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1. If you want to become a really great leader then it is
important that you invest time and effort into developing
your skill as a leader. Although there is far more to leading
others than possessing the proper technical skills needed
to effectively lead others. Understanding and practicing
these skills will certainly equip you to be a better leader.
There is however one requirement for leadership, which is
difficult to learn, but is crucial to becoming a great leader.
This quality is character.

2. Your character or the example you set for those who
follow you, is communicated to them through your
actions. The primary example you set for others or the
level of good character you project to everyone around
you, is the most important area you need to address or
improve, if you want to be authentic and believable as a
leader.

3. Action Idea: Examine your actions or the example you
have set over the past month. Have the actions you have
taken and the example you have set been aligned with the
type of character you want your team to project to you?

4. Are you acting in alignment with the values of your
teams?

5. Have you exhibited the level of integrity expected from
your team?

6. Are you working as hard as or harder than you expect your
team to work?

7. Are you displaying the honesty, you expect from your
team?

8. Are you living up to your team's expectations?

9. Is there anything you need to change to ensure that you
are more authentic?

10. Once you are certain that your actions and the example
you are setting for your team as their leader, are aligned
with the needs and expectations of your team. It is time to
ensure that you have a clearly defined mission, vision and
strategy, which is clearly communicated to every team
member.

11. Your mission or purpose must clearly define why you and
your team do what you do every day. When your team
understands the overall purpose and their role in
delivering on the mission, they will be inspired and driven
to make the team succeed.

12. The team vision must also be clear and understood by all
stakeholders, as this defines exactly what the team is
trying to achieve with the actions they take each day. The
more clear the vision and the better it is understood by all
team members the better the final result the team will
realise in the end.

13. All great leaders have a strategic plan, which they clearly
and consistently communicate to their followers. This
allows everyone to get a crystal clear picture of their
individual roles necessary to delivery on the overall vision.
This strategic plan is effectively the how, which when the
team aligns this with their mission, will deliver on their
vision.

14. As you climb higher in any organisation, your role as a
leader is to be more of a dreamer or visionary and less of a
practical hands-on person. The higher you climb as a
leader the more your work is about charting a course for
your followers to follow into the future. The reality that
every leader faces though is that no matter how great
their vision may be, they always remain responsible for
influencing their followers to take action. No vision is of
any value, unless acted upon strategically by all team
members.

15. The measure of any great leader is found in how well they
are able to clarify their vision and then to communicate
their passion and the essence of their vision to their
teams. This can be a challenging task as the people you
lead, may not be privy to all the information you as the
leader have access to and they may not be able to
envision the future like you can. You as the leader of any
team are the steward of the vision and as such you must
work to bridge the vision gap, between what you envision
as the leader and what your team sees.

16. Great leaders must communicate their mission, vision and
strategy to their teams consistently, in a creative and clear
fashion. This will ensure that every team member
understands their role in delivering on the mission and
vision. Although communication is important and must be
done daily, it alone will not get your team completely
aligned behind your mission and vision. The only way to
get this to happen is for you as the leader to live your
mission and vision. As you model your vision, every day,
your team gets to see your drive and passion and they can
see how the picture of what you envision actually comes
alive.

17. Great leaders must always set the example with the right
behaviour and daily activity. People may doubt what you
say, but they seldom doubt what you do. As you
consistently set a good example for your teams and you
keep modelling the right behaviour every day, which is
aligned with achieving your vision. So too will your
followers do the same. People do what you do and are
guided by what you say. It is for this reason that you must
always strive to be the example of what you want from
your team.

18. The example or living picture, any great leader displays to
his or her team, is what produces the energy, passion and
inspiration, which their teams feed off. The people, who
follow you, are always watching what you do. If you set a
bad example with your daily actions, your teams will soon
exhibit the same bad behaviour. If you as a leader strive to
be the example you want and expect from your followers,
they will eventually emulate you and reflect just that back
to you, in the actions they take daily.

19. Remember that if you want to change any behaviour in
your teams, it is impossible to achieve any change, unless
the change starts with you the leader first. Your role as a
leader is to act as a change agent. To be effective in this
endeavour, you must ensure that you model any change in
yourself, before you expect to see any change in your
followers. The standards of excellence you set for yourself
must be far higher than any standard you set for any
members of your team. To retain your credibility as a
leader, you must always strive to work first, hardest and
longest on changing yourself, before you attempt to
change anything in your team.

20. The most valuable gift any great leader can give to
themselves and to their teams is to always strive to be a
good example. When you as a leader are able to align your
beliefs, vision and values with your daily actions, you
become a perfect model for your team, someone who
leads from the front. As you consistently strive to set a
perfect example as a leader, you create the perfect
foundation for the same behaviour to be practiced by
everyone in your teams.

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