What does it take to be an extraordinary leader? Are they born with it or made?
When it comes to leadership, most people concentrate on what you do. That is only half of it. It starts with your “Why”. You have to know your “why” because what you do is not meaningful without it.
To go from ordinary to extraordinary as a leader requires you be true to who you are and why you do what you do. Here are some steps to becoming an extraordinary leader.
Be Transparent:
People relate to people that are real. Our skills, strengths, and accomplishments are all great but we also have weaknesses, flaws, and made mistakes. Trust and credibility is built by being honest and coming from integrity being who you are, which leads to better connections with others over time. Being transparent conveys your true values and principles which reinforce your character. Being true to your values and principles attracts others with similar values and principles that lead to more interdependent relationships with others.
Focus on Process Leads to Desired Results:
How you think leads to better clarity. It is through clarity you can be more decisive. When decisive you can take massive action. Results are a byproduct of the process starting with why you do what you do. What you do is tied to outcomes fueled by expectations that often go unfulfilled. This leads to codependent behavior which prevents you from being extraordinary leader.
Why you do it understands that results are a byproduct of the process. It starts with a growth mindset. It is the ability to understand that your abilities as a leader are developed over time through experience, trials, and tribulation. Your innate skills and talent alone are not enough. A growth mindset allows you as a leader to focus in the moment with the task at hand. Each task leads to another and over time to your desired results. It also compels people around you to find within them to take responsibility and accountability to do their part. This leads to a interdependent environment where desired results through the process can be achieved even through major setbacks and challenges. An extraordinary leader sees challenges as opportunities going forward to learn from as part of the process. It is applied knowledge in motion. To go from ordinary to extraordinary you need to get comfortable with discomfort. A growth mindset must become part of your success foundation. Extraordinary leaders actively seek challenging assignments for growth and development.
Must be Confident:
As stated, skills and your talent can make you an ordinary leader. but being extraordinary requires being confident in yourself and others. This is also part of the process discussed above. It requires daily habits and disciplines that get to the root cause of limited beliefs to resolve them. Two habits that can free you over time from limited beliefs are meditation and journaling. Your subconscious mindset has the ability to communicate to your conscious mindset when meditating and journaling daily over time. These habits over time become a pattern that creates the solution to your success foundation. They provide an extraordinary leader the ability to be present and more focused embracing the process toward desired results. These habits lead one from limited to limitless beliefs that raise your level of self-confidence. Others are attracted to confident people that lead to better results as part of the process.
Display Empathy and Kindness:
Extraordinary leaders know pleasing or enabling others leads to codependent behavior. Doing for others only does not lead to desired results. It is the ability to be the example for others that empowers them to take responsibility and accountability with their roles as part of the process. They come from empathy and kindness but know when to establish boundaries that offset codependent behavior.
Embrace Risk:
Extraordinary leaders are decisive and take action. This means taking calculated risks when it comes to innovation and other important changes in business. They are not afraid to fail as failure is part of the process that leads to desired results. They inspire others to do the same and come out of their comfort zone to be your best and not the best. Winning teams are built on being interdependent where communication is specific and concise while others fully understand each other’s role. They are equipped emotionally and logically to take risks that may position them better going forward.
Establishes Ongoing Trust:
Trust is ongoing. To be sustainable it is imperative extraordinary leaders be transparent daily coming from integrity, honestly, being ethical, and kind to others. Trust not only builds stronger relationships with others but also sustains them. It develops extraordinary leaders at every level whose actions and words are consistent with their principles and values.
To your health & prosperity,
Christopher Salem
