How to Become Your Ideal Leadership Vision

Here are some things that I think can help an individual become the ideal leader he or she seeks to be.

1.  Acknowledge your leadership role

The corporate executive, the aspiring entrepreneur, the platoon leader all are leaders in their respective arena.  However, what separates the good from the great is derived from a simple choice. In my pursuit to becoming an extraordinary leader I have one belief:  Leaders are not born, they are made. Extraordinary leadership is derived from a single decision.  It is the choice that an individual has made that simply states “I will be extraordinary and never ordinary”.  Once this decision has been made, the newly born leader must work on one critical component:  Leadership identity.

2.  State your leadership identity.

If you were to list the characteristics that define you as an outstanding leader what would they be? Are you a competent leader?  Do you desire to be that leader who has air of quiet confidence?  Are you a compassionate leader?  Are you a leader who is cool under pressure?  Would you want others to describe you as the innovative leader?    Without a clear understanding of what you want to be like, you will have no way of tracking if you are close to achieving your goal.  List the characteristics that define who you aspire to be as a leader. 

·      Example:

o   Competent

o   Confident

o   Cool under pressure

o   Compassionate

3.  Take Action

The characteristics that you have listed are your guide to action. It forces you to ask a deeper question.  If one of your ideal leadership characteristics is “confidence” ask yourself what must you do and how must you think in order to feel like you are a confident leader.  Does confidence for you mean that you are someone who is prepared? Does feeling confident mean that you walk a certain way or talk a certain way?  What ever makes you feel like that characteristic do it!

4. Live Passionately

Every single day make it your relentless passion to become this ideal leader.  If your ideal leadership persona is someone who is competent, confident and compassionate, then every day you must do something that makes you become closer to being that competent, confident and compassionate leader.  In time, you will become the leader you always wanted to be. 

By focusing on developing yourself to become your ideal leader, you will be forced to do things that your ideal leadership persona would do.  Without hesitation you will do the right thing because it is imbedded in your core.  Focusing on developing yourself to those characteristics will force you to walk a certain way, talk a certain way, do things a particular way, make decisions in a specific manner.