How To Be A Good Leader

REMEMBER :

•  Leadership skills and techniques can be learned. You don't have to be a natural leader. Very few people are.
• Care for your team. That means knowing what matters to each member: their health, their partner, their children, their relatives, their interests, their hopes, their fears.
• Stay close to your team. At some point, every day, walk around the office and say "Hi" to everyone who works for you. If you're not in the office that day, call and see how people are. This gives you a chance to enquire or encourage and gives them an opportunity to raise issues or make suggestions.
• Meet your team. Regularly - daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your place and type of work - have meetings of all the members of the team. Keep these meetings short, focused and action-orientated. Make sure every member of the team contributes in some way and acknowledge that.
• Train your team. Every team member should have at least two days training a year. Newer and more senior colleagues should have more. If they don't ask to go on training sessions, suggest some suitable courses.
• Grow your team. Through varied experience and regular training, you should be developing each team member to be more and more confident and more skilled.
• Inspire your team. Consider making available a motivational quote or story every week or month [for lots of good quotes .
• Celebrate with your team. This might be a personal event, such as a member's birthday or anniversary, or a professional occasion, such as completing a project or winning oa contract.
• Socialise with your team. Have lunch or an after-work drink with them, especially when a member has a birthday or there's another reason to celebrate.
• Set objectives for each team member. As far as possible, these objective such be SMART - Specific MeasurableAchievable Resourced Timed.
• Review the performance of each team member. At least once a year - at least quarterly for the first year of a new team member - have a review session where you assess performance, give feed-back and agree future objectives and training.
• Thank constantly. The words "Thank you" take seconds to say, but mean so much.
• Praise constantly. The words "Well done" take seconds to say, but will be long remembered and appreciated.
• Communicate constantly. Don't assume that people know what you're doing, still less what you are planning or thinking. Tell them, using all the communication tools to hand: team briefings, electronic newsletters, organisational newspapers.
• Eliminate. Too often we do things because they've always been done. Life changes. Consider whether you could stop doing certain things altogether.
• Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Develop your team members by training them to do more and trusting them to take over some of the things you've been doing.
• Empower. A really effective leader sets clear objectives for his team members, but leaves detailed implementation of these objectives to the discretion and judgement of individual members of the team. As Second World War U.S. General George S. Patton put it: "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results”.
• Facilitate. A confident leader does not try to micro-manage his team, but makes it clear that, if team members need advice or assistance, he is always there to facilitate and support.
• Be on time. Always start meetings on time and finish them on time. Natural breaks keep people fresh. Short meetings concentrate the mind.
• Be seen. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk. So visit each unit or department for which you are responsible on a regular basis. Don't do this unannounced - you are not out to undermine other leaders or catch out staff. So arrange with the unit leader or departmental head when you'll visit and ask him or her to walk round with you.
• Make time. Managers are often very busy and this can deter people from approaching you, so make time for people and be approachable. People will appreciate you taking five minutes out of your busy schedule, especially if you act on/listen to what they say.
• Really listen. Many of us - especially those who think they are important - don't really listen, but instead think about what they're going to say next. Give the person speaking to you your full attention and really take on board what they are saying.  ]
• Accept honest criticism. Criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger - but it's a powerful tool of learning. Above all, assess criticism on merit, without regard to its originator.
• Think strategically. The doers cut a path through the jungle; the managers are behind them sharpening the machetes; the leaders find time to think, climb the nearest tree, and shout "Wrong jungle!" Find time to climb the trees.
• Have a mentor or buddy, someone doing similar work in the same or a similar organisation with whom you can regularly and frankly discuss your progress and your problems as a leader.
• Have a role model, someone who can inspire you to be a truly great leader. If you can't find one, study Jed Bartlet as the American President in any episode of the television series "The West Wing".
• Constantly revisit and review these tips. In his seminal work, "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey puts it this way: "Sharpen the saw".
• Plan your succession. You won't be there forever and you may not be in control of the timing and circumstances of your departure. So start now to mentor and train at least one colleague who could take over from you.

Besides that, presentation skills or also public speaking is an essential of leadership too. There's various kind of possitive attitudes in a good leader. From the above tips, i hope readers especially teen leader at school in various kind of situation or places can take this as a lesson learn. I wish my juniors will get use to it. Because i know someday anyone of you will ask me this :) Always be prepared !

Anyway, here is some reality i would share with together.
Once upon a time, i was still remember during my kindergarten and primary school teachers, whenever its report card day ...those teacher told my parents that i'm a shy and quiet girl. Actually, if i'm within the friends of cause i'm not. Haha. Starting from primary school year four, i realize that thats a bit changes day by day, years by years. I was not any prefect or class monitor for that time. Till when it come, during secondary school i shifted to a new school. I was like OMG. Because i really uncomfortable with a new environment sometimes. Well, i started to get involve myself with any activities. Especially those co-curiculum stuff. even a little rank in a community, its a part of leadership responsible. I tried to throw away those shy or quiet attitudes. Haha. But whatever changes in a person life, for your information, its not easy right? so, a person have to be independent, intelligent, self disipline,responsible,honest and etc I. Even that time, i dislike speaking in front of many peoples... hehe. After went through many of leadership/motivational course and camps, i find that a person can make a changes. Only thing is either you want it or not. Though i'm not any good leader , but yet , there's more people thats beeter than us. We are not the best but always do the best of the rest. This is my school days experience . I just cut it short. Its all too long for me to write here. I learned many things about being a good leader, which is something we are seriously lacking in our world today. Without trust, a leader won’t have any followers. Just take your time. Everything we do, time is the most important. Make every secong count. Time is precious :)