In the last article we looked at various attributes for leadership and self confidence. These were the first five and now we look at the next five.
Particular in business, leadership is a necessary skill on the path to success and self confidence.
- Set the example.
The best way to be a leader is to show how it can be done. To prove that you have the skills necessary will really gain the respect of your team. Yes, if the team is particularly large you will most likely not have the skills required in every department, but you should certainly have enough wherewithal to demonstrate to the people immediately beneath you. There has been recently a programme on British television where the owners or Managing Directors of organisations go back to the shop floor to tackle and see for themselves the tasks undertaken by the productive staff. This exercise usually demonstrates their lack of abilities in this field, but being involved and showing a willingness to understand the needs of there workers nearly always gains them respect. It also helps build their self confidence in order to run the business more effectively.
- Display commitment to integrity.
By doing the right thing and having pride in your team, confidence in you as a leader will be built in your team at every level. Upon you, all the hopes and desires of your team will be on your shoulders. As a leader you must show a hundred percent commitment to honesty and truthfulness. By being honest and true you know that everything you do and every decision you make is entirely for the right reasons and does wonders for your self confidence in the process. A leader must seriously consider making this his/hers number one priority.
- Excellence in everything.
There is no place for inferior workmanship or performance from a leader. Your attitude to appearance and courtesy plus a total dedication to excellence will mark you down for success or failure. Your team will only look up to you if this attitude is at a level above theirs. If you can only mark yourself as an 8 in this area, only the people whose attitude is 7 or below will look up to you as a leader. By striving for a perfect 10 not only gives you the respect of all your team members it creates the desire to do everything to the best of your ability and enhances your self confidence in the process.
- A commitment to personal growth.
Self confidence is a part of personal growth. But so is the need to understand your business and constantly keep on top of new developments within your industry. The University of Life teaches us something new every day and if we are not prepared to learn the lessons, how can you expect your team to. The business, like your knowledge, will fail to grow. It is so necessary to grow personally as nobody likes to be around a leader who is just prepared to stand still. That would be a sure fire way of loosing some valuable members of your crew. Be positive and be prepared to learn and you, along with your self confidence will grow enormously.
- Develop the highest level of persistence and determination.
At times you may very well feel like giving up. You may wonder if you are on the right road to success. But this is where your self confidence, your vision and your dreams that should be greater than your team's, come to the fore. It happens so very few times that success comes overnight. A baby doesn't walk straight after it is born. As a parent you give that child as long as it takes to learn, and succeed it will, eventually. You must set the goals and the standards, but if these aren't met, re-align them and start again; keep on trying until the finishing line is in sight.
For some, the qualities of self confidence and leadership come naturally. To others they have to be developed and enhanced. But you can have the self confidence of a leader and achieve the success you crave by looking at and practicing these attributes as mentioned over these last two articles.
Terry Norrington
www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/index#terryn1
http://terryn.simpleonlinesystem.com
www.getselfconfident.com
