What makes a great leader makes a great friend.
Nobody wants to think of their life as a business that needs to be managed, but many of the leadership techniques can be applied to our daily lives outside of work.
There are different areas where leadership is vital: in the social ambit, in the Business field, in the sports world or even in the family. Learn how you can become the example of a person that everyone will follow and respect as the best leader they have ever known.
How to be a social leader
Do not take, give
It is possible that in our minds we seek to earn credit and recognition as if this is the most important thing. People will judge your character based on the decisions you make.
When something good happens in your group of friends, make your appreciation clear to them. How you appear to strangers matters little, but your friends will appreciate and know your generosity. When a good friend achieves some goal in life, forget about yourself for a moment, and do not hesitate to congratulate and acknowledge their effort.
By doing this, you accomplish two things. The first, you make someone feel important because you are praising them. Although many people are embarrassed by compliments, in reality, everyone likes them. You will make your friend happy by telling others about their achievements, and maybe even help them grow. The second thing is that you become an example. When you do something big, they too will remember your actions and probably repeat them.
Be strong in tough times
Showing who you really are in tough situations, for better or for worse. The best qualities of leaders are born in these moments and you have a great opportunity to forge strong and lasting bonds with your friends when bad things happen.
Face good decisions and avoid deliberation
Many people linger around the decision for a long time, trying to reach consensus by asking other people what they want. Leaders decide. Of course, you must take into account the opinions and thoughts of others, but endless deliberation can be the worst option. When great leaders want to avoid wasting time, they come up with a solution and help make it their own.
Be yourself
Everything is usually easier said than done, even being yourself.
Allowing people to get to know us honestly and letting them see our darkest parts can be scary.
When people really know you, and your honesty is above the desire to hide something, you will gain freedom, but you will also be the target of a lot of criticism.
Look at it that way: you don't like everyone, and you can't like everyone. In the same way that you cannot change how others feel, neither should you worry about criticism from strangers.
Great leaders overcome this vulnerability to bring the craziest ideas out of their heads and share them with the world. Some of those crazy ideas turn into things we all know and love now.
Apply this socially with groups of friends. You can spend time with a wide variety of people and enjoy them to some degree, but great friendships exist because there are like-minded people destined to meet.
It's hard to find someone you can trust blindly if you hide who you really are. Absolute honesty may scare you, but the best leaders use it to convince others that they really are good. They do not need to say it, but to demonstrate it through who they are. When you do the same in your personal relationships, you may think that you are exposing yourself to a weakness, it may be, but you will reinforce other aspects of your personality.
Express what you want by being who you are
You can't force anyone to change, but you can set yourself up as a great example of what to be. When you don't like a behavior, make your opposition to it clear by avoiding repeating it yourself in any way.
If a friend does something that hurts you, don't retaliate. Instead, make yourself a role model by setting an example of respect, and trying to solve the problem in a diplomatic way. Good friends will learn from this, and many people will adopt your example.
How to be a professional leader
To gain respect it is important to convey the feeling that you know what you are doing. People will respect you and listen to you if they recognize you as someone with great knowledge that you can demonstrate to them and use to their advantage.
Become a role model
- Talk about your experience. Without showing off, make others understand how long you've been gaining professional experience and how many setbacks you've had to deal with during that time.
- Act professionally. Even if you are the boss, you should still be cordial and respectful to everyone around you. In addition, you should also adopt basic standards of professionalism, such as dressing appropriately, arriving at meetings on time, and communicating and expressing yourself in a professional manner.
Be clear about your standards and expectations
Whether you are the leader of a large company or the manager of a team of four, it is important that you convey your expectations clearly from the beginning.
- Establish a code of conduct or a regulation that teaches your team how to act in what situation.
- If you find yourself working on a project, your goals and objectives should be clear from the start. This way, your team will feel more motivated and less confused. It is always better to make your objectives clear in writing.
- Don't change the instructions in the middle of the project. While some mid-way adjustments may always be necessary, it is important to be realistic about what to expect. If you change your mind about what you want in the middle of a meeting, others will ignore you or may feel frustrated.
Be receptive to others
It is essential that you stand firm, but it is also essential that you give your team the opportunity to share their considerations or ideas. This way you will not look like a dictator, and this will allow you to learn from your employees, which will always translate into an improvement in your business.
- Feedback. It is recommended to ask for feedback in order to improve the situation. You can do it without scaring your work team. It is as simple as doing it through an email, or having them fill out an anonymous survey.
- Ask for opinions in face-to-face situations. At the end of a meeting, you can take a moment for questions or opinions. This will give your employees time to consider what they are going to work on. You can address them individually, or invite them to a meeting alone to finalize the details of the project. Explain that their perspective is crucial to your success.
Reward those employees with the best behavior
To be a good leader, you need to keep team morale high, and motivate employees to better themselves efficiently. What better way to do it than with fun and desirable rewards?
Make yourself like
Although it is important that your team maintain an attitude of respect and submission towards you, it is much better if they also consider you as someone with whom it is worth spending time. This will give them more enthusiasm when it comes to work and they will also love having you as a leader. Some ways to make sure your workers like you are:
- Admit your mistakes. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes showing that you could have planned something differently will allow them to see that you are just human, which will make people respect you more. You can, of course, avoid acknowledging that you've made a mistake to make it look like you know what you're doing, but don't overuse this option.
- Share a personal story with them from time to time. You do not have to become the best friend of your workers, but talking about your family, or about something of a personal nature, will make you open up to them as a person and they will see you as an equal.
