Finding the Leader Within You- What skills define a leader? How can you become a strong leader? Read on and find out

Defining Leadership- Finding the Leader Within You

Leadership Traits and What We Can Learn From Them

The goal of this blog post is to help you identify leadership skills that you may already possess and help you identify areas where you can grow.

It is no lie that who we are down to our core values define our attitudes, our actions, our ways of life.

But do these values define our leadership style? Meaning who we are does it define how we lead?

In my opinion, YES!

Lately, I have been reviewing my life and I have been trying to identify areas in my life where I can improve. We all have those areas that we might feel some weakness.

One area that I felt I didn’t have much “experience” was leadership. So, I went over to our local library and picked out some books on leadership.

I will share the title of the books I am currently reading at the end of the blog post.

The interesting thing I discovered among the series of books I picked out is that leadership, true leaders, are individuals who share some common traits.

Through my reading I started to see patterns and I identified these to be common characteristics of a leader:

Leaders are visionaries, leaders are servants (empathetic), leaders have passion for what they do, leaders have attitudes (they are not afraid of working), leaders are team players, and they honor those around them.

Today, I will be sharing a little bit about this leadership journey and hopefully inspire you to seek your own God-given talents.

Life is a rollercoaster in the midst of constant change in life if our attitudes are not in check with who we are, then we are likely to sparrow into a not so lovely road.

Characteristics of Leaders According to My Opinion based on My Reading:

Leaders are Visionaries:

Great leaders have a vision, they know exactly where they are going in life. They are not afraid of taking chances to achieve their desired outcome.

I read the book “Do Cool Sh*t by Miki Agrawa and I was so inspired by her story. This lady was not afraid of taking chances when opening her new restaurant. She was willing to write letters and ask for support in order to achieve her dream of opening a restaurant (I totally recommend you reading her book if you have a vision and you want to get things started). Having a dream is an essential part of life. It helps you aim towards something that will make you happy in life.

As a visionary I like to write things down. I like to write goals down and then work a backward plan of smaller steps to achieve the goal.

Sometimes visionaries get stuck with the big picture and it is hard to move forward and achieve small victories. Celebrate each step. Don’t focus so much on the big picture and forget the little steps that will build the vision. Everything will need to come together for a perfect picture. One step at a time you will see that It will lead you to our next step which is passion.

Leaders are Passionate:

Leaders are passionate about their visions. Everything that they will do in life will reflect that passion. Working towards their vision won’t seem like work instead it will feel like living. Passions define our attitudes. If we love what we do, we will gladly do the work.

I love teaching it is my passion. There were days that I spent way too many hours in the classroom, yet I gladly spent the time in the classroom because I was doing something I loved.

Another passion of mine are my kiddos. I can spend hours with them and taking care of them. Between cooking, cleaning, teaching, correcting, guiding I am on duty 24/7 I love them too much not do it all and get up the next day and do it again. It is my passion, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to serve them. When you are working on a dream, working on something you love the work will be hard but because you are doing something you love you won’t feel it!

If you think you are working towards a goal and you are dreading what you are doing, take a look at your vision and see if this is what you really are passionate about.

Leaders Serve:

Leaders makes themselves the least in order to lead. Leaders worked hard to achieve their positions. Nothing came free to them, which is why when they lead, they serve those under them. They walk alongside them. Their decisions are thoughtful and they inspire those around them. When I think of leaders that serve of course I think of Jesus who made himself the least in order to save those who were lost. I often also think of our military servicemembers. Living among heroes/leaders it is such an honor and an inspiration.

Leaders serve. They are hard working individuals who will work hard, they are humble and serve without limitations.

Thinking about service I remembered Pat Tillman a servicemember who died in the line of duty. Unfortunately, his death became news. He used to be a football player who after the attacks of September 11, 2001 decided that the best way he could serve his country at that time was by serving in the military. So he humbly enlisted and off he went. Alongside many other heroes and because of their service, their leadership, we can feel safe!

