The 7 keys to Leadership Success
You can become a leader by thinking and acting like a leader. Leadership is about taking action. Take specific actions that make a difference in your life and others. Start practicing the following keys to become a successful leader today. Practice, practice, practice… So what are the 7 keys to leadership success?
#1 – Clarity
How clear are you about who you are and what are you doing? Leaders know how they like to work and the kind of people they like to work with and what environment they work the best in, as well. Great leaders are clear about what they want and they have very clear goals (goals must be specific, measurable, and time-bound). Goals should be written so clearly that a child can understand and recognize if you have met your goals or not.
#2 – Competence
The future belongs to people who are good at what they do. Become excellent at your work and continue to get better. People in the top 10% and 20% earn 5 times and 10 times as much as the average employee. Why? They are good at what they do. If you do not commit to excellence in your field, you end up being mediocre or average (by default).
So think about this… In what way are your products and services better than your competition? What is your personal area of excellence? What are your unique talents? You don’t have to be #1 in the world; however, you want to be in the top 10%.
#3 – Constraints
Constraints are the limiting factors. These are things that set the speeds at how quickly you get to where you are and where you want to go. Why aren’t you already at your goal? Why aren’t you already great? What is holding you back? Remember the 80/20 Rule: 80% of what is holding you back is internal (your lack of ability, your lack of discipline, etc.); 20% is external (outside factors). So, start by looking inside yourself and determine what is holding you back.
#4 – Creativity
With creativity, you can seek quicker and better ways to remove the constraints and accomplish your goals. The more you focus on getting better, the faster you will achieve your goals. Become solutions-oriented and the more you focus on getting better, the more ideas you create. We all have a natural genius inside of us, but you have to use it regularly and this will allow you to become smarter, brighter, and quicker.
#5 – Continuous Learning
Learn more and you will earn more. Become a lifelong student of your craft. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse. If you are not continuously learning and growing, your skills will rapidly become obsolete. If you are not getting better, you need to read every day. If you are not getting better, you need to listen to audios every day. If you are not getting better, you need to watch training videos every day. Take one lesson per day to help you become better at what you do.
#6 – Concentration
This is the key to great success. How do you concentrate? Pick the most important thing and focus on it. What can you and ONLY you do? What one task is more important than any other? If you could only complete ONE task, what would it be? Discipline yourself to work on this and only this until it is done.
#7 – Commitment
Leaders are totally committed to what they are doing. Leaders put their whole heart into their work. There are two secrets to commitment:
1) Work all the time you work – Don’t talk, don’t read the newspaper, etc. WORK.
2) Practice the 40+ Formula for Success – You work 40 hours per week to survive and everything above and beyond 40 hours is for your success. Always do more than expected. Always go the extra mile.
The final secret…
Every leader started as a follower. Everyone at the top started at the bottom. There are no limits to what you can accomplish except for the limits you place on your own thinking. So, get out there and just do it!
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