How to become a leader in a team at work and gain authority

Every person has the makings of leadership in his character. Not everyone is given the opportunity to become a leader - a person whose opinion is listened to, respected in the team, distinguished by purposefulness, capable of leading people, distinguishing between true and false values. Many people dream of realizing their own ideas and projects. Therefore, the question of how to become a leader in a team, for obvious reasons, arouses genuine interest.

Leadership Territory

If a person wants to become a leader in a team, he needs to decide on the territory in which to do this. This could be a school, a separate class, a work team, a student group. Also take into account the nuances:

What are you? If you are in school, the goal is to become class leader. If at work, you need to show your best side and achieve the authority of a team leader. This is a prerequisite for a leader to be able to influence and influence subordinate people.
How to achieve leadership authority in a team. You should take initiative and show your desire to achieve your goals and objectives. Noticing this, higher authorities will appoint such an employee as a manager at work. In an educational institution, this prerogative belongs to the student body.
The desire to become a team leader should be natural, not feigned. You can notice this by the confidence and special energy that a person emits.

By clearly fulfilling the assigned tasks, taking these points into account, you can always become a leader - number one in the team.

Leader energy and how to get it

Subordinates have much less energy than the leader, who has it in abundance. The difference must be big, only then can you attract attention and push people to complete the assigned tasks. People will feel a true leader in you. To understand what kind of energy you have, it is recommended to observe yourself throughout the day and determine the following points:

is there fatigue or is there a desire to continue to act;
behavior during periods of high or low energy;
how the energy state affects performance, satisfaction with oneself, one’s own decisions, and actions.

If you strive to become a leader in a team, you need to be clearly aware of your own level of power.
Some actions consume it, others replenish it. Every day you interact with a huge information field, a large number of people, so it is important to correctly distribute your own forces. This will help you be active and learn how to become a worthy leader in a team. In this case, the people around you will change for the better, their energy will increase and, as a result, their performance, health, general condition of the body will improve, and creative thinking will appear. There will be a normal healthy atmosphere at work. People will follow such a leader with great joy.

Definition of the concept

Before learning how to be a leader, it is important to understand what is meant by this term. So, leadership is the process of influence of one individual on other members of a certain social group, as well as the ability to receive voluntary support from them.

This concept was defined in a very original way by the American writer and professional speaker John Calvin Maxwell. According to him, a leader is a person who knows his path, follows it and shows it to others.

A good leader has a futuristic vision of the world and knows how to turn his ideas into real success stories not only for himself, but also for like-minded people around him. Thus, we can conclude that a leader is a person who knows how to motivate others and does this for the common good. Understanding these nuances should definitely help those people who have set themselves the goal of “I want to become a leader.”

What prevents many people from developing leadership qualities?

Many people at work, at home, in any other team strive to become a leader. They want to be the best in the class, team, family, circle of friends. The best is the first. You can be a leader in a variety of spheres of human life. Many people, or rather the vast majority of them, remain followers. There are understandable reasons for this.

Lack of purpose. If a person does not have ideas, aspirations, he does not know what tasks he should perform and for what, he does not understand how to become a leader in a team at work, in his own family.
Fear. It can be different. The main one is the unknown, the fear of repeating what happened before. These include qualities such as uncertainty, embarrassment, and guilt. Such character traits are not for a team leader.
Low self-esteem. If you do not value and respect yourself, and do not develop your abilities because you are not sure of their availability, you will treat your team members the same way.
Presence of internal barriers. Personality is formed over many years. If over the years you have not learned to perceive reality, to see several steps ahead, you will not be able to lead people.
Inability to manage your own life. Unpreparedness to make decisions.
Lack of necessary skills and knowledge. A future leader must constantly develop his personality. Knowledge, skills, experience in a specific area will help you achieve your goal.

A person who aspires to have a leadership position must be self-confident, clearly formulate his thoughts, present them clearly and specifically, he must have his own point of view.

What are the most common barriers?

