Become a Respected Leader

4 Keys to Effective Leadership

1.) Make Decisions. You have to be a decision maker to be an effective leader. Think about it. Nothing gets done when no decisions are made. Decision making may not seem important, but without the willingness to make decisions, a person cannot be a leader. Part of being a decision maker is setting definite goals. A leader who has no goals would be comparable to shooting a gun straight into the air. It may hit something but probably not; most likely it will be a complete waste. To be an effective leader you have to set realistic, but tough goals; it is best to set long term and short term goals, then work hard to achieve them. Goals give you something you can look forward to achieving. Once you achieve the goals you set, you should congratulate yourself, and then start toward the next goal, motivated by your success with your previous goal. With goals, come motivation, and therefore successful leadership.

2.) Be Adaptable.

You also have to be adaptable. Adaptability is important because of the confusion of the world, and the frequent unexpected occurrences in our lives. A person can come up with a seemingly flawless plan, but almost any plan could possibly go wrong. This is where being able to adapt comes in handy. The way a person reacts to unexpected, or negative experiences is a great indicator of how effective they are as a leader. The key is to stay positive, and to work through the adversity. Even with flawless plans, someone is almost always unhappy, and something almost always causes some sort of trouble. With the ability to adapt an effective leader will easily overcome the adversity with a positive attitude, which will usually cause more people to follow them, and more problems to be solved.

The definition of adaptability can be easily misconstrued. There is a significant difference between a person who avoids problems, and a person who takes on problems. An effective leader is able to rise up in adversity, leading people through it, while a person who simply avoids trouble will usually just stay out of the way, therefore not solving any problems. To lead effectively you have to solve the problems no matter what gets in your way.

3.) Unite the Followers. To lead well, you have to be able to unite people in difficult times. The ability to build unity in difficult times is important because difficult times are when success counts the most. Men like Winston Churchill who rose up during the world wars, displayed amazing leadership skills, by uniting the people of their countries together during the extremely trying times. Leaders move people from selfish concerns to serving the common good. Leaders must be able to stay strong, and unite the people around them even when difficulties come

4.) Be Persuasive.

Finally, persuasion is an important quality of an effective leader. Without persuasion the leader obviously has no followers. An effective leader has his goals set, and persuades others to go with his goals. There is a huge difference between a person who is in a management position, and someone people follow willingly. The most effective leaders are the ones people choose to follow. Authority and leadership may go hand-in-hand, but they are two different concepts.
    You can develop into a persuasive person if you work toward it. To develop into a persuasive person, take on tasks relevant to your main mission. Gain access to critical information knowing that “knowledge is power.” Develop expertise in important tasks to your mission, while also supporting and mentoring other people with their tasks. Doing these things leads to people respecting you. Would you rather have respect or authority? Effective leaders are respected.
    Some people argue that simply having authority is effective enough. In fact, many fathers live according to the “do it because I’m your father” principle. Although people will listen to those with more authority than them, they will not always be happy about it, and will jump at the first opportunity to escape that authority. Well respected leader’s followers will be happy to follow them even when it isn’t required. It is best to “develop influence beyond authority.”