The Four Skills for Powerful Leadership

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Adrian Wild, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

In leadership we see people who are highly effective at execution and are capable of influencing others. Leaders are people that are confident and have a vision they are committed to. They have an access to power that has a much higher chance of success than what most people perceive they can have on their own. This is why leaders are followed.

What makes a leader? Some leaders have an innate ability that is deep in their personality. This personality naturally defines them as a leader as they simply behave in a way that indicates they are. Others are born into privilege and they are molded into leaders. And yet still others are self-made, simply because they have decided to be.

In the decision to become a leader one must face many aspects of their own perception and behavior. People that have decided to take this on face many ways of feeling uncomfortable as they learn a new way of behaving and a new way of being so that their life as a non-leader is not repeated. There is a risk of scrutiny, rejection and failure. It can be very painful.

However, people do it all the time and we admire their courage to face the risk of standing on their own through a sea of difficulty and failure to emerge successful and influential. The admiration comes from the perception of how challenging it would be. From the viewpoint of the admirer it seems almost impossible to put up with as much rejection and self-sacrifice as it would take to accomplish this goal. Most people do not want to go down this path and would rather follow than lead for this very reason.

What if I told you there is a better way? What if I said there were actually proven skills one can learn to enjoy the process of leadership? Wouldn’t that make being a leader more appealing and certainly open the door for more people to take on their lives in a way that would be more productive and satisfying?

Leadership is both a perception and a way of being. Following the four skills below, one can master this new way of being and accomplish whatever they want in life. The key is to believe and continually practice these skills. As one does, one’s attachment to who they are from the past or the meaning of their circumstances loses their power. At some point this old way of being will be a distant memory as one has redefined themselves. This new way of being will be in alignment with what others will call leadership.

1. Shed restricting beliefs and embrace empowering beliefs

Many people have had some element in the past that has kept them from success or realizing themselves as effective. When one is becoming a leader or trying to influence others, this cannot be running in the background. It cannot be running in their mind as they try to convince other people of the potential of the program or goal they are trying to achieve. This limiting belief must be eliminated. The negative effect of the past must be taken out of the person’s personality so that the promise of the future is more real to them and in turn more real to the people they are trying to persuade.

2. Clarify your vision of the future

Once a person has cleared their mind and is able to be present with confidence, the aspects of the goals of the future must be detailed significantly. This can be done through brain storming sessions with like minded people or on one’s own with a lot of creativity and visualization to develop a strong detailed understanding of what that future goal will be.
Doing this, opens up two possibilities. The first is that the person will see the opportunities available that align with this future much more clearly. The second is that they will be able to tell others about it in such a way that the others will be eager to participate.

3. Learn to tell your story so that others are inspired to get involved

Once one is able to visualize the story, it is important they are able to tell the story in such a way as to develop the interest of others. This is where people get up against the feeling of being uncomfortable and where the past becomes the present. Fear may become an issue.
The change in thought to quell these issues is this. Presenting is not a performance context. It is a relational one. Giving a presentation is always about having a rapport with the audience. To start, there must be a background of relatedness. One must create familiarity with the audience so they can relate to the speaker. Perhaps speaking of the commonality of the reason why one works at their company…The dedication they have for the success of the company. (Apple or Tesla employees can attest to this.) A story about why the goal is important to them. Why they got involved. Then about what was missing in the past, why things where not as good as they should have been, and finally, why the new goal will be an improvement over the past. This establishes a future that is better and intrigues the audience, perhaps to participate.

4. Request participation as an invitation not an expectation

Once people are interested in what is being presented, their encouragement to join must occur as an invitation not an expectation. It must be casual and the value of the relationship must be the same as before the invitation was offered, regardless if the person says, “Yes” or “No”. When one approaches presenting a goal to others in this fashion, they occur as someone that has real power and their goal is of real value.
Being a person that is self-conscious, needy or insistent on the commitment of others is off putting. Inviting participation from a state of confidence and ease is much more attractive and will win more people to the goal.
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When one has mastered these four skills, they have an excellent foundation for powerful leadership and can achieve whatever they want. Teach these skills to your team and their effectiveness will be significantly improved.

To learn more about each of these skills, you may click the links below or contact me directly.

Adrian Wild
Success Coach
www.AdrianWild.com