The most common barriers to a team leader are:

A vaguely expressed goal, a task set for the team. Failure on the path to leadership haunts those who are weak in their vision.
Expectation of an instant decision, impatience. A person who tries to change himself instantly will never become a leader in a team. You have to be content with a small result. In order for a majestic oak tree to grow, you must first plant a small acorn. The deadlines for completing the task must be realistic.
Fear of taking risks, of testing oneself in new situations.
Lack of self-confidence. You must manage your development yourself, and it is up to you whether you become a leader. You need to learn to manage your life.
Lack of knowledge and experience. Everyone has their own life circumstances, character traits, and qualities that are unique to them. Studying the biographies of successful people will not help you become a leader.

To lead people, you need to realize your uniqueness. There are no magic recipes for this. You need to use your own knowledge, energy, experience, skills and apply them in a team.

Is it possible to find a universal method on how to become a leader?

In the modern psychological market there are many different “useful tips” that help you become a leader in a team. But they have no practical value, since there are no such “recipes” for everyone. Each person is unique in his own way, and he must realize this. In order to become the first violin in an orchestra, you need not to borrow other people’s secrets, but to look for your own, discover your gift, use your skills and energy.

Any of the listed barriers, and everyone has their own, becomes an obstacle to success. If you want to become a leader in a team, look for your own path. In order to achieve your goals, acquire new knowledge and skills. And what’s important is that you shouldn’t be afraid of defeats. A leader is not afraid.

Learn self-control

You can't control people if you don't control yourself. For example, when a project deadline is running out, everything falls apart because you don’t know how to manage your time and yourself. You snap at the team, even though it’s your own fault. Therefore, learn to control your emotions even in difficult situations.

What will you get?

Strong nerves, a cool head and a reputation as a collected leader.

How to develop leadership skills

For the initial development of leadership potential, it is recommended to perform several exercises. Perhaps for some they will seem ineffective, but not for the future leader. But you are not risking anything and, it is likely that you will feel an unprecedented surge of strength, your character will become stronger, and interest will appear in the eyes of others.

Open a dialogue with your inner critic

A person’s inner voice often forces him to make not entirely correct critical remarks about other people. Everyone needs to learn to resist him, including the leader. Listen to what he tells you, feel irritated by his statements, try to understand who you really are when he is silent.

An excellent solution for analyzing the current situation is to keep a diary. You need to constantly write down the thoughts of your second “I” into it, without hiding anything. In this case, one condition must be observed: the inner voice must speak in the second person. If you think about it, each of us had thoughts that I couldn’t do this because I was a weakling, had no willpower, and was lazy. You must answer your inner critic. Well, everyone decides for themselves.

Celebrate your successes every day

Before going to bed, the future team leader is recommended to make a list of tasks that he managed to adequately complete over the past day. Even if there were not entirely successful moments, it is not worth mentioning them. You should only write about positive results. This is work and not easy. But by doing this regularly, you will develop the habit of keeping a diary every day. You definitely need to be persistent, then it will be easier.

Record and listen to the confessions of loved ones about your strengths and weaknesses

This is a difficult exercise that requires courage. It is absolutely necessary to complete it. Seek help from people you trust and ask them to talk into a tape recorder about your positive and negative aspects of your character. A leader must know his strengths and weaknesses directly. There should be approximately the same number of advantages and disadvantages. After this, listen to the recording carefully. This is a worthy step forward for a leader. It will help get rid of internal tension. You can use a notebook instead of a voice recorder. Who likes it more?

From the experience of psychologists

People who strive to become a leader in a team often attend psychological training. The main objective of such classes is to explain to future leaders the understanding of leadership, which consists of managing a group of people and organizing them to achieve a set goal.

Psychologists conduct various experiments in their classes. At one of them, a training participant - a future leader - was asked to write down the opinion of a loved one about his strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of a week, he compiled a list of people with whom he had close relationships. It took him the next week to gather his strength and contact the first person on this list, and then only on the recommendation of the course leader. It was a cousin.

