The Ingredients of Impactful Leadership

Principles are essential for leadership as they provide guidance and focus to navigate through life’s daily challenges. Although principles can change in a constantly evolving world, there are a number of bedrock ingredients impactful leaders should aspire to.

Build Trust

It’s important to form strong relationships, both with your team members and clients. Make everyone feel welcome and treat people with respect. That sets you apart as a true leader rather than just being the boss.

Show Passion

Being passionate about the job is a great way to motivate staff. Enthusiasm shows commitment and a sense of stability, energizing your team to enjoy the work as much as you do. A love for the job is contagious.

Work Hard

You can’t expect your team members to work hard if you aren’t willing to do so yourself. Demonstrate your work ethic to others as often as possible. Hard work helps keep you keep focused on the big picture.

Build a Strong Team

Hire smart and qualified individuals you can trust to get the job done. Look for people who understand your vision. Being a passionate leader means finding team members who are equally passionate about their work. The best employees come from different fields and backgrounds. Don’t worry if their experience is different than your own. Skills can be taught but passion comes from life experience.

Take Responsibility

As a leader, everything and everyone at the company is your responsibility. Staff will look to you for the final say on everything, so there’s no room for blame. In fact, you should take responsibility when things go wrong, even if it’s not your fault. This helps you learn from mistakes rather than pointing fingers at colleagues.

As a leader, you must be humble, but firm enough to command the respect and loyalty of your colleagues. Great leaders encourage others to share their ideas. Keep in mind that it's much better to be respected than feared.​

By keeping the above principles in mind, you will gain insight as to your motivations and your leadership style. This will help make you an even better leader.