How to become a leader? 3 effective exercises to become a leader and develop leadership skills

Today, competition has penetrated into all spheres of life. There are always several applicants for such positions as class leader at school, group leader at the institute, squad leader at a camp, head of a department, or head of an enterprise. And they usually choose not gray and downtrodden mice, although they are efficient, but a real leader, a helmsman who can lead people in the right direction and take responsibility in the most problematic situations. This is honorable, authoritative, pleases your inner pride and, as a rule, is a good step up for your career. But how to become a leader to achieve success?

Who is a leader?

A leader is a person with authority in a group of people, a team, or a team. The leader motivates the team to complete tasks and achieve certain results, strives for personal success, the success of a project or group.

A striking example of leadership is Natalya Fefilova, development director of 404 Group. Natalya told us about her development as a leader.

Natalya created a department whose employees were actively lured away by competitors in the market. Having a note in a resume that a person worked for a company became the best recommendation when applying for a new job.

In difficult, crisis conditions in the company, Natalya managed to retain the team, unite employees (and clients) and survive for 1.5 years. Clients and employees literally became advocates for the brand because Natalya interacted with them personally a lot. In the absence of a vision from business owners, she came up with a model of “small visions” to give the team the vision for the very future that was needed.

Leadership Territory

If a person wants to become a leader in a team, he needs to decide on the territory in which to do this. This could be a school, a separate class, a work team, a student group. Also take into account the nuances:

1. What are you? If you are in school, the goal is to become class leader. If at work, you need to show your best side and achieve the authority of a team leader. This is a prerequisite for a leader to be able to influence and influence subordinate people.
2. How to achieve leadership authority in a team. You should take initiative and show your desire to achieve your goals and objectives. Noticing this, higher authorities will appoint such an employee as a manager at work. In an educational institution, this prerogative belongs to the student body.
3. The desire to become a team leader should be natural, not feigned. You can notice this by the confidence and special energy that a person emits.

By clearly fulfilling the assigned tasks, taking these points into account, you can always become a leader - number one in the team.

What qualities should a leader have?

The strengths of a leader are:

• Confidence . A leader is always confident in his own abilities and in critical situations he acts boldly and decisively.
• Charisma . A charismatic leader is able to make a strong impression on others, charm and inspire success.
• Coolness . The ability to remain cool in any situation is one of the main advantages of a leader.
• Self-control. A leader must be able to withstand mood swings and be able to pull himself together.
• Persistence . In achieving goals, perseverance and perseverance are a plus for a leader.
• Determination . A true leader must be decisive and capable of taking reasonable risks. The strong qualities of a leader help him achieve great success in life.

Every person, even a leader, has his own weaknesses. For example, excessive self-criticism or “delusions of grandeur.” The main thing is to recognize your weaknesses in time and start working on them.

Examples of developmental exercises

Who am I?

Write down 10 truthful answers, starting each with the pronoun “I”.

Analyze the answers for compliance with leadership qualities, and determine what prevents you from being (or becoming) a leader. If you have described yourself, for example, as a quiet person, think about how to fix it and work in this direction.

Dialogue with the inner critic

If you are too self-critical and think that nothing will work out for you, learn to object to the “inner voice”. Write down everything you doubt. Re-read what you wrote down and try to make a decision without thinking that it might be wrong.

Success Diary.

At the end of the day, celebrate your successes. You should write down at least 3 positive things, even if the day is not good. Exercise develops positive thinking and provides additional motivation.

Opinions of others

Ask friends and family to list your strengths and weaknesses. Let them answer honestly why they respect you, and what character traits or habits of yours irritate them. Record this interview. Read the notes calmly, because the description was given by your close people who love you, no matter what. Exercise helps get rid of internal fears, discomfort, and motivates you to start working on yourself.

"Learning from others"

Write the names of 3 famous people with whom you personally know. This could be a manager, an athlete or a scientist.

Give each a rating (for example, on a 5-point system).

Give each person a description as a leader.

From their inherent qualities, select 3 that you would like to develop in yourself.

Development of motivation

Think about your best achievement in school, sports or other activity. What did you do better than others that influenced your victory?

Try to clearly answer how you managed to become a winner.

Imagine explaining this to other people so they can improve their results.

This exercise can be performed several times for different achievements.

What does a leader do?

A leader always clearly sees the goal and plans the optimal stages to achieve it. He analyzes and soberly assesses the current situation. Motivates, inspires and controls the team. A leader knows how to admit his guilt for wrong actions. The leader works on mistakes and looks for ways to resolve them.