Once the recording was made, all training participants listened to it. When the psychologist asked the cadet to talk about the conversation he heard, he could only convey the general meaning of what was said. Then the training director played the recording again. And only after listening to it again, the participant, without excitement or emotion, was able to fully understand the essence of the statements.

According to the psychologist, for a person who wants to become a team leader, this is a big step forward. He became much more confident, felt his importance, and was able to understand that he could eliminate the barrier of not accepting leadership.

Develop a relationship with your reflection in the mirror

Don't be afraid to undress in front of the mirror and study yourself patiently. This may seem stupid, but you need to be patient. Step by step you will learn to look at yourself without clothes. Ask the mirror: “Do you have the right to judge other people?” When you learn not to hide from your own negative character traits, you will begin to work with them. Over time, an understanding of your own dignity and values will come.

Once you learn to accept yourself as you really are, you will be able to accept people with all their strengths and weaknesses. It is a conscious decision by the leader to study and correct.

Take risks every day

If you want to become a leader in a team, take on everything you haven’t tried in this life:

look for a new, interesting job;
dance;
go ice skating, skiing;
go to the pool;
engage in other exciting activities: sports, creativity, handicrafts.

Public speaking is of particular importance for the development of leadership qualities in any team. Each of them will help reveal a certain side of you - experience previously unfamiliar emotions, teach you how to express yourself competently, clearly express your thoughts, and discover your talent as a speaker. It is recommended that future leaders practice public speaking regularly. But it is advisable to avoid participating in competitions where you will have to compare yourself with others. Such activities are associated with the risk of injury. And then the achieved results of the future leader will not be of paramount importance.

Make decisions, be active

A leader in a team is an active person, capable of making decisions and taking responsibility for the team, which should constantly increase. If you want to take on a leadership position or participate in a competitive hiring process, don't hesitate. You need to call the administration, take the forms of the necessary documents, fill out and submit them. Offer yourself as an applicant for the vacancy. This is exactly how a leader behaves.

Oddly enough, many people want to be leaders in a team. They have every opportunity to make a career and become a leader. Due to laziness, fear, shyness, uncertainty, and indifference, they do not offer their services. There is no place for such character traits for a future leader.

Learn to admit your own mistakes, take responsibility for the decisions you make

An important quality of a leader in a team is to take responsibility. To check whether this message works for you, it is recommended to take a pen, a piece of paper and write about 10 similar statements. For example:

I am a leader!
I am responsible for completing the plan on time.
I am responsible for the decision made, etc.

A simple but necessary exercise. It shows that in the eyes of others, the leader is not always right. Taking responsibility for a team is not an easy task. In case of failures or mistakes made, it is the leader who will have to answer. If people recognized you as a leader in the team, they made an advance for your future achievements. You will have to work it out. If you cannot take responsibility for the fate of your subordinates, you will never be a leader.

Learn to say no

This is important for a leader. Even a very good person cannot always agree and run at the first call. After all, he has his own plans, at work and at home the day can be scheduled minute by minute, at certain moments he is not competent, he is not satisfied with the price of the issue, in the end - he simply does not want to. No matter how difficult it is to refuse your friend, friend, relative, tell him “no” if for a number of reasons you cannot fulfill his request. Do this exercise until you feel that you are able to refuse and insist on your own.

A future leader must be able to defend his rights. The leader's goal is to force the subordinate to complete the assigned task on time, and no excuses are accepted, except for force majeure circumstances.

The advantage of this exercise is that by being able to put your partner in an impossible position, you, as a leader, have achieved your goal. It develops initial leadership qualities.

Make a list of the alternatives available to you, even if they don't seem very attractive to you.

With this exercise, you, as a team leader, will learn to make the right choices. To do this, you need to competently compile a list of alternatives for specific situations relating to business or personal communication. If it is difficult to do this yourself, do not be afraid to ask a more competent person for help. Your job is to consider every available opportunity. At the same time, you should not start speaking with words like: “Yes, but...”.

