Sometimes leadership can seem so overwhelming.
In reality, though, leadership is simpler than it first appears.
In many ways, great leaders master some very basic things that other people miss. The advice in this post is so simple you might be thinking, “Well, my mother used to tell me to do that.”
Maybe that’s the point.
You can have a PhD in leadership and read everything there is on leadership and still not be effective.
And yet there are leaders who have little formal education but who lead powerfully and effectively every day.
Often, these leaders gain influence because they’ve mastered a few basic skills others miss.
Here are five of my absolute favorite basic leadership skills that are far too easy to overlook.
Own them, and you’ll become a much more effective leader.
1. Make someone else the hero.
Few of us have a healthy relationship with ourselves.
The narcissists make it all about them.
Insecure people focus on themselves because they can’t bear to give anyone else air time.
And even people who lack confidence can end up being selfish because their lack of self-esteem means no one else gets attention.
How do you escape the trap of narcissism, insecurity or low self-confidence?
Just make someone else the hero.
If you’re a preacher, like me, make sure you point to God, not to yourself, when you speak. Worry more about whether people connect with God than whether they connect with you.
What else does this principle look like?
Well, if you’re a writer, make your reader the hero. The filter through which I try to run every post I write on this blog is what I call a “helpful” filter. I want the post to help you as a reader. I want you to win.
Think about it. You and I love leaders who point beyond themselves to someone else. Why not be that leader?
So when you struggle with narcissism, insecurity or low self-confidence (and we all do … me too), step aside and make someone else the hero.
2. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
If there’s one piece of advice I want my sons to remember, other than everything I taught them about Jesus, it’s this:
Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
It puts you ahead of about 99 percent of the planet.
Think back on your last week. Who frustrated you most? Probably the people who didn’t do what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it.
Now picture the people you lead. Who are you most likely to promote, reward or even want to hang out with? The people who do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it.
Doing what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it is the basis of trust. It’s also the basis for confidence.
Hey … sometimes I’m still the guy who didn’t do what he said he was going to do when he said he was going to do it. But I try so hard not to be that guy.
So what do you do if you struggle in this area? Just stop promising and start delivering.
When your walk catches up to what your talk would have been, reintroduce your talk.
