The SUCCESS TRAPS: The Leadership Secret

Tim McMahon, The BizCATS

Most people if asked would like to be considered Leaders. Leaders are generally considered to be successful people. Being a Leader is generally considered to be better than being a Follower, altho why this should be true is totally beyond me. But let’s suppose you would like to be a Leader …

The first question you need to ask is “What makes a Leader?”. Charisma? A dynamic personality? Good looks? Motivation? They’re all nice things to have, I suppose, but being a handsome, dynamically charismatic, motivated person won’t make you anybody’s leader. Leaders are people other people choose to follow; and they do that because they believe (a) the leader can help them get somewhere they want to go, and (b) the leader knows how to get there. Want an example? Watch TV in any election season and see what all the pols are saying, e.g., “We need lower taxes and I have a plan to …”

It follows then that Leadership is about doing things for others (as well as for ourselves); but it’s more than service, it’s about helping other people achieve their goals and having a plan in place to help them do it. Most great leaders share the same goals or objectives as those they lead and so leader and followers work together for mutual benefit.

So if you want to be a Leader ask yourself what you can do to help others achieve the success they seek in their lives. Then once you have a solid plan to do it, all you have to do is tell folks about it … and chances are you’ll find you’ve become a Leader! – Tim