Example. You want to get a promotion, but there are some obstacles. You need to write a list indicating the obstacles that stand in your way. Even if it annoys you, you need to overcome this barrier.

Give yourself at least one pleasure every day

Each of us, including the leader, has a lot of desires that bring pleasure. For some it is a pleasant pastime with family and friends, for others it is the desire to acquire material goods, for others it is playing sports. You need to make a list of hobbies and do one of them every day. Do not allow someone to disrupt your plans or manipulate you. This exercise will help you observe your own subconscious, which is very instructive. If, nevertheless, some reasons prevented the implementation of the plan, this day is not taken into account. Only when you can have fun at least 5 times a week indicates that your direction is correct.

Make a list of what is stopping you from achieving your goals and burn it.

If you have set a goal, but see that for some reason you cannot achieve it, make a list and indicate them in it. Leave this task to your inner critic. Don't stop him from speaking out loud. Then confidently repeat your goal. For example, you want to become a leader in a team and fill a vacancy as a group leader. In the list you indicate the reasons why, in your opinion, this will not work for you:

I have no experience in leadership work.
I am not a leader by nature.
I am afraid that I lack the skills and necessary knowledge.
Work will take up the whole day and there will be no time left for family.
There are more worthy candidates.

The list must be complete, indicating all significant arguments. As soon as they run out, the list must be burned. On the path to leadership, no reasons justify themselves.

Be confident and assertive

Not everyone around you will like the leader's point of view. This should not worry you; you need to remain true to your own principles to the end. When a leader gives in, refuses them, people see it even in his posture. A person will not develop leadership skills by walking slouched and with his head down. Confidence must always be present. The back is straight, the shoulders are straight, the speech is literate and clear. Never complain, blame anyone, humiliate or reproach people.

The timbre of a voice and the depth of its sound say a lot about a person. Confidence should be present in everything - gait, posture, voice, manner of speaking and even in clothes. It’s immediately obvious that the leader is coming!

These exercises are not a panacea, but they will help you become a team leader. Even by doing them, you show determination, character, perseverance, and faith in victory.

What skills and abilities does a leader have?

Here are a few key leadership skills:

Ability to persuade and inspire . It is one of the key qualities of a leader. A leader must be able to inspire the team and convince them that they can achieve any goal.
The ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them . By the way, a leader is responsible not only for making the right decision, but also for his team.
Skills for setting and achieving goals. In the endless race for success, it is very important to discern the desired goal, develop a strategy and achieve results.
The ability to concentrate on what is most important. Concentrating on the problem and its solution, and not being distracted by other tasks, is an important skill for a leader. Without this, you can forget about success in all matters.
Listening skills. Also, the basis for success is the ability to listen, hear and interact with the team.

These skills are essential to becoming a leader. Therefore, try to develop them as much as possible.

How to Strengthen a Leader's Power

A leader in a team always thinks about how to strengthen his authority in the team and strengthen power. There were, are and will always be competitors and envious people. They have a different position, point of view, ideology. Their main task is to discredit the team leader. Fighting such people takes a lot of effort and time, so it is better to eliminate them.

A leader in a team must respect the criticism of the people around him and clearly distinguish which of them is constructive and which is not. It is recommended to listen carefully to the first; it will help you avoid mistakes and make you look at yourself more carefully from the outside. The second type is not constructive criticism; it takes a lot of effort and time. People do not offer any new ideas and solutions, but only “suck” the energy out of you, trying to enter into an argument that is not useful. It is better not to contact them and not have common affairs.

The team leader must have his own ideology. For example, if he is the owner of a store, his main task is to ensure that his employees accurately fulfill their goals, satisfying customers as much as possible. For this purpose, a concept is developed; employees are required to adhere to certain requirements and rules, which are determined by the leader of this team. It is necessary to work out the fundamental points:

decoration of the halls;
clothing for service personnel;
buyer meeting;
customer attraction strategy, etc.

