How to develop leadership qualities? The answer to this question is of interest to many people, since for most, acquiring the appropriate skills will be necessary not only for work, but also for Everyday life. The development of leadership skills will lead to the fact that all incoming difficulties can be successfully resolved without resorting to the help of outsiders.

Who is a leader and why should he develop in this direction?

We need to start with the fact that a leader is a person who can lead a team. We must not forget that the role of the manager in the overall production process is extremely large. Ignorance of the principles can lead to decreased performance, which is why it is so important to understand the theoretical and practical aspects.

It is necessary to consider a leader as a person who can fully manage his own life, and not limply go with the flow. Of course, developing certain qualities in yourself is not so easy, but the results from their implementation can be pleasantly surprising.

The purpose of a leader in the minds of many people is surrounded by an aura of uncertainty. To many it may seem simple, but the results are achieved on their own. In fact, a leader is a role that every employee would like to try on, believing that his decisions could lead the company to stunning results. The work of a manager is complex and responsible, and therefore it is not suitable for everyone.

The development of leadership qualities will be useful to everyone, primarily because a person begins to develop a different character. He gains self-confidence, he manages to easily get out from under oppression stressful situations, and life begins to fill with new colors. What can you do to make leadership development quick and enjoyable?

Proactivity is everything

Proactivity is one of the main things and it implies the ability to independently overcome surrounding circumstances and that will be appropriate in the current situation. You must constantly tell yourself that life is easy, and all the difficulties that arise must be solved or put up with.

Management skills involve taking responsibility for all the things that happen in life. If you are constantly tired at work and when you come home you start arguing with your loved ones, then you need to look for the root cause in yourself.

How to become more active?

The task of every manager is to solve problems only through their own behavioral reactions, without blaming their employees. If you see that the secretary constantly forgets about an important call, you need to have a conversation with him. If there is no result, you can safely fire him. We need to think about how to rise above the current situation and change our behavioral reactions. Sometimes only one thing is required from a manager - to find the irritant and promptly eliminate it.

Constantly proving to yourself that the world is unfair, the situation will not change. You just need to try to take some action to help get out of this “crisis”. Of course, many attempts will not bring the desired result, but the indescribable feeling that life is under control will stimulate further achievements.

Correct goal setting

The life of a leader is filled with various activities. You can notice that he is constantly busy with something, but this busyness is aimed at achieving a specific goal. Of course, they can be aimed at obtaining benefits of a general and global nature. Ask yourself the following questions and get conclusions:

1. Why do I need what I do?
2. What benefit will the end goal bring?
3. Are my actions helpful to others?

Asking a manager what he or she is doing can provide specific information about the current goal. In the future, this can protect you from ineffective actions that arise both at work and in your personal life. Every little thing will make a big difference.

The development of leadership qualities is impossible without the ability to correctly set goals and fulfill one’s own promises. This is what distinguishes a manager from an ordinary employee. Let all promises become goals, the achievement of which is extremely necessary.

How to set a goal correctly?

In order to determine the list of priority areas of activity, you need to answer the question: “What will the achieved goal bring me?” Before you start doing anything, you need to ask yourself a question and discuss it with your colleagues. Despite the fact that many decisions of a manager cannot be disputed, there are always cases when an outside opinion protects against mistakes.

The less unnecessary there is, the more space there will be for other things. Some workers are intimidated by the word “purpose” because it implies special importance and global nature. If today the main goal in life has not appeared, there is no exact direction of movement, you can ask yourself the question: “will this action bring me happiness?” For many people, happiness is a universal goal that they strive for throughout their lives.

We must not forget that phrases such as “I don’t know how to do this” or “what happens if something goes wrong?” they just kill leadership abilities. Any ignorance must be compensated by expert opinion. By asking a simple question, you can reduce the number of unnecessary points in your plan.

The problem of an inexperienced manager is that he quite often agrees to trivial requests from his colleagues and superiors, realizing that they themselves could do everything. If, due to your busy schedule, it is impossible to provide assistance, you should give simple advice and refer you to a competent person.

The work of a leader is related to the correct setting of priorities. The fact is that momentary desires can conflict with main goal life, but this cannot be allowed. Once your priorities have been set, you can create a rough idea of ​​your activities that should be reflected in the plan.

Where to look for responsibility?

Of course, every person must take responsibility for own life, not forgetting all the words spoken and promises made. When situations occur in life that remain beyond the control of your will, you still need to accept responsibility.

All initiatives taken by the manager must be put forward responsibly. Help may be needed at any time, but control over the situation should remain with you. For example, when suggesting a trip to a lake or river, you need to think through all the little things in advance, starting with the weather forecast and ending with things rented. When delegating part of your task to someone, you need to prepare for the fact that responsibility will still remain with you.

Newness in life

As practice shows, the most interesting and promising solutions can only be found outside the “comfort zone”. This term has gained great popularity today and means going beyond the ordinary, into an uncomfortable environment. Doing something you've never done before, trying something that used to make your knees shake, can speed up the process of personal improvement.

When a person is offered a new activity that promises certain benefits and prospects for growth, one should not hesitate and start it. Fear should become an assistant on the way to the goal. The manager’s task is to learn to turn off the center in his head that will be responsible for activating fears.

A suitable offer may never come, and therefore you need to constantly show initiative. Desires must be fulfilled, regardless of the number of fears and other barriers.

Further development is impossible without quality communication

Communication leads to creation useful network contacts – people who can always come to the leader’s aid. Each interlocutor valuable resource who can convey his professionalism and answer your question. In addition, communication helps to get rid of various fears and social pressures that hinder development in a leadership direction.

