Ahmed Shaami
For becoming an effective leader, it is not necessary to have the charisma. There have been many charismatic leaders who bombed out and failed because they lacked character. For achieving a long-term goal, charisma is often useless because it fails to create a positive impact and organizations that you lead. For becoming an effective leader you need to have character because leadership is an influence and if you don’t have the character, no one is going to follow you.
A person’s character is the sum of all their thoughts, capacities, ideas, actions, and desires. No matter talent is important but for an effective leadership, you need to pay attention to developing your character. Following are the three forces that actually shape your character:
Be attentive to the input you consume:
If you eat a carrot, your body will absorb the nutrients and will spread it across your body. If you eat junk food, your body absorbs the nutrients and spread it across the body. You get the results of what you consume and this is how your body works. The functioning of your mind is very similar to that of your body. You will be able to understand the world based on the input that you provide your brain. This is something that shapes your character. Therefore, the best way to shape your character and grow is by reading good books, listening to podcasts, and attending conferences that provide you with positive information.
People you surround yourself with:
People you spend most of your time with have a great influence on the character that you develop. According to experts, you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. Therefore, you need to be very careful about the people you chose to be around and associate with. You cannot afford to have a relationship that pulls you down. Always chose friends who provide you with feedback on your actions and support you in the times of need.
The habits that you develop:
The unconscious ways you think and act in different situations turn into habits that you keep throughout your lifetime. These habits make you think and speak in a consistent manner. If you develop good habits, you provide a way for the positivity to become a part of your character. Developing the habit of positivity can help you to cope with adversity, increase your energy, improve your productivity, and extend your life. That is why you need to be intentional while developing better habits and breaking yourself from the bad ones.
Having a vision, intelligence, communication skills, business acumen, and even boldness cannot make a leader. For an effective leadership, you need to have a good character because it builds trust and without trust, people will never follow you. Without followers, obviously, no leader can succeed.
