Everything You Need to Know about Becoming a Great Leader

Being successful as a leader takes persistence and patience—and the investment of a lot of time and energy.

It takes the willingness to get up day after day, putting in long hours and hard work, navigating the roadblocks and detours as they come.

But it’s so worth it!

Here are 10 simple things to remember—things that can help you become not only a better leader but also a better person.

1. Lead with trust, not fear. Trust is the bond that allows people to follow you; credibility is the foundation of your leadership. When others can trust you, they are open to be inspired by you. 

2. Lead with vision, not dreams. People want to be part of a compelling purpose. When you can paint your vision in such a way that others want to buy into it, you’re growing their capacity to make it into a purposeful and powerful reality.

3. Lead with motivation, not manipulation. Nothing great ever came from telling people what to do. The best leaders inspire us; they empower us and encourage us to do great things.

4. Lead with character, not charisma. People can be born with charisma and be charming to others, but that does not make them an authentic leader. Even if they have tons of charisma, true leaders stay centered on their integrity, ethics, and judgment, not charm.

5. Invest in people, not just profits. The best leadership is cemented in relationships, and the most successful leaders know that caring about people is just as important to their organization’s well-being as making profit.

6. Be a student, not a savant. If you’re acting like a master and talking like an expert, there’s no room for leadership. The best answers—and the best questions—are developed by a smart collaborative team. To lead such a team well, model yourself as a great learner, not someone who thinks they have all the answers.

7. Promote positivity, not self. Positive emotions open hearts and minds, fostering receptiveness and creativity. Positivity makes people more accurate and careful in decision making, more resilient during in stressful times, and more empathetic.

8. Focus on solutions, not problems. Be proactive; inspire people to seek solutions and create success. Focusing on solutions sends a message that are about moving forward, not backward, and that you’re more concerned with the work itself than with bureaucracy.

9. Make your leadership authentic, not augmented. Leaders who take all the credit and believe they accomplish things alone end up standing alone. Leadership is about your authenticity and example. The more credit you give away, the more your own credibility and respect grow. 

10. Lead from your heart, not just your mind. There is no leadership without heart, no trust without character, no character without commitment. Exemplary leaders excel at improving performance because they connect to others with compassion.

To become the most successful leader you can be, to stand out from the rest, you have to embrace all that connects you to yourself and others, to love what you do and the people you lead.

That’s the true heart of great leadership.

Lolly Daskal is dedicated to helping cultivate the right values, vision and culture for individuals and organizations. She is the Founder of Lead From Within, a global leadership and consulting firm.

Lolly has over 30 years of experience and is one of the most sought after executive leadership coaches and leadership consultants worldwide.

She has worked with prestigious clientele including Fortune 500 companies and organizations of all sizes in a wide range of industries, including biomedical, energy, government, pharmaceuticals, technology, banking and budding entrepreneurs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

Here are some recent articles by Lolly Daskal on Inc.com

• "10 Amazing Secrets of Happy and Successful Leaders"
• "The Naked Truth: How To Uncover An Insecure Leader"
• "7 Ways to Unlock Your Hidden Emotional Intelligence"