Leadership Article No 6 : 10 WAYS TO IMPROVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS

05-11-2006, 01:39 PM

10 Ways To Improve Your Leadership Skills
Whether you consciously aware of it or not, on some level you are
continually leading yourself and others. As a result, it would only
make sense that you strive to improve your leadership skills and get
the most out of life for everyone in your sphere.
If you desire to lead a passion-filled life wherein you are a positive
influence to everyone.....you will enjoy incorporating the following practices to
assist you in consistently living your life as a conscious
and strong LEADER.
1. Have a clear vision of yourself, others, and the world.
Who are you? What do you stand for? What is your life purpose?
Why and how do you want to influence others? How do you want to contribute
to yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, and the world?
Answer these questions to formulate a concrete vision of yourself and your
world. Then, start living your life as the leader who makes your vision a
reality!
2. Know and utilise your strengths and gifts.
You have unique gifts that you were born with and personal strengths you’ve
developed over your lifetime. Realizing and utilizing these
gifts and strengths will assist you in being a formidable leader.
3. Live in accordance with your morals and values.
Making choices and taking actions out of accordance with your
morals and values leaves you with a nagging “bad” feeling. This
feeling seeping in from your subconscious mind hinders your
success in your career and your relationships. On the other hand, making
choices and taking actions aligned with your morals and
values helps you succeed almost effortlessly. People sense integrity
and will naturally respect your opinion and leadership.
4. Lead others with inclusiveness and compassion.
The greatest leaders are those who include everyone in their sphere
of influence by recognising each person’s greatest value. To be one
of these leaders, look beyond the obvious and see others with insight and
compassion. Many of history's greatest leaders have admitted
that they rose to the top because another leader recognised and harnessed
their potential.
5. Set definitive goals and follow concrete action plans.
You have to know where your destination is before you can map
out a plan to get there. To improve your leadership skills, first set
specific life goals with appropriate timelines. Design your goals by moving
backwards from the end of your life to the present week.
Then, formulate action plans you can commit to that will get you to where
you want to be.
6. Maintain a positive attitude.
No one respects a grumpy or negative person. With a positive attitude you
are looking at the bright side of life. People are naturally attracted
to you when you have a positive attitude. By being positive, you will lead
a happier life, as well as be surrounded by other positive people. You will
also magically attract exciting offers and possibilities.
7. Improve communication skills.
Having great leadership skills includes your being able to clearly and
specifically communicate your vision, goals, skills, intentions, and expectations
to others. This also includes your ability to listen to
what other people are consciously or unconsciously communicating.
To become a great communicator, continually strive to improve
your verbal, nonverbal, and listening skills.
8. Motivate others to greatness.
A leader is as powerful as his team. As a leader, you will want to surround
yourself with a powerful team by assisting others in recognising and
utilising their strengths, gifts, and potential.
Motivating others to their own greatness will improve the group
energy....increase the vitality of your projects.....and move you
forward toward achieving your goals and vision.
9. Be willing to admit and learn from your failures and weaknesses.
Face it ......No one is perfect..... and everyone has made a mistake or two
in their lives! The most successful leaders know that the key to success is
not in avoiding falling or failing, but in learnning from their mistakes. As
a strong leader, you will also be able to communicate your weaknesses to your
team, so that you and your team can appoint someone who excels at that
particular task or activity.
10. Continue to educate and improve yourself.
Great leaders continue to improve themselves in every possible way. The
person who thinks he is an expert, has a lot more to learn. Never stop learning.
Be receptive to everyone’s perceptions and information from around the world
and beyond.
Grow…. learn…. grow…...learn... grow…!
By Ronya Banks
Remain Blessed!

Duty is God, Work is Worship