When starting communication, you need to ask the person about his mood and well-being. Every little thing will play a big role and this should not be forgotten. On one of your free days, you need to set aside time to communicate with school friends and girlfriends, as well as find contact with those with whom you have lost contact due to your busy schedule. No one knows what a new friendship or renewal of an old one may lead to.

Benefit for everyone

When talking about leadership specifics, we must always remember that such people constantly strive to find solutions that would suit several parties at once. The American “win-win” business model will be effective for everyone. By establishing close relationships, ongoing cooperation can be strengthened.

During communication, you should try to take the place of your interlocutor and acquire all possible information on this issue. There is no need to try to force your opponent to accept an option that will only benefit you. Excessive rigidity can negatively affect future cooperation.

Learning to make mutually beneficial decisions is not always easy, since putting yourself in the shoes of your interlocutor is not always possible. As soon as an insoluble situation appears that does not promise anything good, you need to change your current tactics of behavior. After the process is slightly modified, you can look at the current picture from a different angle.

Everyday life is impossible without enthusiasm, and therefore every leader should try to charge not only himself, but also the surrounding colleagues with positivity. By enjoying work, you can see an improvement in the mood of each employee.

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Leadership skills– an excellent assistant both in work and in everyday life. After all, they allow you not only to successfully solve all the difficulties that arise, but also to look at the world differently in general.

Today, together with Passion.ru, we are looking into methods for developing leadership qualities.

1. Who is a leader and why do we need leadership qualities?

A leader (from English lead - to lead) is a person who is able to lead. Today we will look at leadership as it applies to our lives as women. Let's consider a leader as a person who “leads” his life himself, and does not go with the flow, blaming circumstances and the bad actions of others.

A leader is often a very attractive concept, and everyone really wants to try themselves in this role. But it is not suitable for everyone, just as the work of a sleeper or baker is not suitable for everyone. And that's okay.

The only way leadership qualities can be useful for everyone is that they give us the strength, skills and opportunities to get out of the influence of negative circumstances, to love our life and make decisions in it, to take decisive actions when necessary. So what can we do to develop the qualities of a leader?

2. Learn to be proactive

Proactivity is a quality that means that you get out of the influence of surrounding circumstances and begin to accept own solutions how to act and live further. You stop complaining about your difficulties, realizing that you and only you created them for yourself, and it is up to you to decide whether to put up with them or fight them.

In other words, no one else is responsible for what happens in your life except you. You get tired of your job - you chose it yourself or you let someone else choose it for you. Did you get rude in the store? Only you determine how to react to this: you cannot change the other person or circumstances.

3. How to become more active?

Try to solve an existing problem at least once a day through your behavior, without blaming others. Does your husband always forget to buy bread? Knowing this, buy it yourself and ask your husband to do something else. Do you have an annoying colleague? Think about how you can rise above the situation and change your behavior to free yourself from this irritant.

You constantly receive unfair bills for public utilities, and you pay because you don’t believe that you can prove something to the utility services? Try it! We guarantee that many of your attempts will be successful, no matter what you do. And even if something doesn’t work out, the indescribable feeling that you are in control of your life will soften the possible frustration of failure.

4. Set your goals correctly

The whole life of a leader is activity. He is always busy with something, and his busyness is subordinated to a specific goal. The goal in life is not only general and global, but also narrow, depending on the issue at hand.

In other words, if he does something, he always knows why he needs it. This helps to avoid not only unnecessary actions at work and in your personal life, but also unnecessary work and the wrong partner. And this is valuable.

A well-set goal is closely related to keeping your promises. Let everything you promise to do be your goal. And you will decide all the questions “how” to achieve it yourself, even if achieving the goal requires more effort than you expected.

5. How to set a goal?

Firstly, through the “why am I doing this” filter, we should pass everything we do, including communication with many people. Ask yourself this question often before you start doing anything. By cutting off unnecessary things that do not make you happier, you will free up a lot of space for other, desired activities.

Sometimes the very word “goal” scares people with its globality and importance. If you don't have a purpose in life right now, if you don't know exactly what you want to do, or if you're not ready to change something, let your filter for thinking be the simple question “does this make me happier?” After all, happiness is a universal goal. The main thing is to free your life from acting out of habit and from serving other people’s goals and desires.

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Secondly, forget the phrases “How should I have done this if...?”, “Where should I have gotten it?” If you don't know how to do it, ask right away. Many meekly say “yes” to the ridiculous requests of loved ones and superiors, realizing in advance that they will not cope with the task and will disappoint and let them down. If you understand that the plan is not working, something is not working out, try to communicate, clarify the task, ask for advice and help.

Third, always prioritize. Sometimes the goal of making money and some dubious project may conflict with your overall goal of being happy and living with clear conscience. And with your priorities in place, you will always know exactly what you need to give up and why. This will help avoid painful internal conflicts.

6. Take responsibility

Of course, responsibility for your life comes first. But also responsibility for your words, actions, promises. Even if you didn’t do something on purpose or something happened against your will, but as a result of your behavior, this is also your responsibility. Remember the Little Prince: “We are responsible for those we have tamed.” And also for those who tamed themselves by accident, figuratively speaking.

7. Where are the limits of your responsibility?

Consider your initiatives, that is, everything you offer, as your responsibility. Of course, you shouldn’t refuse help, but you should always control the situation yourself.

For example, if you suggested organizing a camping trip, then look at the weather, suggest a time, find out where there are suitable places for you, whether you have everything necessary equipment or where you can rent one. If you delegate tasks to someone, then you are still responsible for it.

Also, take on responsibility specifically, voluntarily. For completion small task at work, for solving a certain issue at home, for organizing some event for children, etc. All this will develop your skills in communication, coping, decision making, finding information, etc. And all this together greatly helps develop leadership skills.

