Sometimes leadership can seem so overwhelming.
In reality, though, leadership is simpler than it first appears.
In many ways, great leaders master some very basic habits that other people miss. The advice in this article is so simple you might be thinking, Well, my mother used to tell me to do that.
Maybe that’s the point.
You can have a Ph.D. in leadership and read everything there is on leadership and still not be effective.
And yet there are leaders who have little formal education but who lead powerfully and effectively every day.
Often, these leaders gain influence because they’ve mastered a few basic skills others miss.
Here are five of my absolute favorite basic leadership skills that are far too easy to overlook.
Habitually own them, and you’ll become a much more effective leader.
1. MAKE SOMEONE ELSE THE HERO.
Few of us have a healthy relationship with ourselves.
The narcissists make it all about them.
Insecure people focus on themselves because they can’t bear to give anyone else air time.
And even people who lack confidence can end up being selfish because their lack of self-esteem means no one else gets attention.
How do you escape the trap of narcissism, insecurity or low self-confidence?
Just make someone else the hero.
If you’re a preacher, like me, make sure you point to God, not to yourself when you speak. Worry more about whether people connect with God than whether they connect with you.
What else does this principle look like?
Well, if you’re a writer, make your reader the hero. The filter through which I try to run every article I write is what I call a “helpful” filter. I want the atricle to help you as a reader. I want you to win.
Think about it. You and I love leaders who point beyond themselves to someone else. Why not be that leader?
So when you struggle with narcissism, insecurity or low self-confidence (and we all do; me too), step aside and make someone else the hero.
It works. Every time.
2. DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO WHEN YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT.
If there’s one piece of advice I want my sons to remember, other than everything I taught them about Jesus, it’s this:
Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
It puts you ahead of about 99% of the planet.
Think back on your last week. Who frustrated you most? Probably the people who didn’t do what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it.
Now picture the people you lead. Who are you most likely to promote, reward or even want to hang out with? The people who do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it.
Doing what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it is the basis of trust. It’s also the basis for confidence.
Hey, sometimes I’m still the guy who didn’t do what he said he was going to do when he said he was going to do it. But I try so hard not to be that guy.
So what do you do if you struggle in this area? Just stop promising and start delivering.
When your walk catches up to what your talk would have been, reintroduce your talk.
3. FOCUS ON OUTCOMES.
Also in the “please stop driving me nuts” category are people who focus on process, not outcomes.
I realize it’s axiomatic these days to say the journey is more important than the destination. But not always. Really. Come on. What fun is the journey if you end up nowhere with any meaning?
It’s frustrating when you ask someone if something is done and they tell you:
Well, I emailed him.
She never got back to me.
I’ve called five times.
I think they must have changed their address or something.
And they feel like the project is complete because they tried.
Trying isn’t the same as doing.
Often, I feel like saying “You didn’t hear the question. The question is Is it done?”
A few years ago, I started encouraging the leaders I work with to stop focusing on the process and start focusing on outcomes.
When you focus on outcomes, you eventually stop emailing someone who never returns emails and you text them instead, or call them, or go to their office, or release them and find someone who will help you get the project done.
If you focus on outcomes, you’ll also have a shot at mastering No. 2. If you don’t, you never will.
And getting things done actually makes the journey more enjoyable, at least in my view.
4. LOOK PEOPLE IN THE EYE.
Sure, this is an I don’t need an article to remind me of this. (So is the next point, by the way.)
But do you ever notice how hard it is to actually look someone in the eye—to make them the sole focus on your attention?
I’m pretty sure I’m ADD, and it’s so hard for me not to focus on shiny objects, moving parts or anything else in the room. Or my phone for that matter.
But the most effective leaders always look someone in the eye.
Sometimes I’m in a conversation with someone and I’ll create a voice in my head that just keeps repeating, Look them in the eye, look them in the eye. It helps.
I’ll even position myself in a restaurant or coffee shop so I face a blank wall, not the door or a TV. Otherwise, I just instinctively look at whatever is moving.
Watch for it. The very best leaders look you in the eye and make you the sole focus of their attention.
Practice that this week.
5. SMILE.
Everyone has a default expression. It’s hard to know what yours is because you never see yourself as others see you.
I learned years ago that my default facial expression is … uptight. If I’m having a good time, I apparently forgot to tell my face. I’m also a fast walker, so I tend to look uptight and annoyed.
How’s that for a guy who’s leading you?
People have given me very helpful advice like, Walk slowly across the room and smile.
I know that’s so basic, but remember, you’re programming against your default here, so it’s not easy.
I have to remind myself to smile when I teach, to smile when I greet people and to smile in conversations.
It makes a huge difference.
Apparently, Michael Hyatt has a similar issue and in this article outlined five positive impacts of smiling more as a leader.
So smile.
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This article originally appeared on CareyNieuwhof.com.