A striking example of effective leadership is Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. He was a tough and demanding leader. Jobs was obsessed with making the best products and bringing them to perfection. He paid attention to the smallest details in everything. Steve Jobs charged those around him with enthusiasm. Created an atmosphere of cohesion in the team, where each subordinate contributed to achieving goals. He was one of the world's outstanding leaders.

Tip #1: Don't be afraid of not knowing something.

The important thing to remember is to maintain good posture, eye contact, and control your gestures. You should project self-confidence and believe in your ability to take your team from point A to point B. Additionally, you should not be afraid or afraid of situations in which you have to admit your mistakes.

It’s worth imagining a situation where the team leader says “I don’t know,” looks down and gets worried. Such a person is susceptible to the fact that the role of leader will soon pass to someone else, as people will feel uncertainty and fear. Now let’s imagine that the person says: “I don’t know the answer at the moment, but I will look into this question and return to this topic a little later.” Surely this behavior will allow you to maintain your position as a leader. But the feeling of fear of defeat can play a bad joke.

It is important to remember that not knowing something does not make a person a bad leader. In contrast, ineffective leaders refuse to admit when they are wrong.

What skills and abilities does a leader have?

Here are a few key leadership skills:

1. Ability to persuade and inspire . It is one of the key qualities of a leader. A leader must be able to inspire the team and convince them that they can achieve any goal.
2. The ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them . By the way, a leader is responsible not only for making the right decision, but also for his team.
3. Skills for setting and achieving goals. In the endless race for success, it is very important to discern the desired goal, develop a strategy and achieve results.
4. The ability to concentrate on what is most important. Concentrating on the problem and its solution, and not being distracted by other tasks, is an important skill for a leader. Without this, you can forget about success in all matters.
5. Listening skills. Also, the basis for success is the ability to listen, hear and interact with the team.

These skills are essential to becoming a leader. Therefore, try to develop them as much as possible.

Stages of development

Barriers are not all the obstacles you will encounter on your way. Do you want to be an effective leader who never knows defeat? In this case, you will have to go through 5 stages of formation. If you get stuck and stop at one thing without reaching the end, consider that the goal has not been achieved.

Zero level

For myself. Learn to trust yourself, take responsibility for what happens in your life, manage your own emotions.

I level

Micro level. Become a presenter in a group of 3-5 friends. They must recognize your opinions and trust you to have the final say in decisions. Learn to restore order in such a micro-team.

Level II

Situational leader. Learn to take responsibility in problematic situations. For example, when the boss is not there, but you need to receive high-ranking guests. Take a risk and organize their reception yourself at the proper level.

Level III

Golden mean. Gain respect in a team of at least 10 people. Become an authority so they will listen to you. At this stage, you need to become an opinion leader - generate ideas and convince others of their common benefit. They will follow you - the goal has been achieved.

IV level

Macro level, in the team. Set a goal to take a leadership position in an organization with several departments.

So, you know what leadership qualities to develop. We are psychologically prepared to overcome barriers along the way. The stages on the path of self-development have been outlined. Now is the time to move from theory to practice.

How to form and develop leadership qualities?

Developing leadership skills is a long and persistent process. It requires constant work and self-control.

To develop and form leadership qualities, you need to adhere to several rules:

Rule #1: Plan your activities daily. The most important condition in achieving the intended goal is to correctly set, distribute tasks and time for their implementation. Carefully write down goals, thoughts, strategies on paper. In the evening, make a detailed plan for the day and try to stick to it.

Rule #2: Stay calm. A leader must always control his emotions. In important matters, you cannot cut from the shoulder. You need to try to remain calm and make decisions thoughtfully. During a stressful situation, try to breathe slowly, taking a deep breath in and out. Have you calmed down? Now you can think about a solution to the problem.

Rule #3: Be responsible. The leader is responsible for the correct setting and implementation of the goal. Therefore, make sure that the tasks assigned to the team are completed.

Rule #4: Watch your image. Attractive appearance, good manners, posture - all this plays a major role on which the relationship between the leader and the team is built. Straighten your shoulders, straighten your back. During conversations, look your interlocutor in the eyes and remain calm. Watch your appearance. Remember that an unkempt person with disheveled hair does not inspire any confidence.

You can develop the listed qualities yourself or turn to professionals for help and take, for example, image courses or public speaking courses .

