So you want to be a leader? Well listen, if you do,
according to Strategy+ Business,
there are seven things you must master in order to get there.
Beginning with controlling your impulses and your emotions.
Now this isn't an easy thing for most of us to do. Thinking before we speak,
thinking before we act,
not reacting and taking time to ponder our next move and our reply.
Do that and then come and tell me how you did it because that's something I do
struggle with.
Next, thinking about what other people are thinking about, Hey news flash.
The world don't revolve around you or me either actually,
I've come to realize and the more we think about our clients, our suppliers,
our partners, our colleagues and other people within our orbit, again,
the closer you're going to be towards being a true leader and thinking about how
you can help and support and guide and transform other people and the role that
you have to play in that.
Number three, becoming habitually self-aware.
Thinking about how you react in situations,
how you interact in situations, how you could do things better.
Taking time to sit back and analyze and go, "You know what? Next
time I'm going to do things differently" or "You know what?
That went really well. Must remember that for next time." Take that time.
Self-awareness, great quality.
Next up, integrating integrity with pragmatism. Now listen,
we can't always take the moral high ground.
Sometimes the realities of what we need to do conflict or maybe are at odds with
perhaps some of you know how we would personally choose to do something,
but hey we work for somebody else. We have to, you know,
sometimes tow the company line and we have to make decisions about what's right
for the company,
about what's right for us and about what's right for our clients and colleagues
all the time as leaders.
And it's important that you can balance and understand where you can make trade
offs and where that line in the sand is that you won't cross in terms of
ethicality and morality. So it's a really essential quality of leaders. Alright.
Now this is a great one.
Managing the effects of success because once you become a leader,
once you become successful, you may be earning more money.
You maybe have more power, more control, more respect, more credibility.
Don't forget the people that helped you on the way there and don't forget your
motives, your motivation.
Why did you want to become a leader in the first place?
Don't fall into the trappings of power and success and money and make sure that
you ah, don't burn any of those bridges because my friend, once you climb up,
the only way is down and it is a very long way,
if there are no friends there to catch your fall.
Now the next - we're getting close to the end - is expanding your aspirations as
a leader. Now, it's important as a leader that you have vision.
That you have goals, you have ambition, you have drive and energy. And,
you're able to convince people and encourage people to join you on that vision
and help you achieve it and turn it into reality.
That's what people are looking for in their leaders. And I think it's a really,
really important quality.
And I think a lot of leaders fail in delivering the vision.
They may be good at the execution, uh, but they forget that, you know,
people need to like and support them and, and that can and rally the troops,
you know, that can get people through tough times, if you're a strong leader.
If people can believe in the cause and can believe in you as an individual,
that you can get them there, that you can get them the result,
then they can overlook the humps and the bumps and the dips and the valleys as
they, you know, achieve greater goals and they get there and that,
and that'll sustain them. So think about that.
And the lucky last is building a legacy. This isn't just for you,
the trappings of success,
the goals of leadership and not just for you to admire and to wallow in and to
enjoy the spoils of, of leadership.
Make sure that what you build and what you create will last long after you're
gone. And that you know,
there'll be something to be remembered by because you're not going to be in that
role forever. You're not going to be in that company forever. Things change,
you change.
And it's nice to think that you are building something that will continue long
before you know, long after you've moved on into to new endeavours.
So that's it. Seven, seven qualities of a leader. What do you think?
Let's recap them real quick. One, mastering impulse and emotion. Two,
thinking about what other people are thinking. Three,
becoming habitually self-aware. Four integrating integrity with pragmatism.
Five, managing the side effects of success. Six,
expanding your aspirations and seven, building a legacy. I loved it.
I thought it was a really well crafted and articulated roadmap for leadership.
Really easy to implement and incorporate into any role,
no matter what it says on your business card.
You can embrace these leadership qualities and implement them right now.
So go for it, huh? Let me know how you do.
I'm Warwick Brown,
Founder at Account Manager Tips and I help organizations grow client revenue,
increase customer retention and get things done,
by giving their account management teams the tools and the mindset to get
results.
You can keep in touch with me at @wawickabrown on the social media platform of
your choice. Find me at the blog AccountManager.tips, or, hey,
if you're an account manager, why not join my private learning community,
helping account managers get results over TheKAMClub.com. All right,
until next time I'll see you then. Bye.