On Wednesday night I had a really fun experience going to a conference to listen to Sheri Dew. The night was called You Were Born to Lead! She shared so many great ideas about leadership and how to become a better leader. And I would like to share some of the things that she did.

"George Washington had never commanded an army... he was a leader, a man that someone would follow." I thought this was a really good quote regarding leaders and the things that we all can do. She talked about how it's easy to influence others and to be influenced by others.

She reminded us that we were all born leaders and have the ability to lead. "The leader doesn't have to have all the ideas and answers, they just have to be able to recognize them." She made a really good point that stuck with me. She said that we have a unique combination of courage and compassion. We will all have direct influence on at least 1,000 people. I had never thought how many people I would directly influence. That already makes me want to be a better person knowing that.

She shared 7 principles of leadership that can help us to become better leaders and have good influences on others. I am going to share those principles with you.

7 Principles of Leadership

Your Leadership is Not about You: Leadership is about lifting others, not elevating yourself. A leader helps others do and become more than they could do or become on their own. Selfless leaders are always optimistic. Is your leadership about you or the people you lead?

Leadership is Utterly Dependent Upon Trust: If you can't trust someone, all you can do is have a strategy. Trust has three elements: motives, judgements, and truth. Can the people you love and lead trust you?

Experience is the Best Teacher: She showed us a pyramid that resembled the way leaders should teach. The first level is experiences, than beliefs, than actions, than results. So this means that people need to change their experiences, and then eventually the results will change. What experiences can you give the people you lead to make them change their results?

The Best Leaders are Perpetual Learners: They learn from others, mistakes, and experiences. Leaders are not afraid to work with people who are smarter than them. If you won't listen to others, you can only do the best YOU can. Leadership always exposes your weaknesses. Leaders accept responsibility for things they do.

The Best Leaders are Both Courageous and Kind: Always show more kindness than necessary. People have worth and they deserve to have that worth recognized. Have the courage to solve problems and think.

It's Easier to Motivate Someone to do Something Difficult than Something Easy: We inherently want to progress. There is nothing inspiring about the status quo. No one is happy living beneath themselves. "Our leaders should call upon us to do more." Give them a chance to find out what they are capable of becoming.

Inspired Leadership Endures: Leaders need to be devoted to something greater than themselves. We need to help others be more than they would be inclined to be on their own.

I'm glad I was able to go listen to Sheri Dew talk about being a leader. I learned many things from her about how I can be a better leader and be an influence on others. I hope you can also use these principles to be a leader in your life.



Always have hope,