How to be a Leader..?

Question

What can i do, to learn to be a leader, not a follower?

I am not known to be one of the loud, take responsibility, and handle confrontation types.

What can i do to change and become a leader, even increase self-esteem and confidence?

The Best answer with most helpful thoughts WILL get 13 points!

Please help me improve!!!

Thanks.!

Answer 1

Learn how to be a good follower and taker of instructions yourself.

It's like young graduates from business college who ask themselves, "When do I get to become CEO and General Manager" before they even get hired.

Answer 2

try think of being differeny more thewn other people dont copy them and the will folllow you

Answer 3

the only way to change is to get away from people who already know you, cos no matter how you try to act, they'll treat you exactly the same.

Answer 4

The answer to this question is both simple and complex: be yourself. However being yourself may take courage and some change from how you are right now. For example, you say you are not one to take responsibility and/or handle confrontations.. well to see a problem and not do something shows a lack of honesty to yourself. Over time if you hold strong to your convictions and be yourself, people will see this and A. take you more seriously and B. respect you.. thus making you a leader, not a follower.

Important.. things like this don't happen overnight.. they take commitment. So don't give up on yourself, nobody can push you like yourself. Good Luck

Answer 5

You first have to define of what, or of whom you want to be a leader.  To be a leader of dogs, there are many books which explain the pack mentality and how to manipulate dogs into making you their leader.

One has to recognise that for human leadership, there is a difference between males and females.  There is also a difference between intellectuals and physical forms of the species.

Perhaps the best way to learn, might be to go your own way.  That might mean going alone, and when you are comfortable with going alone, you will understand what it means to be a leader.  You will be alone, and will not always have support.  You need to be able to take decisions which are not popular.

Increasing self esteem and confidence, is a personal growth issue which is enhanced when you are comfortable in your own company and do not seek the company of others for comfort or support.

This is not generally the nature of women, who tend to lean on each other for mutual support (nurturers rather than providers).  However, some women are different due to the circumstances of their upbringing.

Answer 6

A good leader isn't necessarily loud or boisterous. Usually it's quite the opposite. A leader has certain personal characteristics that others admire. Leaders are loyal, they have integrity and they follow through on what they say they will do. They keep their promises. The reason they stand above the crowd isn't by what they say, so much as by what they do. They keep their composure under pressure. Often, they don't think like the crowd and they don't come across as arrogant because of their unique ideas, nor do they cower because they don't think like or follow the crowd. They believe in themselves. They are often the calm in the midst of a storm. They keep a clear head when others are stressed or whiny. Eventually others gravitate to this person who is, in fact, a leader whether he/she knows it or not.

Answer 7

Be yourself and care little what others think of you.  

Do not try to be 'friends' with anyone you lead.  It will backfire on you.  But there is no need to be rude, unsympathetic or not listen to them.  Expect people to try it on, let you down, be selfish and so on.  Accept it as part of the deal.

Don't take it personally.  What are the goals?  Leadership is not personal, it's about reaching goals or achieving an end result.

You will not get all your own way.  Bend when you must.  Everyone has setbacks, they are a normal part of the overall process.  Keep your eye on your long term goals.

If you want to be a leader to improve your self esteem or to cover feelings of inadequacy then you will have a difficult time coping with the nonsense people give you.  You have to be outside of all that.  I'd recomend reading something like 'Ten steps to positive living' or 'Assertiveness step by step' both by Professor Windy Dryden.

Answer 8

Believe it or not the best way to be a good leader is to serve the people you wish to follow you.  You'll earn peoples respect, for example: You're in construction and you're asked to clean a house.  You have four people with you and you boss asks you to forward the message that there are five tasks.  Take the worst task and let them know not to worry, its a crappy task but you'll take care of it so that they don't have to.  

Get in the habit of talking to people around you.  The friendlier you are, the more people you will have coming up to see how you've been or what you're up to this weekend.  Show them that you care.  It's not a over night thing, it does take some work.  Good luck.

Answer 9

Listen we all have been born with different qualities to carry different goals , if you dont have the package of being a leader then you are not meant to be one . At one time in my life i wanted to be a fashion designer , but then i realized that that world of superficiality didnt match with me and i just let my inner and real qualities come through . Of course you can increase your self esteem and self confidence and once you do it you can realize whether being a leader would make you happy or just plain uncomfortable becuase you are going to feel as if  thats not really your cup of coffee

Hon theres more than leaders and followers in this world , the bottom line is not to close yourself in a the box of limitation

are you creative ? are you quick ? are you a problem solver , a good comunicator ? if so you can call yourself a natural born leader , but remember that leader doesnt just mean bossing a lot of people around its takes determination to see beyond possibilities and bring change whenever you are , and that doesnt mean in a corporation either .

do have any of these things:

1. A leader plans.

The core of leadership is being proactive rather than reactive. Sure, leaders are good in crises – but that doesn’t mean they sit around letting crises develop. Leadership involves identifying potential problems and solving them before they reach crisis proportions – and the ability to identify and reap potential windfalls. So good leaders analyze and plan and adapt their plans to new circumstances and opportunities.

2. A leader has a vision.

Vision is essential to good leadership. Vision provides direction and without direction, there’s not much point to all that planning; your small business will still flail about. So if you don’t have one already, take your first step towards leadership by creating a Vision Statement for your business. Because it embodies your dreams and your passions, a vision statement will also serve as a leadership vision.

3. A leader shares her vision.

Sharing your leadership vision helps your vision grow and your leadership develop. As you tell your leadership vision to others, you will strengthen your own belief in your vision and strengthen your determination to make your leadership vision become reality. And other people will start to see you as a person who’s “going places”. Your leadership skills will grow as you and other people recognize you as a person with leadership potential.

4. A leader takes charge.

At this stage of leadership, you put together your planning and your leadership vision and take action. Whether it’s implementing a specific plan to improve your business’s bottom line or responding to a crisis, you, as the leader, are the one who makes the decisions and sees that the appropriate actions are carried out. You can’t just “talk a good game” to be a leader; you need to act and to be seen as taking effective action for the good of your small business.

5. A leader inspires through example.

If I asked you, you could easily name three people whose leadership qualities inspire you. If I asked you why, you’d tell me about the things these inspiring people did or are doing. Leadership is defined through action. Therefore, in developing your own leadership skills, you have to act in ways that are fitting to your leadership vision and your self – all the time. We can all name many actions of other people whom we admire, but what inspires us is the integrity that gives these actions meaning.

Becoming a leader isn’t easy because it takes a conscious commitment and consistent effort to develop one’s leadership skills. But on the positive side, anyone who is willing to make the effort can become a good leader.

And as good leadership is critical to business success, your efforts to improve your leadership skills will be amply rewarded. By working on these five keys of leadership, you can become the leader your small business needs.

Answer 10

lead by example. don't be bossy...

just know what you have to do and do it.