Leadership is a skill that takes a lifetime to master.
Leadership is being aware of and executing on the simple things. Don’t believe me? See how simply making your bed in the morning will propel you into having a day with winning on your mind. Hear it from Admiral William H. McRaven during his University of Texas commencement speech.
You can’t be trusted as a leader if you can’t execute on the simple, mundane things. How will your team trust you when bigger issues arise?
I’ve been working on becoming a better leader since my teens and the process will never stop. My leadership responsibility starts at home, carries over to our business, and is carrying over to my spiritual life. So here are a few tips to help you become a better, resilient leader:
The requirements
No fear of anything or anyone except God, superb listening skills, focus, integrity, honesty, good communication skills, an exceptional moral compass, and a “foolish” sense of hope.
Overloaded and something that’s overlooked
Most leaders know to lead the way and take action but some of us struggle with attempting to take all the action. This is not wise, but it’s incredibly tempting. If you’re a business owner, there’s a good chance that no one loves the business as much as you do. It’s your baby. So you let that trick you into trying to manage every aspect of it. This will lead to stress, burnout, and an inefficient business. Hire, train, and entrust others to help you run the business so it can grow.
After all, God delegates. Moses delegated after listening to his father-in-law’s instructions, so must we.
Lastly, sometimes we need to “take the hit” or “fall on the sword” for our team. A good leader should be prepared to take criticism for a failed project or the poor handling of a customer request and turn that into positive changes that will help the team avoid those mistakes in the future. This is an often overlooked aspect of leadership. To end it, when the success and accolades come, a top-notch leader will never take all the credit.
Lead on.