Choice of profession

In dreams of leadership, many miss the moment of career guidance. But who you work for can play against you in your desire. Librarian, accountant (even the chief), archivist, forester, clerk, repairman, hairdresser... Without a doubt, these are professions worthy of respect. And yes, you can always grow your career and become a director of a library or archive. But, as psychologists say, all these specialties are too calm, with a minimal level of stress. Therefore, they are not the most suitable field for cultivating leadership qualities.

Here is a list of professions ideal for self-development and leader education:

• advocate;
• judge;
• manager;
• director;
• teacher;
• administrator;
• creative director;
• clergyman;
• insurance agent;
• psychologist;
• military;
• trainer.

All these professions provide a fairly high level of stress, which in moderate doses spurs and gives impetus to self-development. They imply career growth and, accordingly, are fertile ground for leadership.

Tips and tricks for future leaders

Very often, a future leader does not know where to begin his development. This gives rise to the fear that nothing will work out, and that in general it was a bad idea.

We suggest starting your leadership journey by following these basic recommendations:

1. Set SMART goals. Many people fail because they set vague goals and don’t know exactly what they want to achieve. Set yourself an exact goal. Consider the timing and methods of its implementation. Mentally imagine the result and write it down on paper.
2. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Fear of the unknown often prevents you from taking the first step. Learn to let go of fear. Let's say you are afraid of speaking in front of an audience. Set a goal for yourself to get rid of this phobia. Determine what is difficult for you in this situation and make a plan for implementing the action. For example, give a short presentation in front of colleagues. An important attribute of a leader is the ability to overcome one’s fears. Success can only be achieved through trial and error, overcoming uncertainty, fear of change and failure.
3. Engage in self-development. Do you want to become an unrivaled leader? Start attending leadership development courses, read blogs, newsletters of successful people and learn from their experiences. Learn a foreign language and train your memory. Expand your horizons.
4. Speak publicly more often. Gaining trust and impressing others with the right, well-spoken language is an important leadership skill. To develop these qualities, you can attend public speaking courses.

You can, of course, not take any courses and study on your own, but by learning from the experts in your field, you can achieve success faster. Remember, nothing is impossible. The main thing is your desire and perseverance.

Barriers

You need to understand that becoming a leader is not at all as easy as it might seem at first glance. Many will fail along this path. Often - only because they are not prepared for the pitfalls. You need to know your enemies by sight - psychologists name 5 main barriers that occur in the life of every person and prevent some of them from taking an authoritative position as a leader.

Lack or clarity of goals

If your life doesn't have meaning, people will never follow you. This gives a feeling of an inner core, which others also intuitively feel and begin to respect a person who knows exactly what he is striving for. But remember: becoming a leader is not a goal at all, but only one of the tasks on the way to achieving your main dream.

Impatience

Excessive impulsiveness, the desire to have everything at once, eccentricity - believe me, these are not leadership qualities at all. Cultivate patience and regularity. Sometimes you need to take small steps, but - every day, in order to reach the final goal, and not jump by leaps and bounds - there is a high risk of running out of steam at the very beginning of the distance or falling into the abyss.

Comfort zone

In the process of working on yourself, you will have to leave your usual comfort zone, take risks, communicate with unpleasant people, meet new things, and not be afraid to be a pioneer.

Internal complexes

One day, on your path to success, you may meet a person who will hit you where it hurts most. It could be anything: a flaw in appearance (because of which you have been complex since childhood), mistakes of the past (who among us has not made them), psychological trauma. Be prepared to fight back, otherwise you will be knocked off your pedestal immediately.

Envy

Do you think everyone will be delighted with your leadership habits? Authority, career, prestigious post - everything you want to achieve can cause hostility and envy of others. And often - family and friends.

People who are psychologically prepared for such barriers on their path will be able to overcome them. Perhaps not the first time. They stumbled, stood up, and began to overcome the barrier again.

5 best books to help you become a leader

• "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell . The author questions the phrase “Leaders are born, not made.” In each chapter, the author reveals the essence of the laws of leadership and, using the example of others, shows how you can apply them in your life.
• "Turn Your Ship Around" by David Marquet. The book was written by a nuclear submarine captain. In it, he talks about his experience of changing the mechanism of interaction between crew members and overcoming any obstacles to the cherished goal.
• "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey . An international bestseller for people seeking to develop their potential. The author says that every person can overcome any obstacles by improving themselves and becoming the best version of themselves.
• "On the limit. A week without self-pity” Eric Bertrand. The author’s main idea is to live just 7 days at the limit of your capabilities. In the book, he talks about the intensive program you need to follow to become the best version of yourself. After completing the intensive course, many obstacles will seem like nothing to you.
• “Leader’s Charisma”, Radislav Gandapas. A well-known leadership specialist in Russia tells in his book how you can develop the ability to influence people, motivate, inspire and captivate with a common goal.