8. Challenge yourself

The ability to find solutions that are interesting and beneficial for everyone often lies outside our comfort zone - in the zone of the new, unknown and therefore uncomfortable. Therefore, trying something you have doubts about, doing something you have never done, something you are afraid of, is a direct path to developing leadership qualities.

9. How to stop being afraid of new things?

If you are asked to do something that you are afraid of, but it could be useful for you, agree without thinking about what you will have to do for it. Turn off that sphere in your head that instantly calculates everything that needs to be done and immediately activates all your fears.
And in order not to wait for suitable offers, find something to do on your own. Perhaps you have long wanted to take up couples dancing, but were afraid, or maybe you wanted to propose the project to your boss. Fulfill your desires without thinking about fears.

10. Communicate more

Communication and the network of contacts it creates is something every leader should have. After all, people are the most valuable resource with which you can gain knowledge about everything and solve any issue.

In addition, communication over time will relieve you of complexes and fears that interfere with the development of leadership qualities.

11. How and with whom to communicate?

Remember what people tell you, listen to their moods and doubts, don’t forget to ask your colleagues how things are at home, how your weekend was, what your vacation plans are. Choose a day when you can call all your long-lost school and childhood girlfriends and friends, or at least find them on social networks and find out who has become who and where they live. Such communication can lead to new turns in your life.

The specificity of a leader is that he does not strive for compromises, but instead looks for solutions where both sides win: solutions from the “win-win” series (“win-win” in American business terminology). They allow you to establish closer connections and establish strong cooperation. And a compromise is essentially a loss for both sides: each must give up something.

This quality presupposes the ability to think for your interlocutor, take his place, predict his behavior, having all the information on the issue, and find a solution that suits him.

Don’t try to bend a person to an option that is only interesting to you, because a leader always puts his interlocutor at least on the same level as himself and understands that he is still aware of the disadvantage decision taken. Excessive rigidity will not only undermine the current agreement, but also all future cooperation.

In general, this approach takes communication with people to a completely different level.

13. How to learn to understand the interests of another?

You can learn to find such solutions only by constantly putting yourself in the place of your interlocutor and wishing him well. Whenever difficult situation, when you, say, cannot achieve something from a person, stop internally scolding him and start asking him questions: “why is this so important to you?”, “what is needed in order to do this,” “why do this, and not otherwise” and others.

In the end, it may turn out that the whole process can be slightly altered so that everyone has a good time. Usually everyone gets used to a routine, and only a leader can look at everything differently. If you need the ability to find such solutions for your work, turn to the science of “conflictology.”

Often, when discussing this issue in lectures or trainings, teachers give a real example of negotiations between two companies for a large batch of oranges at a good price: the companies could not agree on who would buy. One was engaged in the production of food, the other - cosmetics. It would seem that there is only one solution - someone alone buys. And as a result of the negotiations, it turned out that according to the technological processes, one company uses only the pulp for production, while the other uses only the peel.

As a result, they bought a large batch together, also with a discount for a large order. This is a classic example of a series of solutions that benefit both parties.

14. Learn and practice

Don't miss an opportunity to learn something, especially if it's offered to you for free. It is unknown when and what knowledge you will need. And be sure to practice what you learn.

Continuous study and practice in terms of developing leadership skills will help you not only in your work. All this is quite applicable to ordinary life at the everyday level.

Many people live according to the rules, doing the same things day after day, gradually getting used to the routine and even to the problems that exist. You can be a leader among your friends, trying new things, organizing interesting events for your family. People usually reach out to such people and ask for advice.

15. Share your knowledge

While gaining knowledge and developing previous quality, do not forget to share the experience that you gain. Even if it is a small thing that allows you to save a second in daily work. People will thank you, and even if they already thought of it themselves, it will still make them look at you in a new way.

16. About the power of enthusiasm

There are different types of leaders, and there has always been and will be debate about their qualities. But one thing is clear: everything a leader does is done with enthusiasm. Maybe even the goal itself will be boring and the process boring, but awareness of the result and a sense of control over your life is what gives enthusiasm and inner fire!

In addition, a leader who builds his life the way he wants usually enjoys what he does. Otherwise, why do everything?

In everyday life, living with enthusiasm means enjoying your family life, work, development, rest, etc. Moreover, sincere enthusiasm to live, change something, invent and do something is always visible to others, even if your house is not painted bright colors, and you don’t appear in public every day.

Therefore, if this is not the case for you, think, maybe something should be changed? What can you do to get fired up and passionate about your relationship? specific person, fall in love with your job or find a new favorite?

Leadership qualities open the way for a person to a great career and success in life. How to develop these qualities? What programs are effective? More on this later in the material.

You will learn:

• Why developing leadership skills is a challenge for some leaders
• How to better develop leadership skills
• What programs and exercises exist for developing leadership qualities?
• Why Attending Leadership Development Training Doesn’t Bring Results

The beginning of development leadership qualities becomes the identification of limiting beliefs. The first step toward successful leadership growth is recognizing that you have certain limiting blocks and beliefs. However, this is only the first step. There are a number of other steps you need to take as you gain confidence in yourself and your abilities.

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What leadership qualities are inherent in a leader?

