20 Things You Must Learn If You’re Going To Succeed In Leadership

Although you may not realize it, there is more to leadership than just occupying a position. Effective leadership in most cases is predicated on 3 key factors: First, your level of empowerment. Second, your ability to clarify vision and values. Third, your willingness to commit to a lifelong process of learning. Empowerment in this context comprises of your interpersonal skills, your personal characteristics and your natural and learned competencies.

You may practically add great value to your group or organization by fulfilling the first two fundamental requirements but you may not really go far in leadership until you develop a sense of open-mindedness and take responsibility for continuous learning. This article examines the 20 most important things you must learn and equip yourself with, if you’re going to make sense of your leadership calling and impact your world in the long run.

1.  You must learn how to love yourself and the people around you. The point is this: leadership in the strict sense of it is built on relationship and you cannot relate well with anybody you don’t love, let alone a group of followers.
2.  You must learn how to move your group or organization from point A to point B. Bill Hybels captured this reality when he commented that “God doesn’t make you a leader to preside over something…He makes you a leader to move people from an unacceptable reality to a preferred future”. 
3. You must learn how to pursue excellence. The worst enemy of mankind is the enemy called average. The average mentality is what has hindered the vast majority of people from reflecting on the big picture. Your goal as a leader should be to put the next generation up on the stage. You won’t be able to achieve this until you kick mediocrity out of your life and pursue excellence with ambition and determination. 
4. You must learn how to invest in others. Investing in others does not necessarily mean putting them on an insurance scheme or setting up a huge investment portfolio for them. It means making contributions in little or significant ways to help them actualize their dreams. It means bringing out the best in them and allowing your actions to inspire them to great heights. Not having an investment mindset means you’re not ready for true leadership. 
5. You must learn how to build a team. If you have been paying attention to details, you’d realize that as far as leadership is concerned, nothing tangible can be achieved without teamwork. It would be therefore insane to think of leadership without first paying attention to the team that will make the dream work. 
6. You must learn how to lead by example. It is a lot easier to draw people’s attention to yourself than earn their respect and trust. If you’re looking to be a great leader, you must learn to build a reputation for exemplary leadership. Don’t expect your followers to be early to meetings when you’ll always arrive 20 or 30 minutes late.
   
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7. You must learn how to invest in books. Straight to the point; nobody should ever think of himself as a leader who does not understand the power of books. Reading empowers you for delivery. Invest in knowledge acquisition. Invest in books. READ with fervid enthusiasm and learn to do it better as each day unfolds. 
8. You must learn how to work with difficult people. Whether you like it or not, not every member of your team will be willing to subscribe to your initiatives. Some followers will out rightly sabotage your vision. You must learn how to resolve this internal conflict and still carry everybody along... 
9. You must learn how to respect people’s time. It is a popular saying that time is money. You don’t want to be the leader that abuses time at the expense of other people. Learn to get organized and keep to schedules. Learn the most effective ways of managing time. With consistent practice, you’ll improve and get better at it! 
10. You must learn how to create a balance between family, career and spiritual life. 
11. You must learn how to go the extra mile. One mark of true leadership is the ability to take personal responsibility for the welfare of the group. The true leader must learn to carry his own cross and that of his followers even when it is inconvenient. 
12. You must learn how to delegate functions. Leadership has been described by one scholar as a shared responsibility. It is therefore incumbent on anyone who answers the call of leadership to learn the art of delegation. You know why? If you delegate tasks, you create both followers and potential leaders. 
13. You must learn how to reward people for hard work. People like to be rewarded. People like to be recognized. If any member of your team exceeds your expectation, learn to reward him/her and you can be sure that others will be motivated to step up their game! 
14. You must learn how to communicate effectively. Communication is the core of interpersonal relationship. Since leadership involves relating with people and being able to exert influence on them, it is obligatory that you learn how to communicate impressively and persuasively. Effective communication however, means you are able to listen well, empathize and get feedback from your respondent. Anything short of this is tantamount to communication breakdown. 
15. You must learn how to be accountable. The easiest way to make a mess of yourself is to live a life devoid of an accountability partner. The same applies to leadership. When you are accountable, you’ll be careful of the things you do and how you appropriate funds. This sense of accountability is the major challenge confronting contemporary leaders. If you must be anything different, you must learn and grasp the “How” of accountability. 
16. You must learn how to give sacrificially. Leaders are givers. You cannot open the door to prosperity and abundance without first mastering the art of giving. Realize that the more you give, the more you get. On the flip side, the more you hold back, the more casualties you suffer! 
17. You must learn how to think innovatively. There are two reasons why innovation is important in leadership: First, people are wary of routines. Second, people tend to treasure the leader who always has something new to offer. It would therefore be in your own best interest to think outside the box and introduce new ideas and concepts from time to time in your leadership agenda. 
18. You must learn how to dream big dreams. Another way to look at it is to have a vision bigger than you. Vision propels people forward. Vision distinguishes great leaders from mediocre title holders. When vision is lacking in any organization, the people remain in darkness and are limited in what they are capable of achieving. 
19. You must learn how to listen to people. Listening to people does two things: it gives them a sense of importance and helps you as the leader avoid silly mistakes. So if you don’t want to get stuck in leadership crises, learn to listen to people! 
20. Youu must learn how to give God first place in the scheme of things. Commit to the Lord whatever you set your heart to do. Let Him guide you in every step of the way and trust me, every other thing will fall into place!

That’s it! I hope you have been blessed by this piece.