The best leaders unknowingly inspire the people around them. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

As Steve Jobs once said, “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.”

Success as a leader does not happen by accident nor overnight. People are not born into leadership. There are qualities you can adopt and practice to become a better leader for your team. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

Practice integrating these leadership qualities into both your personal and professional life.

9 qualities to adopt to become the best leader:

1. Consistency.

The greatest leaders are consistent in their expectations, work culture, and goals. Your team will look to you to have a consistent approach.

> Communicate your expectations or goals to your team upfront. If anything changes, communicate that clearly to your team. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

2. Effective communication.

The best leaders promote a culture of open, effective communication. They share ideas in a way their team understands and actively listen to their team.

> Be a good listener. Communication happens both ways – welcome ideas and constructive criticism to earn respect from your team.

> Be a good communicator. Regularly communicate your goals and expectations in a clear, concise way. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

> Be honest. Being honest with your team will build their trust, loyalty and respect for you.

3. Humility.

Humility is an underrated leadership quality. Humble leaders are easy to relate to because they know they don’t know everything. They have the confidence to be curious and open to learning more. Humble leaders also acknowledge they can’t do everything alone, and give credit where it’s due. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

> Be curious. When you don’t know something, be curious and ask for more information.

> Give credit where it’s due. Celebrate your team’s achievements.

4. Visionary.

The best leaders have a clear, inspiring vision of what their team can accomplish. Having a clear vision can motivate your team to go beyond what they think they are capable of.

> Regularly communicate the bigger picture or your vision to the rest of your team so they take ownership and find ways to get there.

5. Resilient.

Problems are a natural part of any endeavor. Instead of backing down from a problem, great leaders find solutions rather than putting the blame on others. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

6. Decisive.

As a leader, your team will look to you to make the final decision, especially when the decision is hard to make, or your team is split.

> Weigh your options and involve others in the process, but take it upon yourself to make the final decision.

> Stand by your choices, with the understanding that you are accountable for your actions.

7. Integrity.

The mark of greatness is choosing to do what is right even if it’s not the popular choice. You’ll gain the trust of your team when you stand by your values in an integral way. 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

8. Lift up your team.

The best leaders empower their team to succeed. Empower your team, by trusting them with different responsibilities, and giving them time to develop their skill set. Create a culture of strategic and creative thinking so that your team feels like their ideas and contributions are valued.

9. Sincerity.

Great leaders have sincere, genuine care for the welfare of each person on their team. The greatest leaders are people-oriented, with a desire to contribute to the well-being of others.

The greatest leaders carry a contagious, positive energy for the work they do. That energy passes onto their team naturally. They inspire their team to achieve the company’s goals and vision.

As John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” 9 Qualities the Best Leaders Adopt

What does it take to motivate yourself? You set goals, make plans, get excited, but then procrastinate when it comes time to do something. Many of us are cursed with the ability to feel good about the planning process, but awful about acting on those plans. There’s a disconnect that few people understand how to address. Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

Master this ability and you can do anything. However, if your ability to tie your planning and action phases together is poor, you’ll struggle immensely.

Enhance your motivation and your results in life: Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

1. Give your attention to those things under your control.

You can’t control much, but there’s no reason to focus on anything else. Doing so will only lead to feeling overwhelmed. For example, receiving a promotion isn’t under your control. The behaviors that improve your odds are under your control.

> Put your time, energy, and attention on the things you can manipulate. Avoid wasting your resources on anything you can’t influence.

2. Find a purpose that inspires you.

Going into work on Saturday to complete a report might sound like the least enjoyable way to spend part of your weekend, but if excelling at your job could lead to the promotion you’ve been dreaming of, it’s easier to be motivated. Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

> Most people don’t like to work out, but the prospect of being healthier and more attractive is motivating to many people.

> Avoid judging the task or activity in the short-term. Think about what you’ll get out of it down the road. Find a way to take inspired action.

> Your inspiration might be a product of what you’re doing for others. How does your goal benefit others?