1. A leader in your life. The ability to manage your life, motivate yourself, set personal goals, taking the necessary steps to achieve them is the first stage of leadership development. It is leadership qualities that represent the foundation for further actions and success.
2. Having a long-term vision is an important leadership quality that needs to be continually developed and improved. The more experience and knowledge you have, the better and more accurately you can imagine future events.
3. Openness. The leader receives daily new information, communicates with people, makes decisions. Openness is one of the main leadership qualities.
4. Courage is considered the second most important leadership quality. The ability to control fear and act in spite of everything is the true courage of a leader.
5. Determination. Each person's life is limited, so leaders use time rationally, without wasting time on empty talk.
6. Energy is one of the main leadership qualities. There are significant physical and emotional costs to our lives. To withstand this you simply need colossal energy.
7. A positive outlook on things. Problems are inevitable in a person's life, but only those who do nothing do not make mistakes.
8. The ability to listen to others. No one can be specialists in all industries at once. The leader knows this very well. The main strength of a leader is the ability to find experts and organize their activities for the benefit of the whole cause.
9. Attentiveness, critical attitude - leaders are engaged in careful collection of facts and verification of all information. After all, even the smallest detail can ruin any business.
10. Calm and confident. With a cool head, a leader can concentrate on finding a solution. Able to control his emotions so that they do not affect the overall decision-making process.
11. Sensitivity, flexibility. The world is changing, it is necessary to develop and adapt to changes.
12. Focus on achieving results.
13. The ability to admit one's own mistakes.
14. The ability to constantly learn and gain new knowledge.
15. Correct self-esteem. The leader clearly knows what he is capable of and what he cannot cope with. He directs his efforts to what he does well.
16. Passion for work. The leader loves his job. Through this passion, one maintains interest in one's tasks with regular improvements in effectiveness and efficiency.
17. The ability to light people up.
18. Focus. It is necessary to highlight the main thing among all points, concentrating the main attention on it.
19. Charismatic.
20. Competence is the ability to focus on what needs to be planned, what needs to be done.
21. Generosity. The measure of a leader's greatness is not the number of people he serves, but the number of people he serves. Generosity implies the following: a leader puts other people first, not himself. A leader knows how to share while receiving even more in the future.

Types of leadership in management practice

1. Leader-organizer- accepts the needs of the team as his own, and actively works in this direction. He remains optimistic, understands the possibility of solving most problems, is able to convince people, tends to encourage, and expresses disapproval in a way that does not offend other people. Therefore, people are interested in working effectively to solve their problems.
2. Leader-Creator- is able to notice new things, which allows you to attract supporters. Solves problems that seem insoluble to others, even dangerous. The task can be set in such a way that it attracts and interests.
3. Leader-fighter It has strong will. He is the first to meet halfway in case of uncertainty or danger, with confidence in own strength, begins the fight without hesitation. He is inclined to stand up for what he believes in and fight to the end. Actions can be spontaneous, which is why the actions taken are not always thought through due to lack of time.
4. Leader-diplomat is always an informed specialist, perfectly aware of the situation and matters. Allows you to openly say what others know in order to distract from your plans that are not subject to disclosure.
5. Comforter Leader ready to support in difficult times, helpful, respects people, treats them kindly, empathizes.

Where to start developing leadership skills

First stage- analysis strengths, you need to determine your potential and find your own methods and approaches to work. Leadership potential is “something” that a leader already has, but it is necessary to discover it in oneself, learn to use internal abilities and potential.

Second phase- you need to learn to believe in your own success even in the absence of real prerequisites for achieving it.

Third stage- willpower, since it is an area of ​​​​action. Without certain actions it will not be possible to achieve what was planned. But courage and willpower are needed not only to make decisions, but also to not be afraid of defeat, but to continue moving forward.

A leader is one who raises other leaders

Dmitry Bogomolov,

General Director of the Sobol-98 company, Yekaterinburg

In my understanding, leadership is a way of influencing and managing people. A leader is one who develops other leaders without fear of competition. One who does what he likes, with the ability to teach it to others. He changes the values ​​and lives of other people, creates a certain world around him in which he wants to live. He thinks about the scale of his influence, strives for more, without stopping his growth.

Before developing your leadership qualities, you need to figure out, first of all, what you want. People live in an effort to achieve not their own goals, but those that were imposed on them by their parents or society. Try to decide what your personal aspirations are. A number of questions need to be answered - if they differ, then these are probably imposed goals.

Barriers to Leadership Development

1. Vagueness and vagueness of the goals set.
2. Impatience and expectation of instant changes.
3. Fear of new situations.
4. Fear of vulnerability. Often a person seeks to avoid situations that potentially cause pain, lead to fear or discomfort.
5. Behavior and expectations of others. Increasing personal effectiveness involves achievements and successes, changes in priorities, and the possibility of envy or hostility from other people.
6. Lack of self-confidence.
7. Insufficient skills and abilities. Sometimes people don’t have enough new skills or ideas that they need for their development. They begin to study memoirs or biographies famous personalities with confidence - this information becomes the most reliable option for becoming a leader. But such a statement is erroneous, because those people had different life circumstances and conditions.

12 Exercises to Develop Leadership Skills

Exercise No. 1. Dialogue with the inner critic

If “something” inside you regularly says “nothing will work out because you are incompetent,” learn to object to such statements. Do not listen silently to everything that this “something” tells you, and do not think of agreeing with it.

Don't be lazy to write down everything he says. Even if his words make no sense, record everything. The only condition is to speak and take notes in the second person. Point out not “I’m stupid,” “I won’t succeed,” but “you’re stupid,” “you won’t become a leader.” Answer him afterwards as if he were a bully. Take the words philosophically: “Who am I when this voice is silent?” An effective option for dealing with your inner critic is to keep a success diary.

Exercise No. 2. Success Diary

You should keep a notebook, every night before going to bed, writing down a few things in which you succeeded today. You need to do this no matter how bad the day turns out to be. This is how human memory works - we remember pain better than joy. And at the end of the day, most people mostly see only troubles and hardships. When we focus on the bad, we lose important energy, and focusing on the positive gives us recharge.

