’s move on to improving some behavioural habits that, while not directly related to leadership ability, will certainly help us become better leaders.
2. Don’t check your phone while you’re talking to someone
The dreaded day Einstein warned us about has arrived: “The day technology surpasses our humanity, we will be a generation of idiots.” Start by changing the increasingly common habit of constantly looking at your phone, let alone answering a text or a WhatsApp message while someone is talking to you. A leader should never show such a lack of respect for others. The truth is, nobody should do it, but…
3. Let the past guide your future
Mistakes are very valuable, so don’t waste them: study them and learn from them. By the same token, remember that you have made mistakes too, so don’t punish the mistakes of the people around you too harshly. Try to teach them to learn from those mistakes as well.
4. Learn not to talk behind people’s backs
I know some people do it unconsciously, and in fact sometimes they don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. Now think about how reliable you’d find someone who can’t tell you what they think to your face but says it behind your back instead. Again, it’s a reprehensible attitude in anyone, and in a leader it would be completely unacceptable. (Read: A leader’s mistakes)
5. Be authentic
I’ve often heard someone described as authentic and exemplary when in fact they were as fake as a wooden euro. Being authentic doesn’t mean pleasing everyone or making decisions to win other people’s approval. Sometimes we have to say “NO” to our friends, employees and even our superiors. At other times, while remaining open to listening to and considering proposals, we’ll have to stand our ground no matter what, for the good of our project and/or team. Learn to be authentic, because an authentic person will probably disagree with many other people’s opinions, and leaders are no exception.
6. There are no great victories without risk
Success isn’t easy; if it were, every company would succeed. We need to learn to manage and take risks, even when we don’t know whether we’ll succeed. Sometimes you have to follow your instincts, while still analysing certain decisions carefully. As we said in our 18 business lessons, what is easy to do rarely leads to success. A leader must be brave, while staying aware of the risks.
What’s more, if we’ve done a good job of leading our team, a workforce that pulls together with blind faith in its leader can usually achieve almost anything it sets out to do.
Further reading
- 15 habits of successful salespeople
- The good leader: lessons in smart leadership
- Mistakes you can’t afford to make as a team leader
- 7 body language techniques that will help you in business
Featured image: Marc Smith, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