A strong leader’s confidence comes from knowing they are serving those around them. A leader’s attitude defines who they are.

Leaders have a Positive Attitude:

Leaders are go getters. They get busy and they work towards their dreams. Leaders are never ending learners. They keep going even when the going gets tough. They keep on fighting and they don’t give up for they know that their role is an important one. They serve with a positive attitude. A positive attitude is contagious. Work long enough with someone whose cup is always full and pretty soon your cup will start to overflow too, not because things changed but because your attitude starts to change. When you start seeing life in a positive light, life will be lighter (positive).

If your self-esteem is suffering it is time for some type of intervention.

I will speak out of my own experience here. Life sometimes throw me lemons and I am not a big fan of lemonades! Things get rough and I start thinking “I am not enough”. I feel I am not enough, I start feeling my words are not good enough, I start feeling real down. When it happens I think of my God and how He thinks I am enough, how much he loves me! I copy bible verses that will build me up. I look for positive quotes on the internet and the more I hear positives the more I start looking up. If you find yourself in a big dump, then it might be time to look for professional help. There are counselors, therapists, pastors who will listen to you and guide you with the next steps.

The most important thing is to remember that you are NOT ALONE and YOU ARE ENOUGH! Let your attitude towards everything you do, be a positive one!

Leaders are Team Players:

Leaders are part of a team. They realize that they do not know everything so they surround themselves with real smart experts, and alongside them they work towards a vision. When a leader respects their peers, when the leader brings out the best in each individual of the team, then the leader can do their best work with the best people.

Leaders know that professionals could be doing something else, yet, they chose to work alongside them. Leaders foster those relationships and leaders help each individual member reach their full potential.

Leaders are problem solver, they use their communication skills to bring people together. People that will help them bring a vision to its completion and full potential. Leaders don’t burn bridges instead they are constantly building them.

If someone is in a leadership position and they are seeking glory for themselves, I think of them as a weak leader.

A strong leader’s team reflects unity, reflects flexibility, their team is in it to win it! Leaders know that by fostering a GENUINE relationship with their team everyone wins. They will get the best out of the team and the team will also reap the benefits of growth.

Leaders Honor Others:

Leaders know that the word honor in greek is timi (tamei) which has the same meaning as worthy or value in a very literal sense like a price-tag. Honor that each member in the group is uniquely talented. The leader knows that and respect each individual with a high value tag. They respect each member.

When the leader is leading the leader is taking into account each member of their team. The leader will honor the time, effort, the dedication of each member of their team. When the leader honors the members of their team, the members of the team also honors the leader. Creating zeal towards the vision, the mission, the purpose, the goal of the company being lead by such leader.

After reading different books on leadership, I sat down and realized that I thought I didn’t have any leadership skills, oh was I wrong. My entire life, in every position I have worked I have applied these skills. I thought leadership was sitting as a CEO of a company or as a principal at a school but leadership is a lifestyle. We become leaders by our actions whether others are seeing us or not. Leaders are not born they are made. They are made by their daily struggles, their daily attitudes, their daily interactions with others.

Leaders are made. Hard work and dedication create leaders who are professionals and ready to lead. As we reflect on these qualities think of areas of your life that you might need a little booster. Reflect on leadership attitudes and see what you can do today to become the strong leader of tomorrow.

Applying what we learned:

Now that we see the actions of leaders, what can we do to sharpen our skills today?

Be kind to those around you.
Act according to your values. Don’t change to please others. Always be yourself.
Do something kind for someone else.
Set goals for areas of your life. Set goals, crush them!
Every task you complete do it with love. Give it your best every single time.
Try to see the positive in every situation. Even when a situation seems 100% negative find the positive, focus on it!
Be a good communicator at the workplace. There will be people rooting for you to fail but believe in yourself and be kind to everyone in your team. See the best in each individual you work with.
Value people. Make sure you acknowledge each person in your team as a valuable member of the team. Don’t think you are better than anyone else, treat others as equal.