Exercise No. 3. Opinions of others

Record and listen to the recognition of people around you who note your strengths and weaknesses. This requires considerable courage, but it is a step that must be taken. Make a list of several friends and relatives who are willing to help. Ask each of them to write down what they respect and love about you, and what annoys and stresses them. In this case, there should be approximately an equal number of advantages and weaknesses. Your inner critic will say that this is all nonsense, a waste of time, but don’t let it stop important endeavors.

Exercise No. 4. Reflection in the mirror

Learn to look at yourself in the mirror without clothes. Look yourself in the eye. At first it is perceived as some kind of stupidity, but gradually you will gain patience.

Most people need a lot of time to take the first careful look at themselves in the mirror, not to run away or turn away - a certain amount of courage is required.

Arises similar situation when a person does not perceive himself because he is guided by the opinions of others or by the standards set by glossy magazines. Ask yourself the question “What right do I have to judge this person, his body?” Yes, during this exercise there will be anger, then sadness, and then relief and acceptance. However, they should come in their own way without rushing, do not rush them.

Exercise No. 5. Daily risk

Don’t be afraid to take risks, try everything you’ve dreamed of but never tried before. Start going to a dance school, find a more interesting job, learn to ride a horse. Essential is given public speaking- forcing you to experience stress much more than usual. Must practice public performance. Since one of the main leadership qualities is the ability to clearly and clearly express thoughts a large number of people.

Avoid at this stage various activities and competitions that force you to compare yourself with others. This is due to the risk that the first failure will lead to the desire to stop everything without taking advantage of the results achieved.

Exercise No. 6. Decision making

Passivity is unacceptable when developing leadership qualities; it is necessary to constantly develop the ability to make decisions. Therefore, you need to take advantage of every favorable opportunity to take responsibility and make decisions, even if not the most epoch-making ones.

Exercise No. 7. Responsibility for your decisions

We write a “list of responsibilities” in our notebook. Each phrase should begin with the words “I am responsible for...”. Your list should contain at least ten such statements.

Hint: do not unconditionally believe every statement. The degree to which you resist mastering leadership development exercises will demonstrate the strength of your internal limitations.

Another important nuance this exercise will help to get rid of the desire to always be good for others or to always be first. Therefore, the exercise should be approached with a bit of humor.

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Exercise No. 8. Your opinion

The first part of this exercise involves learning the ability to refuse when necessary. It is better to learn this ability in communication with relatives or friends. Friends should play the role of a person who orders or asks you to do something that you do not want to do. Let them use all the invented tools of influence, putting pressure on feelings of guilt, accusing you of selfishness, insisting on importance and urgency. In any case, you have to refuse, no matter how difficult it may seem. This exercise should be practiced until you feel able to express your refusal without remorse or damage to your relationship with the insistent person.

The second part of this exercise is to develop leadership qualities, on the contrary, developing the ability to achieve your desires without giving up until your goals are achieved.

Now you need the ability to insist on your own. You take the completely opposite side, playing the role of a person who can defend his rights. The task is to motivate a person to perform certain tasks and the required amount of work.

Exercise No. 9. Difficult choice

With this exercise you will learn how to make choices. The challenge is to consider every possibility without using a phrase that starts with “yes, but...”. For example, “I would like to buy a car, but the following prevents me.” Now we are recording a list of obstacles, ways and opportunities to overcome them.

Exercise No. 10. Pleasure a day

We create a list of pleasures that we would like to receive. Some small, achievable things should be indicated on the list - something new in your life, tasty, etc. Set yourself one such pleasure per day. Don't let anything spoil your plans for fulfilling your pleasures.

Exercise No. 11. List of obstacles

Try to combine all the reasons that hinder the development of leadership qualities. To do this, you should use a notepad in which you record the immediate goal you set for yourself to achieve leadership positions. Then here we record all the reasons that prevent you from achieving your goals. Do not drown out your inner voice - it must be given absolute freedom of speech.

The list should continue until the arguments run out. Then we repeat again what you want. When you feel that there is nothing more to say, you can solemnly burn the list. This procedure can be carried out several times for a more noticeable effect.

Exercise No. 12. Confidence and assertiveness

If it is difficult for you to defend your position under the pressure of others, this exercise will be very effective. For him you need to work on your posture. If you constantly walk slouched, lower your head, rarely look up, or never look directly into the eyes of your interlocutor, then this simple exercise will be effective. It is based on maintaining a straight posture, straightening the chest, shoulders, and looking into the eyes of the opponent.

1. Body weight should be transferred from heels to toes.
2. Keep your knees slightly bent.
3. We raise our chin - he should participate in the general process of self-affirmation.
4. Continue to defend your position without complaining, reproaching or blaming.
5. A mirror can be an excellent tool for this exercise.
6. The depth of your voice and its timbre can convey a lot about your feelings and confidence. If you approach with a pitiful look and a trembling voice, there is a high probability of refusal. You need to work on improving your voice so that it gains additional confidence, authority and authority.

Presuppositions that help you live

1. There are no defeats, there is only feedback.
2. The map is not the territory. You should not consider your perception equal to the perception of your interlocutor.
3. All behavior is based on a positive intention.
4. All behavior is a choice the best option of those existing at that moment.
5. If someone knows how to do something, then I can learn it too. This principle allows many cancer patients to fight the disease through positive examples.
6. A person has all the resources necessary for success.
7. If you're doing something that doesn't bring results, try doing something else.
8. The meaning of communication lies in the reaction it evokes.
9. The most flexible element controls the system.
10. Any system is self-organizing in the pursuit of a natural state of stability and balance.
11. A person is capable of learning very quickly, sometimes one attempt is enough.
12. The most important client is the one in front of you now.

