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Everyday Leadership Skills That Anyone Can Build

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

The age-old debate has always been whether or not you can learn the skills necessary to become a leader or are the skills left to those who are born with them. The short and simple answer is that education, experience, and a willingness to learn are the sources of the talents necessary for effective leadership. If it applies to you, you have the potential to lead.

You can learn a variety of skills necessary for effective leadership, including:

Accountability – As a leader, you must know how to hold people responsible in an ethical and just manner in addition to knowing when to accept responsibility for your own actions.

Assertiveness-Being assertive is knowing when to say no or yes and having the confidence to voice your thoughts based on facts. The way other people see you as a leader is a crucial component of leadership. People will perceive you as a good leader if they trust you and know they can count on you to speak up for them and your causes.

Communication– Effective communication is a talent that a good leader possesses and one that you can master. You can learn how to talk, listen, and when to do both. You may improve your leadership abilities by learning more about the communication process. As a leader, every action, in-action, and non-verbal cues are a form of communication to those that follow. Many assumptions will be made on the things that aren’t said, so as a leader clarity is key in all aspects of communication.

Focused – A strong leader is aware of when and how to complete tasks. They focus on the details and don’t let distractions compromise the quality of their work or slow them down.

Integrity – Despite what it may appear in the media at times, a good leader is able to be genuine and doesn’t attempt to mislead their audience. Integrity is when your actions align with what you communicate.

Open-Mindedness – A competent leader is aware of their ignorance and may even be unsure of the questions to ask due to their inexperience. As a result, they maintain an open mind and pay great attention to the facts as they emerge, changing direction as necessary.

Organized- You can learn to become more organized, even if you’re not naturally that way. Even if you are unable to maintain a clutter-free office, you may learn how to organize all of your work using the right tools. Effective leaders are often juggling multiple priorities, objectives, and deadlines. Therefore, organization is instrumental to success as as leader. 

Relationship-Builder – A successful leader is an excellent relationship-builder both at business and personally because they have a solid grasp of oneself, interpersonal relationships, and conflict resolution.

Reliable- A good leader always follows through on their promises. They will be true to their word. But because they aren’t saying yes to things they don’t want to do or don’t need to do, this is also the reason they are not scared to say no.

Results-driven – A smart leader is aware that intentions are meaningless if the outcome does not match your goals. Success will always be better gauged by measuring impact and results.

Self-Awareness – One of the greatest leadership skills is the ability to practice introspection in order to make better decisions. You’re developing into a great leader if you’re eager to learn about who you are, why you are the way you are, and how to grow yourself into the person you want to be while enjoying who you are.

Self-Belief – A strong leader must have self-belief, but it’s also important to have the capacity to have faith in other people. According to behavioral studies, people who lack confidence in themselves also frequently lack confidence in others.

Strategic Thinking – An good leader is able to assess the information at hand and utilize it to influence decisions that will help them achieve the long-term success they desire and, in essence, put them in a winning position for the future.

To become a recognized leader, you must set out on a road of self-education to identify your areas of strength and development so you can concentrate on what you are naturally excellent at doing while you are developing yourself.

Here are a few of my favorite books relating to leadership. (in no particular order)

  • Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
  • The One Thing You Need to Know About Great Managing, Great Leading, & Sustained Success by Marcus Buckingham
  • First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham
  • Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness by Robert Greenleaf
  • Linchpin: Are You Indispensable by Seth Godin
  • What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

Do you have a recommended reading on Leadership? I’d love to know, leave it in the comments below!

7 Strategies to Maintaining Motivation Through Times of Uncertainty

You know how it goes by now. You create a goal for yourself that you want to accomplish. You start off fired up and prepared to take on the world, but a few months later you can’t be bothered to put in even a 10-minute effort to achieve it! While the past few years has cast a great deal of uncertainty upon us, and will continue to do so in the immediate future, what is certain is your inner power to persist. The following are seven proven strategies you can do to guarantee you stay motivated toward your goal. It is not always easy to swing from a sense of helplessness to exhilaration, but like many things, the more you attention you give to these strategies below the more you’ll be able to maintain a sense of motivation.

1. Is the size of your WHY sufficient?

Famed speaker Anthony Robbins says it well when he says; there are two motivators, desperation and inspiration. Some people find themselves in a situation where they are desperate, maybe it’s a health diagnosis, or a sudden job-loss, and through that desperation they become inspired to do what was previously unthinkable. Unfortunately, they had to experience the desperation first. Others find inspiration naturally. That inspiration comes through nature, relationships, personal connection, a sense of purpose, the accomplishments of others. Through the lens of gratitude and a growth mindset, these individuals find this inspiration as the catalyst to becoming and staying motivated. 

