Leadership is about making the right decisions for your team and organization, but it’s also about inspiring people to believe in your vision. Leaders are those who inspire trust and confidence, empower their teams, and drive them to succeed. Everyone can be a leader if they have the courage to step up and take action when necessary. Being a leader means you are responsible not only for yourself but also for others who look up to you as their guide. Whether or not you’re officially named a leader, there will come a time when you have to make a decision about whether or not you’ll take on that responsibility.
Becoming a leader requires continuous self-improvement and learning from other people. There are so many different types of leaders out there, each with its own unique style and approach to guiding others toward success. There is no one way to become a leader, but there are some common superpowers that most great leaders share. Here are some powerful emotions that successful leaders live by:
Vulnerability
Our capacity to be daring leaders will never be greater than our ability to let our hearts exhale and build vulnerability skills from it. Courage requires vulnerability. Dispel the notion that it's about winning, losing, or weakness. From professional athletes, artists and activists, you can adapt to doing vulnerability, or it can do you. Be courageous instead of experiencing uncertainty and discomfort because there is no place for it. Take a break and circle back when necessary, then lead toward a desirable outcome.
Trust
Trust and vulnerability go together as it helps to create a connection and empathy for others. Trust to be vulnerable without turning away, and it will evolve into greatness over time. Let's not confuse this with blind trust. For example, giving team members the space and trust with the positive intent for them to stretch and learn will help to foster a humanistic workplace of joy and creativity.
It is important to remember that there are no guarantees and there can be struggles, failures, and even darkness. But if we are clear about the values that guide us in our efforts to show up and be seen, we will always be able to find the light. We'll know what it means to live bravely. Trust also builds empathy which can rise to the occasion where you will need to connect and pay attention to others when in need.
Values
Courage and faith are great core values. If you are willing to rumble with vulnerability, trust can be a powerful and socially adaptive emotion that can create lanes where none might have existed before. For example, a team can eventually lean into their individual gifts and group assign tasks in coordination with less fear of failure and frustration all with the help of sharing core values.
Resilience
Learn to get back up after a fall, and gain the kind of self-passion to manage emotional shame. Don't fall into feeling that you're in danger of not believing you're enough. Instead, return to the world of courage, connection, and meaning. When you fail, learn from it and take it as an opportunity to grow. Leadership in itself can have a stormy first run.
Final Thoughts
You can ultimately lead courageously by showing up fully, living your values, trusting first, and learning to rise when things don't go as planned.