4 more ways to help develop leadership skills

1. Leadership development programs that help ensure personal growth. These leadership development programs help: find yourself with inspiration, create proper motivation.
2. Programs that offer the development of skills and abilities. These programs are intended to teach various aspects of “dealing with people,” including managing life changes, conflict resolution, team building, leadership skills, negotiation skills, consideration of ethical issues, effective time management, methods of holding meetings, meetings, etc.
3. Programs that are based on feedback. The main attention within these programs is given to issues of individual behavior and how consistent this behavior is with the desired “general” organizational behavior in company. These programs, as a rule, involve working with the “360є” tool to assess “subjective ideas” (“how colleagues and partners perceive me”), and with one or more other personality study tools.
4. Programs that promote understanding of conceptual issues. These programs involve the study of different theories and leadership models developed by Covey, Drucker, Goleman, Heifetz.

6 rules of a true leader

Sergey Bykovskikh,

President of Henkel Rus, General Manager of HenkelBeautyCare in Russia and the CIS countries, Moscow

1. Pay attention to subordinates. You may not even think about it, but your subordinates will definitely pay attention to the slightest changes in your behavior towards them.
2. Behave correctly with subordinates. It is important to remember that violation is unacceptable certain rules interactions with people, for example, emotionally expressing dissatisfaction.
3. Selecting a team from among those you really trust. I had to interact with employees in other departments and regions, with complex control over their work. Therefore, it is important that the team is formed from people who will always behave in accordance with our ethical requirements and principles.
4. Raising your successor. Before taking the next step in your career, make sure you have a successor ready to continue your legacy. My career development is possible only on the condition that my subordinates also have the opportunity for professional growth when they take my place.
5. Don't show power. If a person actively demonstrates the presence of power, then this becomes a sign of personal failure.
6. You need to understand that the world is not limited to work. Of course, work is becoming one of the most important components of our lives. But there are many other activities. For example, I like to jog every day. When I run, I can feel that my thoughts become clearer, I manage to abstract myself from everyday worries, with the ability to think about strategic tasks.

Information about authors and companies

Dmitry Bogomolov, General Director of the Sobol-98 company, Yekaterinburg. Graduated from the Ural State Law Academy, Ural State Technical University. Assistant to the Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region, member of the Committee on Legislation and Security. Received certificates “NLP Practitioner”, “NLP Master”. Conducts training on security, public speaking, and negotiation. Winner of the “Challenge” business show, organized by the Yekaterinburg Center for Entrepreneurship Development and the “Northern Treasury” company. Since 1997 - executive director of the Sobol-98 company. In current position since 2013.

Sergey Bykovskikh, President of Henkel Rus, General Manager of HenkelBeautyCare in Russia and the CIS countries, Moscow. Henkel Rus LLC. Field of activity: production of cosmetics, cleaning and detergents, as well as construction mixtures and technologies
Number of personnel: more than 2500.

How does a leader differ from those who are ready to obey him? Why is it so difficult to become a leader and maintain authority for a long time? These issues concern not only heads of state and military leaders - every leader must be able to motivate and inspire people.

B means "first". A leader is a person who stands out from the crowd; people recognize his right to lead them towards a common goal.

Many would like to become leaders, because leaders have power over people, influence and command them, they are always in the center of attention. Leaders are successful and self-sufficient, they are valued and respected. Money and fame are the reasons why some would like to become leaders.

But besides positive aspects, leadership also has negative ones. And before you strive to become a leader, you need to remember them. The leader takes responsibility for the destinies of many people who believed him and followed him. In case of failure, he risks the most, and sometimes not only with his property, but also with his head.

Leaders are mostly lonely: they are forced to keep a distance between themselves and their subordinates, otherwise they will not be able to manage them.

They must possess and work hard on themselves. An ancient Roman historian wrote: “He who does not know how to control himself, but strives to control others, is mad.” The French philosopher also said this: “If you want to subjugate others, start with yourself.”

Our contemporary John Maxwell, a leadership expert who wrote the book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” also noted that “leadership requires persistence. …Leadership skills are not developed overnight.”

If you want to have many friends, just live and enjoy life without burdening yourself with responsibility, leadership is not for you. Do you still want to become a leader?

1. A leader must be charismatic

They talk about a lot, but not everyone manages to explain what this mythical attractive force is that attracts some people to others, even if they are not at all charming and attractive, but “evil geniuses”? Charismatics become captives of their charms and begin to dominate the minds and feelings of those they captivate. They are full of energy, and people in their company begin to experience an emotional uplift.

Majority modern people lack energy, they quickly get tired and irritated. They need a source of energy and find it in playing sports or watching sports programs and various TV shows, in caffeine, alcohol, etc. People are also charged with energy from leaders who are able to ignite them, inspire them and captivate them with their idea. A leader needs admirers, admirers whom he will lead.

The 34th American President said that “leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want, and even because they themselves want to do it.”

Where does the leader himself get his energy from?

2. A leader sets goals for himself.

The leader clearly knows what he wants. Strength and energy are given to him by the global goals that he sets for himself. He cannot solve his problems alone; for this he needs people whom he will lead and who will help him achieve his goal. He motivates them and captivates them with his idea.

Maximilian Robespierre, leader of the Jacobins during the French Revolution, said: “A leader has two important traits: first, he himself goes somewhere; secondly, he can lead people.”

And the higher the goal, the more energy the leader is filled with. Set a great goal for yourself and you will be surprised how much energy you suddenly have and how much skill and ability you need to achieve it suddenly appears!

There are two types of people: some have a goal and manage their lives themselves, others live aimlessly and rely on fate. Life can be compared to a picture that needs to be assembled from puzzles. If we have a clear idea of ​​what kind of picture we should get, we will put it together sooner or later. Without a clear understanding of what we are striving for and what should ultimately happen, our picture will come out meaningless.