Each of the above points must be strictly followed. Employees must understand why it needs to be done this way. For his part, the leader in the team must be patient, be able to clearly explain the requirements to his subordinates, and stop people’s unseemly behavior. Psychologists advise sometimes putting the team under stress, since such situations mobilize human resources, increasing output.

Tips: how to become a real leader in a team

Not every manager is a team leader. But he will have to learn to be first. Otherwise, employees often ignore the boss’s instructions, carry them out with difficulty, and discuss him behind his back. The chance of success in such a situation is equal to zero. An ideal leader is the head of an enterprise who clearly sees the goal, competently sets tasks, and is able to lead the team. To understand how to be a leader in a team, you need to learn and improve. The path is not easy, but it will definitely lead to success.

Informed means armed

If you plan to become a team leader, you need to know as much information as possible about each employee:

education, age, marital status, professional skills, strong character traits of a person, attitude towards him in the team;
whether there are potential allies in the team;
which people can you count on, who is capable of letting you down;
Is there an informal leader in the team?

A true leader is interested in the problems of his employees, tries to help them, learn about his predecessor, how relationships in the team developed under him. Such information will help direct interaction with the team and with each person in the right direction.

Management secrets

When studying information about team members, it is recommended to simultaneously establish contact with them. Friendly relationships, politeness, and fairness will help with this. You should not immediately show who is the leader in the team. People are repulsed by rigidity, dictatorship, and manipulation. They will stop trusting, and mutual understanding will be lost forever. But it’s also not worth appearing like a kind boss. Team members are required to conscientiously perform functional duties and accurately complete assigned tasks. It is good if a manager consults with his subordinates on certain issues and is interested in the development of a certain situation.

Gaining authority

In most cases, a change in leadership is stressful for the team. Therefore, the leader needs to gain authority among employees gradually. People need time to understand what a boss is like, to understand his requirements, to feel a leader in him. There are situations when subordinates turn to higher management. You shouldn't react too negatively to this. It is necessary to skillfully show your colleagues that you are solving these issues, as you are a leader. It is recommended to introduce innovations gradually.

Leadership is hard work. And only a person who is confident in his strengths, knowledge, and skills is able to competently overcome the obstacles standing in his way.

Workflow organization

A true leader in a team is able to clearly organize the work of his subordinates. To do this, he gets to know the employees, their job responsibilities, and the area of work assigned to each person. In the process of work, the team leader clearly sees the picture. He understands how busy a particular employee is and how effective his work day is. It often happens in a team that one part of the people does the bulk of the work, while the other part is chilling. The leader’s task is to evenly distribute the workload among all team members and find out who prefers to work individually.

A leader in a team is at the same time a manager, organizer, and psychologist. Using his example, he must show his subordinates the ability to organize the work process, correct time management, punctuality, friendliness, and exactingness.

Organizational culture

The effectiveness of a team largely depends on the relationships between employees, their behavior, established rules and requirements. The leader in the team is also obliged to strictly implement them. If the current situation is not clear to him, it is recommended to talk with experienced team members who will help clarify.

If the existing organizational culture in the team is not acceptable to the new boss, it will gradually have to be changed. He may not be satisfied with the clothes that employees wear to work, frequent tea parties and smoking breaks, existing job descriptions, or failure to complete assigned tasks. Therefore, it is important to receive information about each employee and situations first-hand. It is good to time the changes to coincide with some event of the enterprise. This will provide an opportunity to show the invited guests the best sides of the team and make a positive impression on them. And this is the merit of the leader.

How to Know If You Can't Determine Your Reputation on Your Own

Example 1:
a manager constantly goes to interviews, prepares, works hard on himself, and at the same time constantly receives refusals. If he doesn't understand the real reason, he should check what's wrong with his reputation.

New employers often ask for feedback from previous jobs, as it is important to understand how former colleagues and managers speak about the employee.
Example 2:
An employee has been working hard for 10 years in a large company, but does not receive a long-awaited promotion. To all the questions about what is wrong with him, he does not hear a clear answer. Here it is worth thinking about reputation and understanding how colleagues perceive the employee and whether they see him in a more significant position.