Leaders are people who know who they are and have taken the time to become self defined. They have developed and chosen to adhere to a definition of themselves that is realistic and doable.
A leader must make the choice to develop the necessary skills and traits that will eventually lead to the success he or he chooses. So, how do you develop those traits? What steps can you take that will help you become a more well defined individual? There are some questions below that will help you become better defined. They are not the entire answer to your self definition, but they give you an honest start to becoming what you truly want.
Who do you want to be?
What do you want to do with your entire life? If you had $1,000,000,000, what would you do with your life? Is there a direction you would like to pursue, but never have? Go for it!! Don’t let your past dictate your future. Be who YOU want to be. Do what you want to accomplish. You will be much more effective if you are doing what you love.
Does who you want to be align with your values?
I am always amazed when people come to me that are disappointed in their job, business or career that completely is in contrast with whom they say they WANT to be. Of course you are not happy! You are being incongruent with yourself. The only person you are fooling is yourself. Get in tune with yourself. Define yourself according to your values, NOT according to what career currently pays the bills. Look to the future you are creating and moving towards and you will be happier in the path that you are currently taking. You know where you are going. Now is just a stepping stone or a tool to get you where you want.
What can you truly accomplish?
Are you being realistic with yourself? Can you truly accomplish what you want to be? If you cannot sing, should you try to be a great singer like Luciano Pavarotti or Michael Jackson? If you are not of an athletic inclination, should you try to be Michael Jordan or Lebron James? If you are not creative should you try becoming a great fiction writer like J. K Rollins or Terry Brooks? The point is that each of us has some natural talents. We should learn to develop those talents and find the career or business that can best make use of those strengths
What are your concrete plans to accomplish this?
I cannot stress how important it is to create concrete plan or goals to accomplish your dreams, goals and desires. But if you want to be a leader, it is absolutely CRITICAL for you to set those to the written page and to daily reference those plans. There is very few builders that would build a building of any consequence without referring to written plans. There are few musicians who will improvise without at least knowing what key and chord progressions are coming. There are few boat captains that will leave port without at least a general direction of where they are going. Why should our LIFE DIRECTION which is much more important warrant any less critical attention. Well, it shouldn’t
When will you begin?
This is where most fail. Nike got it right when they trademarked Just Do It. You have to start the process. You will find errors along the way. Make adjustments and keep going. A rocket is off course 90+% of the time as it heads to the moon, but it gets where it’s going through constant adjustment. You, your career or your business will be no different. Move, adjust and analyze.
The real key to a leader being defined is the desire to improve. If you are constantly looking for ways to improve you will find the keys to success in your search. Some will take longer than others, but work first on yourself and then on your tasks. Define yourself to take advantage of knowing your strengths and challenges to better equip you and those whom you choose to work with to accomplish the things that are needed in your life.
I look forward to hearing many stories from each of you on your definition and your dreams.