Another comparison: a ship that does not know which port it is heading to will easily go astray. It can get caught in a storm, run aground, or break into rocks. And the leader is the captain of the ship, who confidently leads the ship to the goal, because he has the necessary knowledge, courage and is confident in the correctness of the course.

3. Leaders are competent and confident.

In order for a leader's opinion to be taken into account, he must be well versed in his subject. Incompetence and lack of necessary knowledge cannot be hidden for long. And then the person who wanted to take a leadership position will certainly be exposed and they will say: “But the king is naked!” (For those who haven’t read H. H. Andersen’s fairy tale about the naked king: it talks about how two swindlers supposedly made a luxurious suit for the king, taking a lot of money for it. But since in reality there was no suit, they told the courtiers that only smart people. Since no one wanted to be a fool, everyone admired the suit, and only an ingenuous child told the truth that the king was naked!)

Knowledge is imparted, which means that others are infected with this confidence.

4. Anyone who wants to become a leader must develop courage.

You can have goals, be charismatic and know-it-all, but still fail to take the first step. What's the point of having a cool car if you're afraid to drive it? It will remain in the garage, not showing its capabilities due to the cowardice, suspiciousness and cowardice of its owner. What's the point of having a soccer ball if you never dare to take the decisive kick and score a goal?

They say that people who complete their life path, most of all they regret not about what they once did, but about what they did not do. Most of them were prevented by the fear of making mistakes and being ridiculed, thoughts of “what will people say or think?”

5. Leaders don't care what others think of them.

How many goals were never achieved and dreams were never realized because people were too concerned about what others would think of them. However, it is impossible to please everyone, because there are so many people, so many opinions. Moreover, there is a category of people who do not represent anything themselves, but, figuratively speaking, hang on the feet of others, preventing them from taking off. Haters are the name given to haters whose hobby is to judge and find fault. So is it worth changing your life plans because of them?

As the charismatic leader of Great Britain said, “You will never complete your journey if you stop to throw a stone at every yapping dog.” “I don’t care what you think about me, because I don’t think about you at all,” said Coco Chanel, the queen of world fashion of the last century. It is unlikely that they would have become leaders if they strived to be liked by everyone. After all, folk wisdom says: “You can’t put a scarf on every mouth.”

6. Behave like a leader

Kozma Prutkov (the collective pseudonym of Alexei Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers) once said: “If you want to be happy, be happy!” The same can be said in relation to leaders: “If you want to be a leader, be one!”

This means acting like a leader now, not someday later. Do not pretend to be a leader out of nowhere, but think, learn and act as if we have already become a leader. If we do not perceive ourselves as such, how will others believe us?

Every team needs a leader. He must be able to competently and fairly distribute responsibilities, make decisions, and determine a business development strategy. To do this you need to have a certain set of qualities. It’s good if a person has natural charisma and becoming a real leader of the pack is not a problem for him. But what if you worked for your uncle just yesterday and are used to only obeying and carrying out instructions? This and much more will be discussed in this article.

What qualities should a leader have?

A true leader is the soul of the team. His orders are carried out with pleasure, he can competently state his requirements. Even fair punishment from such a person is accepted humbly and without offense. To earn such authority, you must have the following qualities.

To be fair

Employees are very sensitive to discrimination. If one employee is torn in the tail and mane for the same mistake, and another is scolded with a smile and let go, you can forget about authority. There should be no favorites on the team - all subordinates must be treated equally. The only exceptions can be for beginners. They can be forgiven for minor mistakes - everyone understands this perfectly well.

The same goes for setting goals. It often happens that a team has 2-3 executive employees and everyone else. So, it’s mainly these two or three that are loaded. Remember the saying: if you want a task solved quickly, find the busiest person and entrust it to him. Many leaders follow this path and act fundamentally wrong. This is, of course, convenient, but you can forget about the loyal attitude of good employees.

Subordinates will accumulate grievances and at any moment will leave to work for a fairer competitor, where their talents will be appreciated.

A fair leader sets tasks depending on the employee’s qualifications. The most experienced and competent workers receive more complex tasks, while newcomers receive easier ones. The most important thing in this case is . Qualified employees should earn more than less qualified employees. This will force the latter to work better in order to get more money.

Make these principles part of yours - you will see how your employees’ attitude towards you and towards work in general will change.

A leader must be competent

To earn authority the manager must understand all the intricacies of the work process. Without this, it is impossible to set tasks correctly - everything will turn out in the “bring me something, I don’t know what” format. No wonder in Soviet time Most directors grew up “from the bottom”, going from a simple worker to a senior manager. This allowed me to feel all the intricacies of the work process firsthand.

Let's give an example. You instructed an employee, for example, to... You yourself have never done this and have no idea how it happens, what is needed for this and how much time it will take. In this case, you give the employee three days to complete the task. After this time, the employee reports that he did not have time, for which he receives what you think is a well-deserved punishment.

In fact main mistake you did it, not your subordinate. Three days of time to search for suppliers, negotiate and conclude contracts, clarify controversial issues- this is very little. You did not know about this and set an essentially impossible task. To prevent this from happening, you need to at least general outline imagine how a particular process occurs and how much time it takes.

A leader must delegate authority competently

There was one interesting case in my practice. The owner of a large online store, a respectable aged man, did not know how to distribute responsibilities at all. It's not that he couldn't or didn't want to - he just didn't trust anyone. The store was located in a standard office, where managers, service personnel and the manager himself sat.

When someone needed paper for the printer, the boss personally went to the warehouse to issue it - God forbid, a cunning employee steals several sheets of paper home. It got to the point where the owner himself poured liquid soap in the restroom, changing rolls of toilet paper and went to buy ballpoint pens.

