To Succeed, You Need to Lead
You can lead those around you with this simple, yet powerful idea:
"The leader is that one who emotionally affects others most strongly toward positive action." -- L. Ron Hubbard
What is a positive action to which you would like to lead others? For example, if you encourage people to use drugs, commit crimes or cheat the system, you are leading them toward failure. This is negative action, not positive. If you encourage people to live healthy lifestyles, increase their skills or become happier, you are leading them in positive directions.
Other positive actions include leading people toward better jobs, better products and services, stronger groups, more income, greater ability, happier marriages and closer families.
What positive actions do you want others to take? Answer this question and you have your starting point to becoming a leader.
Next, you need to emotionally affect your followers in this direction. How can you do this?
If you look at how the greatest leaders in history have emotionally affected others, you will see they get their followers excited! They give them hope. They motivate them to do good things.
Which leaders do you love to follow? How do they emotionally affect you? How can you create those same emotions in others?
Combine those emotions with positive action and you are the leader!
For example, Terry manages the Safeway grocery store in Salem, Oregon and Chris manages the Safeway store in Fresno, California. Both want to be Safeway's new Western United States Regional Manager.
Terry frequently tells people that they need to be on time, follow the rules and do their jobs.
Chris also tells people to be on time, follow the rules and do their jobs, but she stays late to teach her favorite staff members how to be managers themselves. She encourages them to have careers with Safeway. She helps them to get raises and promotions within the company. Chris also talks with loud enthusiasm.
Who would you rather work for? Whose store does best? Who does Safeway promote to the Western United States Regional Manager position?
If you want to be a leader, but feel timid about it, these two steps can give you the breakthrough you need.
For example, you wish your coworkers would stop complaining all the time. You decide the positive action to lead them toward is a more cheerful work environment. You will do this by showing your own cheerfulness at all times.
All day long you say things like, "Wow, you did a great job on that report!" "I think that's great about your son getting an award at school!" "If we get more work done than the other departments, at least we'll be the last department to get downsized." "Has anyone watched the movie Hairspray? We rented it last night and my one-year old danced all through it."
By the way, you do not need permission to be the leader. You just lead!
1. Decide on the positive actions toward which you wish to lead people.
2. Emotionally affect people toward those positive actions. In most cases, your passion, energy and enthusiasm will encourage people to move in that positive direction.
3. Take the lead.
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