Okay folks, listen up! I may have given hundreds of keynote speeches on leadership over the past 15 years and coached countless individuals to become effective leaders, but some of you still think you’re not cut out for it. You think you’re qualified on paper but can’t handle the people component of leadership. Well, let me tell you, that’s just a whole lotta baloney!
Stop making excuses like “Sorry, I can’t be a leader, I’m not gifted with charisma, I don’t have great communication skills, I’m a bit shy and introverted, I’m not that educated.” That’s just malarkey and you know it! You can learn these skills with the right mindset and attitude.
And don’t even get me started on the “gifted” excuse. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way you are right.” So if you think you’re gifted, sure, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. But if you think you’re not, well, guess what? You’re still right because you believe it.
But here’s the good news, folks. You can learn to become an effective leader. Yes, it takes time to build the right mindset and skillset, but it’s not rocket science. The attitudes and abilities that make up leadership will be reflected in your behavior. And let me tell you, there’s a long list of necessary skills for leadership: communication, persuasion, rapport-building, networking, possibility thinking, planning, envisioning, administering, organizing, strategizing, being charismatic, leading meetings, quick learning, public speaking, presentation skills, innovating, managing change, inspiring people, and coaching and mentoring your followers. Whew, that’s a lot! But don’t worry, you don’t have to master all of them. Just a few key skills can make all the difference.
And forget about the old hard skills like planning, finance, and business analysis. Today’s leadership is all about soft skills like teamwork, communication, collaboration, and motivation. And all these are human skills that can be learned.
So come on, stop making excuses and step up to leadership. Unleash the leader within you and create value with others. Remember, it’s less about managing and more about leading people. Let’s do this!
Paul Robinson is the author of the book “High Performance Leadership”. He is among the top leadership keynote speakers in India.