How Do I Train to be a Good Leader?

Are leaders born or made? I get asked that question all the time. The truth is, both. Everything you need to be a good leader is already inside. And… every good leader on the planet needs to nurture themselves along to become a good leader. 

A Good Leader: It’s Already Inside  

Yes, everything you need is already inside. It is part of your DNA or hardware. The nurturing part is the programming or software that goes into running your hardware. And that is the part that takes a tremendous amount of effort on your part. The hard work that goes into your nurturing is what I want to share with you here.

Let’s explore this in two parts. The first is all about a leader’s attitude. You can train for every other skill there is.  Attitude you can’t train for. Muhammed Ali once said: “There those with skill and those with will. To be a champion, you have to have skill and will but, I believe, the will has to be stronger.”

A leader’s will is made up of the burning desire to:

1. Be on time. 
2. Work harder than anyone else. 
3. Put in the extra effort. 
4. Have more energy than anyone else. 
5. Find their true passion in life – what they can’t wait to get out of bed for. 
6. Be coachable. 
7. Be prepared.
   

All of the above require zero talent. It is all about a burning desire or attitude.

The next part is the skill that a leader needs to endlessly search for, trial, make mistakes, learn from, recover and try again. 

Nurturing Good Leadership  

This learning is found everywhere you choose to look. Here are some examples:

1. Get a mentor or coach. Someone you trust that wants to help you be better. Someone who will push you. A mentor is someone that you buy coffee or lunch for. A coach is someone you pay 
2. Get a Mastermind Partner. Someone that that is at a peer level with you and also wants to grow and develop. You share with each other your goals and ambitions and then hold each accountable for action plan promises 
3. Go back to school. Enroll yourself in every corporate program you can. Go to night school at your local university 
4. Read. Consume everything you can get your hands on about Culture, Emotional Intelligence, Strategy, Leadership, Customer Experience, Sales, Marketing, etc. 
5. Listen and watch. Podcasts, TED Talks, YouTube videos, other leaders. Study them all.
   
6. Audio Books. Turn your car into a rolling university. 2 hours a day in a car is about ¼ of a book. That is 5 books a month 
7. Teach. One of the best ways to learn is to teach a workshop, lunch-and-learn or night school yourself.
   

Or… you can sleep in, have lunch with the same people every day, leave the office early every day, sit on the sofa and watch mindless TV and go to bed (like the majority of others out there that think they will never get ahead). 

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, and International Keynote Speaker. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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