Career: Leading With Certainty

What makes a good leader?  Are people born with a leadership trait? Or can it be learned, honed, and mastered?

I believe the answer is both.

I believe that if you were born with good genetics, are good looking with a nice sounding voice, and were someone that people wanted to be, then people will follow you.

Unfortunately just because people will follow you, doesn’t make you a good leader.

On the other hand, improving your ability to lead is more than possible.  All it takes is recognizing what needs (6 human needs) your employees’ value most, then meeting those needs at a very high level, while being laser focused and certain in your direction.

Certainty is the key.  No one will follow your lead if they don’t truly believe you know where you’re going.

Leading with certainty does not mean you have to be a hard-headed, stubborn, know it all who thinks its their way or the highway.  What it does mean however, is that in order to move people, you have to be moved yourself.  There is an old quote that says “You can’t lead anyone where you haven’t been yourself.”  Ignore most of it.  That quote is goodhearted and well-intentioned, but it’s not completely accurate.  I don’t need to experience quitting smoking in order to help someone else quit smoking.  Famous explorers didn’t need to have experience and knowledge of new lands in order to lead their men across vast oceans.  But what they did need to have was the confidence and certainty that they will get there, and that they could handle whatever problems came up along the way.

In business and corporate settings, leadership is a hot topic because the ability to lead, inspire, and motivate employees can make the difference between a company’s success or its demise.

Having a highly motivated and passionate workforce can lead to massive breakthroughs and massive profits.  Seeking out and hiring employees who already have those traits is obviously a good start, but honing your ability to lead with certainty will guarantee those employees stay motivated and passionate.