Simply put, there isn’t one. Every leader is different, and leadership is required in a lot of different situations. There’s no perfect formula for leadership because becoming a good leader depends on a lot of different factors. The qualities of a leader depend on the group you’re leading, what goal that group is trying to achieve, and the expectations of that group.
In my life, I have many different leadership roles and each one of them is very different from the other. As the Digital Media Supervisor, the group that I lead is very different than workout classes I’m an instructor for. Each position requires leadership, but the group, their goal, and their expectations are very different.
As a workout instructor, my students come to class expecting me to be direct and motivating. They’ll follow my directions without hesitation because they have the expectation that I’m going to give them a good workout. As a supervisor in the office I can’t shout out directions the same way I do in the gym because the expectations are different. I’d get confused stink eyes from my coworkers if I yelled, “ANSWER THAT EMAIL!” with upbeat techno music bumping from my computer.
No matter what type of situation you’re in, the toughest part about any leadership role is trying to understand the group’s goals and expectations and how you can lead the group to achieve them both. This is why it’s important to continuously strive to be a better leader and why our CEO, Korena Keys, and I attended Leadercast a few weeks ago. Leadercast is a one day conference where people come together to listen to a wide range of entrepreneurs, coaches, and celebrities talk about their own experience about becoming a successful leader.
During a day full of inspirational speakers, a few nuggets of wisdom stick with you for the days and weeks after the event. They stir your brain and really push you to evaluate your lifestyle. Today, I’m sharing the nuggets that stuck with me and the reasons why I think each and every leader can learn from them.
“Be the guide, not the hero.”
– Donald Miller
This quote stuck with me the most throughout the entire day. Most people’s first instinct is to look out for themselves. We also have the tendency to hold back from leadership roles until we feel comfortable or until they’re an expert in that industry. But holding back and waiting like this can prevent us from taking the first step to become a leader.
Leadership is about guiding others to success. We don’t need all the answers, we just have to help find those answers when the questions come about. We help guide others to the answers that lead the group to success.
“Those that devote themselves to themselves will ultimately
have nothing but themselves to show for themselves.”
– Andy Stanley
Read the quote again and let it sink in for a second.
And if that didn’t ruffle a few feathers think about it again. Think about how the quote questions our lifestyle. If we focus on nothing but ourselves, we limit our capabilities to help others. As a leader, our first thought should be about the people who are relying on us. What can we do to push ourselves out of the “myself” way of thinking and instead start helping others achieve their goals?
“Don’t seek for opportunities, seek for solutions.”
– Jim Mckelvey
What are the pain points in your life? How can you fix them? Seek for those answers. Don’t go out looking to create the next million-dollar product. Look inside your daily life and think about how you can enhance or elevate it to be better for yourself and others.
We’re going to tell ourselves a new story.
– Molly Fletcher
I’m a huge fan of the Law of Attraction. The energy you put out into the world is the energy you attract.
Molly gave a quick story during her presentation about an Olympic track star who wanted to decrease his time in the 100-meter sprint. His coach told him to write down “I love the 100m” and write down the time he wanted to hit. The track star replied saying, “But I don’t love the 100, I hate it!” To which his coach responded, “We’re going to start to tell ourselves a new story.”
Changing your mindset might not seem like it will make a huge impact on your goals at first, but you could be surprised how a positive attitude can affect your life. If you tell yourself that you’re going to get a promotion, your subconscious immediately starts to work toward that goal. If you’re going into an interview thinking “I’m not going to get this job,” then your actions will follow suit and you’ll perform worse during the interview. If you start off each Monday thinking “I hate Mondays” then your day is going to be worse than if you had the mindset “New week, new opportunities!”
Your mindset creates the tone for your life. We all know that are lives are not going to go exactly the way we expect them to, but forming our mindset to see the positive in every situation will ultimately propel us into greater joy and happiness.
So, if you’re working towards a goal, then start focusing on the outcome you WANT and not the challenges that might stand in your way while you’re working for that goal.
“Lean into the moments each and every day.”
– Molly Fletcher
Similar to “Live every day to the fullest.” And why not? How about we challenge ourselves to take every opportunity that comes our way that’s going to improve our life, happiness, and wellbeing and just say “heck yes!” to it.
Fear and failure hold us back, but what’s worse is having the regret of not living your life to its fullest potential.
Now Start Leading
Implementing these five quotes into your daily life will not only affect the overall quality of your life, but the lives of those around you. And that is what we want as leaders; to impact the lives of others and improve their quality of life. So, choose to be optimistic, choose to take full advantage of the opportunities life gives us. Choose to be the guide and start leading.