3. Focus on small wins.

If your goal is to lose 50 pounds over the next year, it’s easy to become burned out. After two hard weeks of hitting the gym, avoiding late night snacks, and drinking only water, you’ve lost a total of two pounds. You’re right on schedule, but you realize that you have 48 weeks and 48 pounds to go. It seems like too much to bear.

> Break the goal up into smaller pieces. Depending on your ability to focus, it might be necessary to break up the goal into segments that last anywhere from one week to 12 weeks. This way your brain can experience success and logically see a positive long-term outcome. You’ll procrastinate if the path looks too challenging. Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

4. Act first.

It’s a mistake to wait for motivation to strike. You might find yourself waiting for a long time. Avoid thinking too much about the work to be done. If you wait too long to get started, procrastination becomes more likely. Before you can stop yourself, get started. You’ll find that motivation is easier to experience after you’ve acted.

> Every minute you wait under the guise of “planning” or “strategizing” saps what little motivation you may already have. Jump up and get busy!

5. Enhance your mood.

It’s much harder to be motivated when you’re in a bad mood. Studies have shown that a negative mood increases procrastination behaviors. Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

> Procrastination enhances your mood in the short-term, but at the expense of the future. Put yourself into a better mental state and procrastination becomes less likely to occur.

> Happiness increases productivity and success. Monitor your progress. Research suggests that nothing is more motivating than progress in a meaningful endeavor.

Without motivation, you can make spectacular goals and plans and still come up short. Learning to manage your motivation is a key component of accomplishing great things. Motivate yourself and you can do anything. Self-Motivation: How to Motivate Yourself to Do Great Things

As the old adage goes, change is constant, and is crucial to allow you to move forward and experience new and exciting things in life. When you actively work towards developing yourself, your life can become fulfilling, and you become the person you want to be. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

Despite the benefits, change can be troubling, and many of us shy away from making changes, whether big or small. Change is, however, a vital part of our development journey, so we should do well to embrace it.

Allowing yourself to change, learning new skills, and working on your inner self can bring about transformation you never knew was possible. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

How Can Identifying Change Areas Help You Change Your Life?

1. It helps you focus.

Identifying the areas of your life that need change enables you to focus, and work actively towards your goals.

• You may realize that you always aim to please people in your relationships, but that this makes you unhappy. By identifying this, you can make the necessary changes without issue. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

2. It makes change easier.

It seems clear, but identifying key areas of change makes the process of change more manageable. Let’s assume you want to change your diet because you feel something you are eating triggers hormonal imbalance.

• If you can identify that dairy foods like pastries are the cause, you can switch to a healthier alternative. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

3. It brings about progress.

When you identify the area in your life that needs changes, you make progress – every change allows you to take a step forward.

• If you can identify your career goals, you can take steps to reach those goals. You could learn new skills, apply for your dream job, or build your own business. Whatever it may be, identifying goals takes you a step closer.

4. It helps you build a support system.

When your support system knows what changes you need to make, they can support you in the right way. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

• For example, you identify that being in certain situations triggers trauma. With this knowledge, your support system can help you avoid situations that could upset you.

5. It helps you identify triggers.

Identifying specific triggers helps you to avoid them.

• Let’s assume you realized that being in a crowded area triggers your anxiety and makes you uncomfortable. You can then avoid congested areas and busy situations. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

6. It opens opportunities and experiences.

Identifying changes and making them will open you to new experiences and opportunities.

• If you can identify that you fear public speaking because you think you aren’t good enough, you can overcome that self-doubt and make the needed changes.

7. You realize your strengths.

The ability to identify areas that need changes and then make those changes shows a level of power. That is because recognizing that “I need to change this area of my life” takes a lot of courage. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life

• Change is challenging, but in the end, it shows your resilience, and you can get through another tough situation life throws at you.

Final Thoughts

Identifying areas of change allows you to truly transform your life. By breaking your goals down into manageable sections, you can take control, and enjoy the benefits of change. 6 Ways That Change Can Transform Your Life