Are you looking to become a leader? First off, you should know who the leader is. A leader is someone who has a clear vision and the right approach to accomplish set goals. You cannot achieve goals all alone. You will instead need a team.
The art of setting goals and framing strategy to achieve them is not what defines leadership skills, but it is also determined by your skills in convincing people to work in the direction of achieving those goals.
Everybody wants to become a leader, but not all have leadership skills. However, some people have the talent to lead people in a particular direction, but they do not have the confidence to stand in front of their higher-ups.
You cannot become a leader overnight. Periodical introspection is a must to improve your leadership skills. If you are looking to become a leader and something is holding you back, the following things can be the cause.
Your fears
There are several mental blocks that if you rescue them, you can rescue from your fearful mindset. Here are the fears that stop you from emerging as a good leader:
- Fear of risk
A leadership role demands a certain amount of risk. It can undoubtedly be unappealing because there is a chance of failure. A certain amount of risk is essential for your business growth.
If your fear overpowers you, you will likely emphasise what you can lose and what can go wrong than think about what benefits you can get.
You can overwhelm your fear if you switch your mindset to the positive side. Think about the benefits your business will likely achieve from it.
- Fear of vulnerability
As a leader, you have to lead your team, command them, and get the work down to achieve goals. Of course, if something goes against the expected result, you will be held responsible. This brings a threat.
It feels good to be praised when you achieve something, but it feels bad when you lose something due to your negligence. Leadership involves responsibility, and this kind of fear pull you back from becoming a leader.
Do your level best and you should take the initiative to take up new roles. This shows a sense of dedication and responsibility. This is what an employer sees in you before announcing you as a leader.
- Fear of sharing your own opinions
Most of the times you think you do not have much to say. To become a good leader you must have your own opinions and convictions.
You must have your own sense to judge things and draw a conclusion. The message you spread to your team must be yours.
Most of the leaders hesitate to open themselves to people. Challenge your thoughts and prepare yourself to be eloquent, persuasive, and expressive.
- Fear of missing the right qualification
Qualification plays some role, and you can easily blame it when you do not have it, but it is not surprising to see people with degrees have no leadership skills and those who have no proper qualification have such skills.
Try to prove yourself how qualified you are for a leadership position. Look over your resume and see what roles you have done and what accomplishments you have achieved.
Boost your confidence by checking how you managed to perform better despite having the proper qualification.
Not pushing your limits
One of the greatest things that could be holding you back from being a leader is not getting out of your comfort zone.
There is no denying that when you step up to the plate or find yourself pushed by external sources, growth and success follow you.
Studies have revealed that you must have little stress to encourage you to perform the desired action to achieve the desired result. Stress can push your brain to be at the level of alertness that is a precursor of your actions.
Stress can prompt your mind to overcome hindrances. Successful leaders understand the fact that they will have to come out of their comfort zone to improve their skills to behave in a particular situation.
It can boost your self-confidence and leadership skills. Stepping outside your comfort zone can be a bit awkward and fearful, but try to endure whatever you go through.
If you do not challenge your comfort zone, you will not be able to explore new things, and as a result, you will never be able to develop leadership skills.
At the outset, you may not perform to perfection, but it will help you polish your skills and soon reach the level of perfection.
Wrong attitude
Your leadership skills must endear you to your team. Unfortunately, when you become a leader, you start to behave like you know everything and nobody knows better than you.
While some people are lagged behind in the race of leadership just because they do not have confidence, some leaders fail to take it to the long run because of the wrong attitude.
Since you have become a leader, it does not mean that you will begin to dominate your team. You have a team of people who have some experience and knowledge. Do not forget that they have their own way of doing things, and you do not need to tell them all the time what they should do and what they should not.
Good leaders do not yell at their teammates. You need to scrutinise their performances and find out where they are lacking. Tell them where they are slipping up and how they can improve.
You do not have to boss around. You can point at their flaws ceremoniously. Stop micromanaging and teach your team what they are to do if they are not moving in the right direction.
Some leaders measure the performance of their teammates against them. Of course, you need a benchmark to measure their performances, but it does not mean that those benchmarks will be how you perform in a particular situation.
Everybody has different potential and different way of doing work. As long as they do the proper work, you do not need to be strict against them. Even if they are not able to contribute their 100%, you can go on the offensive in other ways.
A great leader is always ready to listen to their team. A leader needs to be a good speaker as well as a great listener. If you do not understand your team, you will not be able to know what they want from you.
They may have some expectations and grievances. It is your job to understand what they are going through and how you can solve their problems.
Not building a strong culture
As a leader, you will have to build a strong culture within your team. A leader is not just one who knows how to express their opinions but the one who promotes a healthy working environment within the team.
Your leadership career will go downhill before it gets off the ground if you do not build a great culture. You do not need to be an expert at what you say but with your actions too. You should make your team understand that you care about them.
They are to share their grievances with you so you can provide them with an effective solution. It can seem not very easy, but you will have to win their trust.
A great leader is one that takes care of their team. Note that you play the role of a leader because people see leadership qualities in you.
They can choose somebody else if you do not understand what they need and want. To build a great culture within your team, you need to offer promotion and benefits to your employees based on their performance, not based on how well you know them.
Do not forget that building a culture that fits you and your employees is essential in any organisation.
Not working on your weaknesses
Everyone has some weaknesses, and leaders are no exception. No matter how great a leader you are, you must have some weaknesses. Great leaders always identify their weaknesses and take specific steps to remove them.
You cannot set an example to your team if you do not overcome your weaknesses. Remember that the leadership journey starts just when you start working on your weaknesses.
The bottom line
Being a leader is not that easy. There are a lot of things you need to work on before becoming a leader. Sometimes you can fail to grow despite having leadership qualities because you are giving orders instead of teaching. You have a wrong attitude, not working on your weaknesses, not pushing your limits, and not overcoming your fears.
These things can hold you back from being a leader. If you want to be admired by people, you will have to work on these things.
