Wednesday 3 January 2018

How to Become a True Leader in 5 Effective Steps

How to Become a True Leader in 5 Effective Steps



Back in April 2017, United Airlines found itself under enormous scrutiny after an incident in which an elderly passenger was dragged off one of their planes. The entire event was captured on video and shared on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms millions of times.


Although the employees received a ton of criticism in the aftermath, the root of the problem goes much deeper than United Airlines’ workforce.
These employees were just enforcing the company’s policies without much thinking. As a matter of fact, if the work culture was built on solid values and morals, rather than blind obedience, the employees might have acted differently.


The value of a true leader

If you’re a business leader, the scenario above is probably one of your worst nightmares. And if you want to avoid incidents like these, you first have to know what true leadership is.


You see, a true leader is a pinnacle of what they expect from the people around them. Moreover, a true leader, leads by example and sets the standards.
Basically, if you want to become a leader, you have to behave in the way you want your workers to behave and ensure that they have what they need to do just that.


Becoming a true leader in five easy steps


 Step #1: Start pulling your employees along

Being a leader is not just about telling people how to do a particular job – it’s also about doing it yourself. According to a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review, around 38% of business leaders believe that good leaders cultivate feelings of success and failure as a team. So, if you want your team members to work hard, you need to work just as hard, if not even harder.

Step #2: Get to know your team better


You already know your mission, however, it’s as equally as important to know the people you’re working with. Therefore, you have to learn how to communicate with your team members properly, get to know them and ultimately connect with them on a more personal level. Knowing both their strengths and weaknesses will allow you to utilize their skills appropriately

Step #3: Be the support system your team needs


A true leader supports their team with energy, time and in some cases, actual physical support. So, you need to set up a support system for the success of your team. For example, a recent Rypple revealed that 23% of employees want career development opportunities. True leaders listen to their employees and provide them with the education they need to progress in their careers.

Step #4: Stay open to your team’s ideas


When an employee comes to you with a specific problem, you shouldn’t tell them what to do. Instead, you should try and guide them, so they could come up with the correct solution themselves. In essence, you need to give them the freedom to brainstorm. If you have any problems guiding your employees, maybe hire a business consultant to help you become a better leader that produces practical results.

Step #5: Be their personal trainer


Personal trainers get hired to get more from people than those people may expect from themselves, and a real leader should do the same. This means you shouldn’t hire or fire employees based on their previous experience, because things just change too fast. You should try coaching your team members instead and teach them properly, so they could take on more responsibilities in the future.


Leaders are not born – they are made


When it’s all said and done, you have to keep in mind that no matter what some people tell you, leadership is a skill that can be learned. You need to make a conscious effort to improve your leadership skills that will allow you to properly address the challenges you come across every single day.

What kind of a leader should you be? A firm and strict one? A calm and communicative one?



At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what kind of a leader you want and need to be. Nonetheless, the results you’ll see from following the steps above will definitely help you be the leader you want to be and let you shine as a leader workers actually want to follow. 



About the Author: Peter is a lifestyle writer located in Brisbane, Australia. After graduating from Australian Institute of Creative Design, he worked as a trend forecaster and as a freelance writer for few local newspapers in Brisbane. Beside writing, he loves shopping, cooking exotic meals and travelling around tropical destinations. He’s future plans are in creating his personal lifestyle blog about everyday life-saving tips.

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