Great leaders need to win

Take a look at the great leaders in history and you'll get to see a common trait. They all find a way to win or achieve their goal. Some did this over a relatively short time while others spent years grinding away to eventually find the right formula.

What is interesting is that these leaders wouldn't accept defeat, sure they had set-backs and some took different approaches, but the thing they had to show us was their perseverance to come out the other side having met their goal.

Next time it's us in the box seat, even though we have carefully considered the options and explained our vision to the team - when things go wrong we need to take a leaf from these leadership hero's and take another look at the problem, consider some alternative options and most of all we need to be prepared to try and try again until we emerge with the solution.

The tough part of this is to maintain our winning attitude, yes we may have some problems along the way, we need to learn from inspire our team to move forward with next option and keep the team focused on the goal. If we fail to maintain this positive attitude then the team will waiver and our efforts will be dramatically reduced.

When you're the leader, hold your head up high and take your winning attitude with you and you'll make those goals.

Are you empowered?

Are you in a position to be the leader? One of the great limitations to stop us taking control and leading in our position is our feeling of empowerment. Does your organisation make sure you know that you're empowered to take the lead. Are you confident that regardless of the outcome you will be supported.

Your empowerment is one of the cornerstones for you to feel confident to take your leadership to the next level. People who do not feel empowered will either withdraw into their shell and treat the situation as if they are just a number doing their job, others will become disillusioned and leave the job to find an environment where they gain the empowerment they need, so they are able to act in the leadership role they seek.

How do you know when you're empowered to be the leader you can? Talk with your boss your supervisor, do they give you the feeling that they will support you? Are they prepared to let you do your thing without meddling? Are they prepared to step back and not micro-manage you and your efforts to get the job done? Hopefully the answer to all these questions make you feel the confidence that they will let you do your best to lead.

Perhaps you're feeling a little vulnerable, if that's the case why not ask your boss/supervisor to act as your mentor, you'll quickly find out how much they want you to succeed by offering to take time to spend with you. Mentoring is a great way to walk and talk through situations with a more experience person and get feedback on the good and not-so-good so you can learn to be the best leader you can.