By: David
Just like the good old saying says. “Leaders are not born, they are made.” Now I can sit here all day and talk about leadership, but today’s focus will be geared towards to taking the first steps into leadership. Here are some tips and advice on getting your feet into the doors of leadership.
1) You have to ask yourself, “Why do I want to be a leader?”
Every leader has a different goal and passion and therefore different purpose. It can vary from making the world a better place to making your business the best and even to simply just wanting to help others. Leaders are born through inspiration and motivation.
From experience, one of my biggest difficulties has always been deciding my purpose for leading. After much reflection and thinking, I’ve come to conclude that I really want to help others better themselves and potentially awake the leader within as well.
2) Get involved!
Now that you have the cognition to start your leadership you now have to get experience! You can only learn from DOING. If you don’t get hands-on experience then you’ll never learn and grow as a leader. Take every opportunity you get! Here on campus we have various opportunities like Greek Life, Bulldog Welcome Week Rockstar, Student Advisor, Peer Tutor, Peer Educator in our office, and a ton of student organizations for all students. Use your resources and take every opportunity you get before your time runs out. You can also participate, and earn a leadership certificate, through the Kirby Leadership Institute.
3) Be curious to new knowledge.
One of the most important things to be an effective leader is always having the mentality to learn something new every day. The more you know the more you will be able to help and advise your followers. Even if you may know a lot already always be open to new knowledge and whatever else that may come your way. Be humble and never stop learning because knowledge is key, but how you use your knowledge is even more crucial.
In closure, there is no exact “right” time to start your journey of leadership. It all depends on you. Once you have that feeling and know that you are ready then by all means start leading! There are many key characteristics that many great leaders have. Stick around as I’ll be highlighting some of these characteristics in my next blog post!
Peer Into Your Career 