Why are we telling all this? To make you understand: a manager who rummages in the restroom does not inspire respect and you can completely forget about any authority. Employees will only laugh at such a boss and make sarcastic jokes behind their backs.

That is why - an important skill of a true leader. You should never do anything that someone else can do for you and better than you. This is why you hire people and pay them salaries. If you start doing the work for your employees, they will very quickly sit on your neck. Teach people to be independent, otherwise they will always run to you for any trifle.

A leader must be able to admit mistakes

It is common for everyone to make mistakes. Even the most experienced professional sometimes makes mistakes. This is fine. The main thing is not to be afraid to admit it. But you shouldn’t indulge in humiliating apologies, especially to your subordinates. Calmly inform that you made a mistake and the work needs to be redone.

If you see that a junior employee is offering a better solution to an issue than your own, do not insist on your option. No, you can, of course, turn on the “I’m the boss, you’re a fool” format and force them to do it your way, but this certainly won’t help matters. Nothing will happen if you do as your employee suggests. Praise the person for a more optimal proposal - and let him do it his way. Your authority will not suffer from this, and employees will keep in mind that, if something happens, you can be convinced with the help of weighty arguments.

A true leader must be stress-resistant

You can criticize working “for someone else” as much as you like, but there is one undoubted advantage in it. This same guy brings you your salary on a silver platter twice a month. Where he gets this money and how he solves problems - you don’t care at all. Take it out, as they say, and put it down.

You yourself become such an “uncle”. On you, capable of unbalancing anyone. Stressful situations are inevitable. Best advice, which can be given - never give up. There are many examples of newly minted entrepreneurs quitting their business only because they could not stand the stress, and then greatly regretted it.

Examples of stressful situations:

• lack of funds. A very common situation, especially at the initial stage of development of an online store;
• personnel errors. If it's wrong, there will definitely be problems;
• fines and sanctions from regulatory authorities. Tax, Rospotrebnadzor - the state closely monitors business, identifying various violations of the law;
• dissatisfied customers. One such character can give you all of the above problems combined.

A leader must be able to motivate staff

What is hidden behind the fashionable word “motivation”? Many people believe that being paid for a job is a good reason to do your job well. They say that the employee receives a salary and that is quite enough. However, this is not the case, at least the employees certainly do not think so. There will always be those who will be indignant: “Yes, yes, for this money, but never!” - and so on.

So how can we arrange it so that giving yourself completely common cause? There are several ways:

• financial interest. A salary is a salary, and a person must clearly understand the connection between the quality of his work and the amount of money he earns. If one works hard, and the other is doing his best, and both get the same amount, then the first one’s enthusiasm will run out very quickly. Prizes for Good work, bonuses for the best employee of the month/year - these are the tools that motivate very well;
• make the employee feel like part of the team. You are all doing the same thing. Everyone is important - from the director to the ordinary manager. Understanding the contribution to the common cause is a great thing;
• lead by example. If the manager is always away from the workplace, difficult situation you can’t reach him by phone, but work time all he does is sit in in social networks- such a leader is worthless. A true leader is always in the thick of things, he works for ten people and is ready to resolve any issue;
• general leisure. Joint picnics, sporting events and even simple corporate events are very strong. The team feels alone big family, and in the family it is customary to help each other. Why not motivation?

A leader must work hard and truly love what he does.

Read biographies of successful businessmen. Very often these people work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is impossible without sincere passion for the idea. We often repeat: there is no commercial spirit - there is only titanic work and amazing efficiency. These are the qualities of a true leader. And if you manage to infect the staff with your example, your team will simply have no equal.

How to develop leadership qualities in yourself

For some, this talent is given by nature. Some are less fortunate - then you will have to seriously work on yourself to develop leadership qualities. It will be especially difficult for those who have never worked in leadership positions and are learning the wisdom of managing people for the first time in their lives. So what do you need to do to become a team leader?

1. Attend training. It is not easy to independently overcome something that was laid down in childhood. Many are simply embarrassed to give orders, scold employees for wrongdoing, and talk harshly with partners when necessary. Trainings led by experienced psychologists will help overcome all these barriers. During the classes you will work through many stressful situations with people you don’t know. This will help you learn the correct behavior in real “combat” conditions. Get ready: it will be very difficult, but the result will exceed all your expectations.

2. Read. There are many books available today on how to become a leader. We can recommend a few:

• Maxim Batyrev - “45 tattoos of a manager.” The author himself worked in leadership positions for many years and shares his experience in the book;
• Isaac Adizes - “The Ideal Leader.” The book describes in simple and accessible language how to become a truly effective leader;
• Kevin Fehrbach and Dan Hunter - “Engage and Conquer.” The book talks about the popular practice of game thinking and its application in business.

3. Constantly improve your skills. As we have already said, a leader must, first of all, be competent in most matters. This requires upgrading your skills. This applies not only to the administrative side of the issue, but also to most purely technical nuances. Read books, attend seminars and conferences. Firstly, you will always be aware of new trends, and secondly, you will become a true professional in your field and will be ready to solve any problems.

4. Work on yourself. Reflection is a very important and useful thing. Make it a rule to ask yourself at the end of the working day: “What did I do wrong today and how could I have done better?” This one is simple and good habit will allow you to learn to analyze your actions and find the optimal work model.

Conclusion

Finally, we will give one more very important piece of advice. There should be only one leader in a team. In the end, a leader is the person who always remains behind. the last word in any situation. Even the most intelligent people can have diametrically opposed views on the same issue. The manager must personally make a decision and bear responsibility for it. And the rest are obliged to make this decision and implement it. Otherwise, the company may become a mess, and this may harm the business.