People today are taught to walk their way, no matter what happens.
“Be yourself”
“Be authentic”
“Create your unique path.”
Have you heard all these statements? Well, you are not alone. Some fifty-one percent of those who aim to get into a leadership role are told the same. And still, people work with coaches and mentors to form their unique personalities, to understand that what they have built is not uncommon but a well-arranged plan from those who were aiming to help them. There is no such thing as being unique.
Look at the technological world.
A smartphone from the early 2000s was invented by companies like Motorola and Compaq ten to twenty years before.
Electric cars look great now, but there is nothing unique in the technology. Excerpt from the upgrade that has been made in this technology, electric vehicles have existed since the 1970s when Buick made its first electric car.
There is not so much uniqueness in building your leadership style, so why should you waste so much time and effort to re-create something that someone else has already created? What you see as unique is the j behavior model that someone else has already introduced. So you are, continuity or not, cautiously just copping it.
So what is the good about re-discovering what already works in your environment? In Europe, many leaders know how to act with people. They have found their mojo and have built values-driven cultures connecting people with strategy. Some of the names you may know, for example, Richard Branson – a famous person known for his love for people and his people-driven philosophy. At the same time, there are many others, not so much in the lights of the projectors, who did the same as him and impacted populations of thousands of people.
Now let me ask you something. Do you know who Dimitris Lois was? With his passion for change and belief in people, he created a values-driven culture aiming to support more than 40 000 employees across 28 different countries. Of course, his success was not built on the uniqueness he has found in himself. Still, his ability to combine already known and already known to create something entirely new has supported people across the company.
So, why must you build uniqueness to become the leader everyone wants to follow? Isn’t it more manageable and not so resource-consuming to focus on what is already ahead of you and then build your combination of actions that support your unique company or structure?
Universal norms of leadership are set to be visible for millennials. You can find them in ancient Greek societies, see them in Asian culture over the centuries, and spot them in the local cultures of countries worldwide.
Now again: “Do you still think that making your unique path is helpful?”
If this made you doubt your thoughts, I could offer you another perspective. So here is how you can save time and effort and become a great leader people love and want to follow.
Define your purpose as a leader
Everyone starts from somewhere. Why not start with what will be the purpose of your leadership? The better and more detailed you can define your administration’s purpose, the more significant the impact you create will be. With a clear and defined purpose, the plan you execute as the next steps is more straightforward shows quicker results in a shorter time, and is better understood from your auditorium.
Clear every element
We often start with the good intention to change something and stick to it no matter what happens. However, many people walking the leadership path must know that to achieve a goal, you must have all your milestones and details attached to them, cleared in advance. If you start and hope to clarify through the path, you better stop now. Having a clear vision and not defining what you have to achieve can lead you to a dead end and make you rethink again and again the purpose you had in your head at the beginning. The more specific the elements are, the more focus you can build through the next steps of becoming a great leader.
Put everything in a plan
“.I have the idea, and details are going to be cleared along the way.” – Have you heard that or something similar?
If YES, then stop yourself or the person who was saying it. To succeed, you will need a clear plan and execution agenda with all details. That will allow you to focus more on what resources you may need and plan them in all aspects – money, time, people, etc. NO clear plan, then move back, sit down, and think about it. After you have cleared the schedule and all the steps, move forward with the timeframe toward the incredible result you are planning to deliver.
Connect to the right people
As part of building your plan and the agenda for future success, you will need to be sure that you have the right people on your side. I do not talk about those; you will attract toward your way and put them in the plan to help you with the execution. The crucial thing about every project is to execute it, supported by the right people, those who will enable your success by being around and giving you a helping hand at the right moment. Here are the mentors and coaches you may meet du dialogue and those who sponsor one or several events or steps in your plan. Having them cleared and ready to be involved is crucial to speed up your schedule.
Define success and failure, but be balanced
A mistake I have often seen is that people plan in opposites. Either something happens or doesn’t happen at all. Nothing more wrong than that. People miss that success is a list of ups and downs, and nothing is as edgy as it may look in their heads at first. Searching for balance and counting on progress can boost internal engagement and build motivation for achieving results. Although going the way you may have to walk with the understanding that there is a continuous process in time, you as a leader may be more focused on walking the path instead of abandoning it during the first stressful situation you may experience. Going with absolutism is not and will never be the right decision. People are moving creatures who do not want to win for any price but to progress in life. Creating that space for movement and growth booster for leadership skills development.
Make every milestone count
“I will celebrate when all the work is done.” – Maybe you have heard this phrase from people working on a tuff task or a project. They invest all their time, even steal time from their relationships, to sit one day, look at the emptiness In front of them, and while already burned out to say how insignificant everything has become for them. To not avoid becoming like these people in the leadership skills development path, the future leader may need to inasmuch a lot of time in a defense strategy against the burnout they may experience. Fighting burnout is not easy because no one knows when they will share it. The most successful l strategy against burnout is the one that balances pressure with moments of switching off and making something that is fun for the person itself. No matter what this thing is, no matter how small or big it may be, it must be the right thing that fights the feeling of helplines and supports positrons from what has already happened and what is to happen next. These small celebrations are the bullets that kill the symptoms of burnout and heal a person’s inner world, helping them to recharge and prepare for the next big thing to happen.
Take your time off at significant steps end
Now, no one wants or can walk the whole path at once. Our life and our development are divided into different stages. To make every step meaningful, we need to stop for a moment. So a leader who wants to take everything from their development needs to stop, switch off, turn around, and look at all the positives they have created toward their path for growth. Nothing else counts more. Not doing that can lead the leader into the trap of burnout. Unfortunately, what also happens is that when stopping for a moment, leaders forget to continue walking the path toward excellence and growth. This other threat of leadership development is happening so often that cases are not documented any more. Look at the leaders you want to learn from. Do they offer something different every time or reinvent the model they started with many years ago?
Reinventing practices and bringing new to the people is crucial for the leadership role. Without that, the leader cannot lead the change and ensure others’ growth, which may cause a loss of people’s attention and engagement. Therefore, taking a rest and moving forward again with more strength and power is the winning strategy after every big win.
IN CONCLUSION:
Many people think that leadership is a tuff task. And they are right. Walking the path to developing as a leader is tough, but everyone can make the way acceptable in small steps and with their tempo. Anything else can lead to not-so-convenient outcomes. Managing the process and the outputs are crucial for becoming the best leader you may imagine. Listening to others is an excellent supporting leg, but everything depends on the person.
The Human place 