Where do you find yourself to be desperate? What inspires you? Identifying your WHY is the first step to perpetual motivation and long-term happiness. 

2. Construct an emotional and mental picture of what you desire.

Although putting your goals in writing might help you stay focused, it is not always sufficient. Writing down your objectives and picturing yourself achieving them both feed the motivating fire. The power of three will ensure your motivation stays high: writing objectives down, having a mental image of your achievment, and putting yourself in a state of mind where you can feel the emotions of achieving the goal. You may stop at any moment during the day or whenever you feel like you need some motivation by closing your eyes, seeing your objective, and invoking all the feelings that accomplishing that goal would bring. There is nothing more potent!

3. Before, during, and after questions to ask!

Knowing not just WHY you are doing something, but also WHAT, is crucial. What you and your family will receive if you succeed in accomplishing your objective. It is simple to think that what you desire is to earn a million dollars, but for many people, the lifestyle and freedom that this money may provide will serve as their true motivators.

Spend some time asking yourself the kinds of questions that will help you figure out the benefits of attaining your goals. 

  • How would it benefit me?
  • What will it accomplish for myself, my loved ones, or my friends?
  • Will I be able to lead a certain lifestyle?
  • How much of a sacrifice will I have to make?
  • How would this affect my daily activities?
  • How would this affect my family?
  • What result do I hope to get?
  • How will I be able to contribute?

We only truly lose motivation when we lose sight of our objective or end result. Motivation and keeping motivated are simple when you know what the accomplishment of your goal will bring for you.

4. Constructing a picture of what you desire.

Create a collage of your goals and aspirations with your family, or engage in any other creative activity that inspires you to finish it to stoke the flames of motivation. Whatever you create, keep it visible at all times. I recall hearing someone mention hanging post cards of their first overseas vacation destination on their bathroom mirror so that it would be one of the first things they saw each morning and on the final things on their minds as they went to bed.

Post reminders for yourself in your car, on the bathroom mirror, and on the door of your refrigerator. It is best if you can leave yourself small notes and reminders about your goals in as many locations as you can. This will support you in keeping motivated and focused on attaining your objective while also assisting your unconscious mind in bringing about the results you seek.

5. Seek out support from others in your area.

Although the support of family and friends is crucial, you should also think about other options for help. Books, mentorship, coworkers, life coaching, forums—all of these things may help you while you try to accomplish your objective. Consider WHO can help you stay motivated as well. Can you create an accountability partnership with someone? Do you have a supervisor or co-worker who will be pleased to assist you in hitting your goals?

 I personally feel that it’s very helpful to tell as many people as you can about what you want to do. By telling so many people, it sets in motion the internal need to act consistently with what we say and feel. A word of warning is necessary, though, as it is simple for others to crush your aspirations by casting doubt on your abilities and intentions. In addition to carefully selecting folks who you know will want to be your supporters, you must have the inner strength necessary to keep going in spite of any criticism you may get.

6. Build your inner fortitude.

You alone will ultimately decide whether you maintain motivation and accomplish your objective. Your ideas will influence your actions, which in turn will influence your outcomes. It’s crucial to cultivate a solid sense of inner confidence in your capacity for accomplishment and your capacity for inspiring yourself when you’re in an unproductive frame of mind. How you perceive life will depend on your capacity to see disappointment and failure as chances for further development and distress and emotional upheaval as chances to figure out what you want and need. Reading and listening to books and audios that inspire and encourage you is one of the best methods to develop your inner power. It’s crucial to keep studying if you want to maintain your motivation.

7. Assistance from Ongoing Education.

As cliché as it sounds, it’s true that you can’t grow with what you already know. There will undoubtedly be areas where you need to build knowledge, skills, and competencies to get where you want to go. Become aware of any areas where you need to hone your talents or delegate work to others who can provide what you need to get to your goal.

There is nothing more frustrating than making progress toward a goal only to be halted because you lack the information or abilities necessary to finish it. A lack of planning and self-reflection is sure to stifle your motivation and excitement. Before setting off towards your goal, determine your quit threshold. You know there will be days you feel “off”, there will be people who are cynical and question your motives. Just like preparing for a camping trip, you make a packing list for the environment your heading into. You’re planning ahead to prevent problems that may arise from being ill-prepared. By making your mental packing list of all the things that may cause you to think about quitting, you will be more resilient when those situation arise. If you are committed to improving both your professional and personal life, I advise engaging a mentor or life coach to keep you on track.