- Be consistent in your interactions. If you are nice and friendly during meetings, but then you are dry when you pass an employee in the hall, you should not be surprised that they have mixed feelings towards you, and that they do not like you too much. It's important to always be friendly, not just for a few moments.
- At the same time, don't be too talkative or social with your employees. It is very healthy to make friends in the workplace, but if all you do is talk to everyone who passes by the coffee shop, people will think that you are more concerned with gaining recognition than being a good leader.
- Avoid romantic adventures in the workspace. Love stories at work almost always end in tragedy. If you don't want to lose everyone's respect, don't mix love with work.
How to be a good leader in sports
Show sportsmanship all the time
If you are the captain of your sports team and a newcomer appears, it is important that you maintain a friendly and polite attitude towards him.
- If you are training with members of your own team, build courage in them. Instead of repeating that you would do better and being rude when they make a mistake, try to show them how to improve their game, and give them credit when they act correctly.
- On match day, it is important that you look your opponents in the eye, shake their hands and show concentration in the game, no matter if the other team is better or worse. Even if you feel that someone on the other team has acted unfairly, try to take conciliatory and diplomatic actions, rather than using insults or bad language.
- Lose with dignity. Leaders should be viewed as mature people, not as little children. If the other team beat you up in the game, congratulate them without rancor. With a good attitude, you may have another chance before them.
How to be a good leader in class
Be and prove to be an expert in the subject matter
It is important for your students to know that you are someone they can trust as an expert in the field.
- When you introduce yourself, tell them something from a few years ago that you were working on for your discipline and how that served you in your life.
- Tell them how long you've been exercising. If you have been teaching for twenty years, let them know, and they will have the peace of mind that they will have the best possible course. However, if you are new to the classroom, you better not mention it, as it will make you look like a newbie who is not taken seriously.
Make the rules clear from day 1
Once the presentations are made, it is important to make the students understand what is expected of them.
- Have a calendar organized to help them understand what will be expected of them each day of the course. Answer any questions they have about you so that you can clear up any confusion.
- Whether you are teaching children or adults, you must adhere to the same code of conduct, which teaches not only what you expect of them, but also the consequences they will face if they fail. A common code of conduct includes treating each other with respect and avoiding destructive behaviors, such as texting, talking on the phone, or not keeping quiet in class.
Set achievable goals
Whether it is a control test or a final exam, it is essential that you make sure you set objectives that are achievable by the students. In this way, after all your effort, they will be better students, and they will be grateful for having an understanding teacher and a great class leader.
- Make a study guide. Before an exam, explain to the students the contents of the exam, in this way you will avoid surprises on the day of the exam.
- Provides type exams. If you give your students practical problems, they will improve their skills and cope with the final exam in a better way.
Be creative
To be a good class leader, you have to find new ways to introduce boring old material to your students. If you do not make boring fun, you will cause distraction in the student body, and a consequent loss of respect.
- Bring current topics and discuss them in class. Even if you are not a history teacher, you can take current facts and discuss them in the classroom. It can be anything, such as something related to government or sports. In this way, students will feel that their discussions are important to the real world.
- Do unique activities and make your students feel motivated and eager to think. Let them create their own texts, skits, or any other activity that helps them understand old concepts in a new way.
Show your students that you care
To be an exceptional class leader, you have to show that the successes of your students are important to you. Be friendly and approachable in the classroom so that they can respect you but are not afraid to ask you questions.
How to be a good family leader
Establish your authority figure
Make it clear that you are the head of your household, and that your rules must be followed.
- Show your children that the elderly must always be respected. If your parents play an active role in your life, you can teach your children to respect your parents, just as your children should respect you.
- Ask your children to treat you with respect. You are an authority figure and should be treated and responded to appropriately, even during stressful situations.
Make the rules clear
Your children should have a clear vision of what you expect of them. You should avoid temperamental or unclear behaviors, so they know exactly what you want.
- Establish what you expect from tasks. Your kids should know what jobs are expected of them, whether it's washing dishes, setting the table, or gardening. The rotation of tasks will also be good so that no member of the household is always stuck doing the most unpleasant tasks, such as cleaning the cat's litter.
- Establish what you consider to be appropriate behavior. Make it clear that you do not allow foul language, that dinner is eaten at the table, and maintain a positive attitude whenever possible. By repeating the rules, you will make it clear to your children how they should behave, and they will know what is not acceptable under your roof.
- Be consistent. Obviously, certain rules will have to change when your children reach a certain age. Make sure that despite this, all siblings are treated fairly, so you should avoid being seen playing with favoritism.
Create a useful system of rewards and punishments
In order to be the visible head of your house, your children should be aware that they will be rewarded for their good behavior and punished for not fulfilling what is expected of them.
- Have a reward for every occasion. If your kids are doing well in school, passing the driving test, winning a soccer game, or having a special event like a birthday, it's important to celebrate the occasion. Dining at the restaurant of your children choose, a trip to an amusement park or the cinema, or any other type of activity that is your children's favorite, will help them feel that they care about you and that you want them to stay the same. .
- Be clear about the punishments for bad behavior. Traditional punishment, such as not letting your children go out with their friends or forbidding them to attend an event, will teach them not to go overboard.
Have fun with your family
Do not get obsessed with making rules that you will later forget to enjoy your time with those you love the most. Here are some tips to make sure there is more fun than rules in your house:
- Host a family event every week. It could be cooking a special dinner, watching a horror movie, or playing a board game one night.
- Show your love and affection to your partner and your children. In addition to being an authority figure, you are also a mother or father, and it is important to tell your children how much you love them, hug them and make it clear that they are special every day.
