Leaders are Built Not Born – Here’s How

When we see someone at the top of their game, whether it is a sports star, a political leader or a business icon, we imagine that this person was born with all of the natural skills and qualities to lead. This is hardly ever the case. Instead we are seeing the result of long process of honing a set of skills until the person is an expert in executing them. Along the way, the person came up against and got past failures and disappointments that ultimately strengthened him or her and helped create the leader you see in front of you. In short, leaders like Lloyd Claycomb II are built, not born and here are the qualities they have acquired.

2137729430_11b29f9164_b

Infallible Work Ethic

The building of a successful leader begins with an overwhelming work ethic which cannot be put aside for any reasons. In life there is always going to be a set of distractions and reasons why you cannot do something and leaders learn to not let these issues sidetrack them from accomplishing what they set out to do or pull them from the hard work required to get important things done. This will mean you will have to make great sacrifices. While others might be out enjoying themselves having fun or building a family, you might have to be working all the time and pushing off until a later time serious personal relationships. Similarly you will have to get others to adopt this same way of thinking. It is not easy, but it is necessary and all leaders have acquired this thinking.

Unshakable Commitment to Honesty and Integrity

One of the hardest thing to do as a leader is to be honest, yet honesty may be the most important quality for a leader. Honesty requires a leader to face what the truth is and to deal with things based on this truth rather than circumstances that do not exist. In getting to the truth what always happens is there will be a need for self-reflection and admittance of fault. A decision may have been made that cause a failure or a set-back. That decision may have been made by someone in management, and you as a leader may be three levels away from the entire incident. But in the end, you bear a responsibility and in realizing and admitting this you begin to grow and gain an understanding of what leadership really is about.

Leadership is about you taking the credit when it all goes right and the blame when any of it goes wrong. This approach is counterintuitive to many people and feels like they are being forced to accept responsibility for the shortcomings of others. However the real way to look at it is that you as the leader built the organization and so anything that happens, does so because of you. This perspective is at the same time empowering and scary, but it builds character and helps to transform you into a leader.

Able to Embrace the Speed of Change

We live in a business environment today where change happens constantly and those who cannot adapt to this type of environment will not succeed. This speed of change cannot be slowed it can only be appreciated and adapted to in order to thrive. Because of this, a business leader must design his organization so that it can adapt quickly and be prepared to adapt again just as quickly. This strategy can seem like you are only managing chaos and at times that will be the case, but if you can position your organization correctly in relationship to todays speed of business, you will be rewarded with faster and greater success that was possible an only short time ago. The key here is to have the key members of your organization stay abreast of all the goings on in your business and other related businesses. Additionally you need to be aware of both the technologies and regulations that are in any way related to what you want to accomplish. So embrace the speed of change and all that it means and it will make you a great leader.