Becoming The Boss

Becoming The Boss shows leaders of all kinds, whether new or experienced, how to identify the pitfalls that stand in the way of influencing others for the better and overcome them.

When I was a missionary, our leaders had to teach us but also take care of their own areas. I didn’t understand how they could do it until I spend more time with them.

That’s when I realized that they were so good because they were excellent at leading themselves.

This requires you to be just as good at organizing your own life and improvement as you are at doing so for a whole team. It might sound daunting, especially if you’re new to your position, but there is hope for you.

The first rule you want to follow is don’t panic. Things change fast in the business world. Technology throws ideas at us at lightning speeds. It’s completely normal to be afraid occasionally, and you can learn to handle it.

One helpful way is to ask yourself if you want what’s in front of you more than you’re afraid of it. If you can answer yes, then push through your fears and go for it!

Also, learn to be creative. It used to be that you could become an expert in your field and that would be enough, but not anymore. If you want to stand apart, learn the ropes of other fields.

Additionally, always be learning and working harder. Assess your current knowledge. Pay attention to the skills you need to work on and make a plan. Check the LinkedIn profiles of people you admire to see what they’re good at and work on those things.

In one of my favorite speeches I’ve attended, a leader I admire used a phrase that I’ll never forget: This is some of the best leadership and life advice I’ve ever received. It still has a huge impact on everything I do today, especially whenever I get the chance to lead. Research from the University of Texas confirms this, too. It identified that leaders don’t use the word “I” as much as non-leaders. So if you want to be excellent, stop thinking and talking so much about yourself! It doesn’t do any good to just try to avoid doing something bad, you want to fill the gap with what’s good. And that’s thinking about your employees. You don’t want to talk about them behind their backs, and we’ll get to that in a moment. You need to focus on the needs of your people and not your own. If you’re lost in what you need to improve all the time, you won’t be receptive to their needs. Under-communication is another must-avoid…