Regarding your own personal growth, you should also consider ongoing education. By investing in your own development, you may overcome obstacles swiftly and maintain your motivation. Enroll in an online masterclass, purchase an Audible membership, get your library card, or join an online community that coincides with your goal (training for a 10k, join a running group). 

Success ultimately depends on your ability to maintain motivation while working toward your objectives. I’ve given you seven realistic strategies for maintaining motivation, and I advise you to utilize them all. Some of them, like making a collage, are something you do periodically, while others, like maintaining your personal growth, are things you learn from doing all the time. Your ability to stay motivated will depend on a variety of factors; whatever factors work best for you will change depending on the task at hand and will require continual (fun-filled) discovery.

Did you find this content helpful? If you did, awesome! It helps me when you like or share this content, and hopefully in doing so it can impact someone else as well.

What I’ve shared above is great to get you started on the path to developing a deeper sense of motivation. However, like Zig Zigler says; “Some say that motivation doesn’t last, well neither does bathing which is why we recommend it daily”. A daily mindset on motivation is important- which is why I’m offering a bonus: 8 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Motivation Every Day

Leave a comment below and let me know which of the 7 Strategies above resonates with you. After you’ve submitted your comment, I’ll send you 8 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Motivation Every Day (PDF) as a “thank you”.

In Success- Devin

Do More With Less: Consistency in Prospecting

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

While most sales professionals know that it takes at least five contacts to convert a prospect, the figures show that majority don’t make it past two. That should serve as a strong reminder to any salesperson who is having trouble. Of course, there are a variety of reasons why salespeople fail to follow up with prospects in order to increase their chances of making another happy customer. One of the reasons might be that they have no process in place after they discover a new prospect, they have too many difficult clients, or they are just too preoccupied with following up on too many prospects who waste their time.

However, it appears that the main issue is a lack of a prospecting process. A salesperson should have a method of communicating with their prospects that has been proven. Real estate agents, Financial advisors, and insurance providers that deliver value on a regular basis are excellent examples. It may appear to be a difficult task to remember, but any decent CRM software makes it feasible. Even without a CRM program, with today’s cell phones it’s as simple as telling Siri to set a reminder on your calendar. You may outline the steps you want a prospect to take with the help of good prospecting software. I like to use the W.I.N. method of notation structure in my CRM. List what was discussed, any insights you or the customer gain from the conversation, and based on those insights, what are the best next steps. With the help of a decent CRM software, you can keep things moving along in your pipeline and maintain your prospecting cadence. 

In addition to putting in notes outlining your prospecting efforts, a prospecting cadence that has worked well for me is the 3-2-4 sequence. After every interaction I want to follow-up within three days, over the course of two weeks, I have reached out four times. This has proven to work really well for me. Naturally some prospects may need more contacts, but this is a great rule of thumb for me and following this method will put you ahead of most your competitors. After four contacts and no measurable forward progression on the prospects behalf has been taken my conversations turn more towards disqualifying the customer. 

While consistent prospecting is half the battle having prospects that take up too much of our time or too many prospects who aren’t your target client is still an issue for many sales professionals. One thing that every salesperson should do is clean up their prospect list to identify just those prospects that have a lot of upside potential. You will be effective in bringing in more sales to your organization if you combine this with a strong prospecting process that you can follow.

Below is a link to a slideshare titled: Ultimate Follow-Up Checklist to Boost Sales

Feel free to check it out and keep it handy next time you’re about prospect for your next dream client!

https://www.slideshare.net/secret/xrT0uk14RLqukS

Possibility

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about … like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

  • C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) | Irish writer and scholar

I’ve always loved that thought. It reminds me to think/act/be bolder. It reminds me to keep pushing for truth and the way things could and should be … to ask

“What’s next?”

How much better would our lives be (all of our lives) if more of us woke up each day feeling obligated to making a positive difference in the world … even if it’s only a small difference at times … or just creating a better moment for someone else?

What if more of us stepped out of passivity (meeting expectations, apathy, indifference, “good enough”) and chose the pursuit of better … more often?

I think we all know what would happen … a whole lotta good… and a whole lotta fun.

Shared from InspireYourPeople.com