10 Tips For Any Leader

Everyone has encountered many leaders over the course of their lives. Anything from your manager, to the teacher at your high school, to even that one kid on the playground who picked what game you played back in the day. Being a leader used to be thought of as a natural talent, that you were either a leader or a follower. But that’s not true, it doesn’t take some hidden secret passed on through the genes. It takes respect, kindness, and a willingness to help others. Here are 10 tips to help you get started on your road to leadership.

1. Don’t be “in charge.” Most people think being a leader means being in charge, being above others on the totem pole. It doesn’t being a leader means treating people like people, getting on their level and truly connecting with them. People who treat leadership like a prize tend to be the people who like to control what others are doing, boss them around, and have no real connection or empathy for others. They think they are above everyone so they treat others as below them. It is human nature to connect with others but people don’t want to connect with someone who acts like that. So don’t be “in charge” be an equal.
2. Have humility to understand others have better answers. Just because you are a leader (or want to be one) doesn’t always mean your ideas are the better. Listen to the people around you and under you and be sure to support their ideas. A true leader looks for other solutions and doesn’t just listen to his own.
3. Support the people around you. Whether they are above you or below you, make sure to support others. You never know who is going to end up as your next boss. You also never know what opportunities and growth you can give to others. Doing this will not only help you feel good about yourself but it will also help others feel good about themselves. If they see you supporting them, they are more likely to support you.
4. Serve the team, not yourself. A lot of leaders look at only trying to get themselves farther up the ladder, causing a huge detriment to their team. But companies want team players because what is a company if not a team. Being on a team and supporting that team proves you are a team player. People will connect with you more if they feel you are on their side so be on their side (the team’s side.) An individual doesn’t win the game, the team does. So help make your team the best it can be so that you can all win. Besides celebrating is much more fun with more than one person.
5. If you ask for help, you need to be prepared to help in return. Asking others for help is a big step a lot of people struggle to ask for help. So just learning to ask for help is a good thing to work on, however, the better leaders also know that they have to be prepared to help as well. If you continuously turn down helping others they will start to resent helping you. Why should they help you when you don’t help them? When you answer them when they ask, they are more likely to answer you when you ask. They will also start to see you as an advisor, someone that can help them make decisions and gives good advice (and isn’t that something a leader does…)
6. Title and authority doesn’t equate to leadership. If you don’t have a title or even authority in your company that doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader. Leadership is earned through respect and authenticity. Some people, even with a title and authority, can’t be considered leaders. People want to follow those who they trust and believe in, not just someone with a fancy title. So take the time to respect others and be yourself, people don’t want to follow someone who doesn’t.
7. Take the time to connect with others, especially people above you. Talking to a boss can be a scary thing, what if you mess up? What if you say something wrong? Stop stressing about that though. Bosses are people too, and by treating them as such you can connect with them on a much deeper level. Most of the time you can see that they aren’t actually that scary, they are people just like you. By treating them as people, they will also treat you as a person. There are many benefits to this but the main one is that they will have more empathy for you when you need it, which can greatly improve your work atmosphere and your life.
8. See the potential in others and push them to be their best. Others will start to see you as someone who will help them, support them, and be there for them if you do this. They will gain self-confidence in their ability to do things and will appreciate you for it. They will respect you for your interest in them and your willingness to help them be better. People tend to follow those who invest in them. So do that, invest in people, invest in their progress and they just might invest in yours.
9. Never settle for okay. This one seems rather obvious, but nevertheless it had to be mentioned. Do everything you can to be better than okay. In work and life, strive for being great or even just good. Not only will you see major improvements in your work but others will see them too. Some of you may be saying “there is too much going on in the world right now, for me to not settle sometimes” and that is fine. Covid-19 has turned the world upside down, and I don’t expect you to strive for perfection the way we did before. Things aren’t the same as before and our definition of “good” has changed a lot in the past few months though. I encourage you to strive for that; your new definition of “good”, even if your new definition was once just “okay.”
10. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice money/power over happiness. In our culture of harder, better, faster, stronger we pave the way for a multitude of other problems, especially in regards to mental health. 264–300 million individuals worldwide live with depression; and 284–300 million live with anxiety-related disorders. These numbers only continue to rise throughout the years, as our societies push for more and more from us. By continuously pushing ourselves to get higher on the ladder, and get that next raise, we lose ourselves and our passion for the actual work. Allow yourself to jump ship if you feel like you are sinking. Allow yourself to be happy and follow your passions. *There are a ton of books and articles that talk about “Happiness”, the power it has over our lives, and why we should choose it over money so I am going to end this section here but feel free to look into other resources.

Being a good leader doesn’t mean that you have to have power, authority, or some natural talent. Being a good leader is about listening, supporting, and taking care of yourself and others. I hope this article helps you become a better leader. If you have any other tips, suggestions, comments, questions, or just want to connect feel free to reach out to me.

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