3 best motivational films for leaders:

• "Wall Street". The film tells the story of a young broker and his stunning ups and downs. He is ready to do anything to achieve success in his career. The film will be useful for those who are unsure of themselves and are afraid of making a mistake. Remember, mistakes build character.
• "Harvard Bum." The film is based on real events. The heroine, who grew up in a family of drug addicts, is trying to get out from the very bottom of her life and she succeeds. She finds the strength to get up and move forward. If you feel like nothing is working out and you're on the verge of despair, watch this movie. Perhaps after watching, you will change your point of view and begin to act.
• "The Pursuit of Happyness". The main character's life is going downhill. The wife left, leaving her little son, and was evicted from the apartment. He gets his dream job - in a trading company. True, I'm still an intern. Constant malnutrition, lack of sleep, spending the night in the toilet and free hostels. He endured everything. He built a business and became a successful millionaire. This film will be useful for those who have lost faith in victory when faced with insurmountable obstacles.

The heroes of these films did not give up. They fought for their destiny, despite hunger, fatigue and failure. There is a lot to learn from them. At different times in your life, when it seems like everything is lost and you can’t achieve anything, watch these films. They will help you cope with despondency and charge you with motivation.

Learn self-control

You can't control people if you don't control yourself. For example, when a project deadline is running out, everything falls apart because you don’t know how to manage your time and yourself. You snap at the team, even though it’s your own fault. Therefore, learn to control your emotions even in difficult situations.

What will you get?

Strong nerves, a cool head and a reputation as a collected leader.

Creating a favorable climate in the team

Many people focus exclusively on their own authority, the desire to demonstrate their “I”.

You should not push your own interests under pressure; it is important to be able to hear your subordinates, since they are capable of generating interesting ideas just as well as a leader.

Listen to the view from the outside, find out more often the point of view of your subordinates. Then they will feel free, will be able to enjoy the work process and will respect their Boss. You can introduce the practice of anonymous writing or the ability to present proposals in electronic format. In this way, it is possible to stimulate the work activity of subordinates and instill in them a desire to work for the benefit of the common cause.

Keeping your distance

Familiarity has never been welcomed in business; the manager must keep his distance. Winning the love and respect of the team through warm communication and friendships is the simplest, but not the most effective method.

It is important to be able to achieve favor in more honest ways:

• Be able to admit your own mistakes. The leader is also a simple person, he tends to make mistakes, so it is important not to shift responsibility for failures to other people;
• It is necessary to be consistent and clearly state your train of thought. There must be mutual understanding between the manager and employees;
• Familiarity should not be allowed. Of course, it is necessary to constantly communicate with subordinates and be able to find an approach to everyone. Informal relationships with the team do not in any way affect the company’s productivity.

Creating favorable working conditions

Rational management of the labor process depends on the use of modern technology. Automation of manual labor can increase a company’s productivity and bring it to a new level of development. You can actively introduce electronic computer technology, as well as modern office equipment. In addition, there are additional tools to improve the work process:

1. Strict compliance with all sanitary and hygienic standards;
2. Availability of a workplace for each employee;
3. Arranging the office space with all necessary furniture and equipment;
4. Full provision of employees with all office supplies;
5. Effective organization of work schedule, alternating with rest.

The performance of the team is influenced by many factors: location of the room, lighting, temperature, humidity, etc.

Strictness

One who can motivate a work team to work effectively can become a good leader.

How to do this correctly?

1. It is worth getting into the habit of calling the entire working staff for a holiday lunch once every couple of months. A completely effective method to find out a little more about your colleagues and win them over;
2. Arrange individual receptions, publicly encourage the most successful employees;
3. Always reward those at the forefront of the work process. Even a small bonus can encourage employees to perform their duties better.

Mastery of the intricacies of the work process

To become a good leader, you need to constantly develop, keep abreast of the latest innovations related to the field of activity in which you are involved.

To do this, you need to attend business trainings, take part in online conferences, watch training videos, be interested in new software products, etc.

An excellent analyst knows how to plan his own day as efficiently as possible and focus employees’ attention on the distribution of working time, increasing labor efficiency. This approach allows you to focus on the work process and effectively organize not only your own work, but also the employees of the enterprise.