How To Become a Great Leader

What a great journey we had over the past couple weeks as we looked closely at 21 leadership laws. If you missed these series, you can catch up here.

While you studied the laws at my blog, I had an honor of leading 20+ leaders on their journey to become better leaders in my Better Leadership Mastermind Program. We dove deep, evaluated our focus areas and next steps, took some serious action and I was incredibly happy to see some major progress.

But let’s get back to you.

While reviewing one law after another, you most likely found out that you are better in some than the others. That’s completely fine. None of us is perfect. We all are at a certain place of our personal growth journey. Let’s look at the top 3 principles you need to keep in mind when becoming a great leader.

1. Our leadership level is determined by what we know as well as who we are

Your knowledge, experiences, values, beliefs, even skills can change. Yet, there is a ‘you’ behind all of it that will always remain the same. While looking at leadership during these Leadership Series we’ve learned that there are things we can do, change and improve. But we also discovered that there are things that are engraved in us. They’re unique to us and make us who we are. To become a great leader you need to embrace your uniqueness. One of my favorite assessments is Kolbe A. It’s very different from other assessments out there as it strips down cognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) areas of our minds and shows us how we take action.

2. Your instincts will determine your leadership style

How you lead will be different from how others around you lead. If you want to move from good to great and become a leader who makes an impact, it’s important to understand your instincts and maximize their power in your life. Understanding that we are different is first step. Understanding your strengths is important, but aligning your work and life around your strengths is the next, absolutely crucial step. Is this the missing step in your career, business or life?

3. Working against your instincts will leave you overwhelmed, exhausted, stressed and frustrated

No one can produce on a high level while working against himself. There are times when others tell you how to do stuff. Or they force you to do it their way. Remember, there’s a fine line between people telling you WHAT to do and HOW to do it. You need WHAT. But HOW you need to figure out. It makes me sad to see people who don’t ‘get’ their uniqueness and constantly follow other people’s formulas for success, just to find themselves underachieving, exhausted and miserable. This is why I created my Impact Academy, where I teach individuals how to align their lives, habits and action around their unique strengths and abilities. It’s a great joy to help people just like you to achieve their best results while removing unnecessary stress from their lives. If you’re looking to become a great leader, create your best results and lead your team well, my iAcademy is the best place for you.

4. Get good first!

There’s way too much fluff out there. In this time of instant experts and gurus, I challenge you to get good first. No matter where you are, it’s important that you don’t just jump into teaching others what you haven’t mastered yet. I challenge you to learn, take action, improve and then go out there and change your world. You don’t need to pretend anything to get great contracts and good positions. Just be yourself and be willing to grow. This will help you win trust of those around you. People around you are just as tired of fluff as you are. So choose to not disappoint. Choose to inspire. Walk the walk and share the lessons you’re learning.

If you’re ready to improve your leadership, you might want to check out my Impact Academy, where I support leaders like you on their journey to better leadership and improved results.