Be a leader at work

Everybody who is out working has this ambition of doing well and being acknowledged, irrespective of his or her appointment. There will be hardly any person who would not harbour an aspiration to get into limelight and be recognized as a cut above others. Every individual has this aspiration of being a leader at work. It is a different matter that due to various reasons, the tag of a leader does not get attached to everybody’s name. To be able to secure such a tag, an individual should be knowledgeable, perform well and be a beacon light for others.

How can you go about to establish yourself as a leader at work? There are several ways and means to do so, some purely speculative and some that have passed the test of time. You can always reach a position where you are admired by others, but without disclosing your purpose.  The following tips can be of help:

·  Take maximum responsibilities: If it is your desire to be an ‘influence’ at work, you need to take responsibility for possibly everything that has your signature on it. The price of greatness is responsibility and no action comes forth from consideration alone. On the contrary, it comes from a readiness to be accountable. You just cannot be successful if you shirk responsibility. Therefore, you must understand that for the period of your association with any task, you are also responsible if it fails. An important trait of a leader is to accept all responsibility for anything that goes wrong. Remember that there is nothing wrong if you go wrong, so why should you escape accepting responsibility for it? 

·  Harbour a win-win outlook: Most people believe that that it is only through manipulation one succeeds, but you should not subscribe to such a philosophy. It is essential that you repose trust in others – seniors, colleagues and subordinates alike – so that their thinking is favourable to you. You need be offensive or extraordinarily bold, but you should apply yourself in a way that the sway that you wield serves to motivate others and is always to your advantage.

·  Learn to take risks: You have to be dynamic in every sense of the word, Dynamism entails being enterprising and venturesome. Therefore, if you seek to be successful and remain in the forefront, you should be bold enough to take risks. You must ensure that any apprehension with regard to being let down not worry you at all. It is essential that you identify for yourself that crucial aspect that you believe in and that you are willing to take risk for. You may take simple risk like volunteering for an assignment that everybody else wants to stay away from.  Remember what a turtle does to move on – he sticks his neck out.

·  Reduce your plans to writing: As a leader at work, you are required to act. You should not be idling away your time; on the contrary, you must keep doing something, instituting measures and performing. It is necessary that you programme for all this in advance. Any ideas that cross your mind should be jotted down so that you do not forget or have difficulty recollecting them.

·  Don’t let opportunities slip away: You will find opportunities to lead everywhere; you need not search for them. Clutching opportunities call for initiative on your part. If you look around, you will see that opportunities far exceed capabilities. But yet, thechances of missing opportunities cannot be discounted. Like the example of taking over an assignment that others are reluctant to take on – if you do so, you are on the dance floor. And opportunity does not wait for dance-partners! 

·  Face criticism in right spirit: If you do not take criticism positively, your life is without a meaning. You ought to be open-minded and receptive to ideas. Ideas do not cost you anything and could well be in the form of undemanding hints to perk yourself and excel in your life. This is specifically what a leader seeks; he wants repeated responses and reactions.  Should feedbacks be not to your liking, you still have to absorb them. Criticism should serve to help you focus on things that need improvement. After all, criticism generates fresh ideas and when fresh ideas abound, a leader gets into action.

·  Learn to give and share: From what you get, you can make a living but from what you give, you can make a life. And that is exactly how you unlock yourself. Your opinions, contemplations and initiatives are meant to be shared. You should be able to experience your susceptibility; gradually you will start liking it. Once your inside is empty, you will hanker after newer plans: but where will they come from? Obviously they will come from your detractors and supporters. You will have greater inputs at your disposal and thus experience a never-before type of an intellectual reinforcement. And that is how you will come to regarded as a leader at work.

It is important that everybody sees in you a leader. And the only training that you can possibly undergo to be acknowledged as a leader is actually to become one!