We established earlier on in this series that to become a leader, you need to influence yourself first before you can be a role model, a person of influence to others. How exactly do you go about this process? Here are seven practical tips that you can readily apply to be an effective leader.

Tip #1 – Read and Study Widely

In today’s day and age, knowledge is in abundance. It’s readily available on the Internet in diverse formats. But your ability to curate information in the context of influencing yourself and others, will help you gather specific insights that are useful while transitioning to a leadership role. Studying widely helps you hone that skill of gleaning useful information.

Tip #2 – Spend Time with Leaders

Not all leaders are inaccessible. Reach out to the ones you admire and see if they can be your mentors. Maybe do an internship under someone you want to emulate. Spending quality time in proximity to great leaders helps you absorb nuances that are hard to observe and attain otherwise. It’s simple – learn from those who have already achieved success.

Tip #3 – Build Mental Toughness

Can you deal with the inconveniences that life throws at you? Do you have the fortitude and resilience to keep going when conditions are not favourable to your plans? As a leader you need to have the self-discipline to stick to what you committed. There’s no shortcut here. You need to stay the path and work really hard.

Tip #4 – Develop a Sense of Competitiveness

The will to succeed is paramount. You need to have that energy within you to strive for winning. As a leader you need to feel that internally, and also display it externally in order to motivate your people. Go ahead and observe any good leader. They are out there to succeed in the mission, to achieve!

Tip #5 – Be Completely Loyal

Any relationship, professional or personal, requires loyalty to stand the test of time. Are you someone your people can count on? Someone who will be there for them no matter what. Develop that loyalty to your mission and to your team.

Tip #6 – Have High Energy and Enthusiasm

Observe any leader that you admire. You’ll sense this high energy around them. We’re not talking about physical energy alone. This is an energy born out of conviction regarding their goal and mission. That passion should be visible in the way you conduct yourself.

Tip #7 – Take Accountability

Last, but not the least, you need to take full responsibility for all outcomes – good and bad. Even better, when things work out in your favour, give praise to the team. When things don’t, be ready to take the blame, irrespective of whose fault it is. A strong leader needs to stand the ground and take ownership for whatever has happened. You will be respected for this.

One thing is certain. If you follow these tips in your day-to-day life over the course of the next one year, you are sure to be a transformed individual – someone whom people would want to follow and emulate, in short, a leader.

That brings us to the end of this blog series on leadership with your coach Manoj Radhakrishna. If you’ve gone through all three posts, you would have a fair understanding of what you need to do in order to become a better leader. Start implementing all that you’ve learnt and hone your leadership and organizational skills.