The Art of Leadership

This article includes content from Business News Daily, Levo League and About.com

What is leadership?

The word "leadership" may bring to mind images of power and authority, but that's not always the case. Think about a leader in your life-perhaps a friend, co-worker, or family member. Are they in a position of authority? Not necessarily.

How do we define leadership?

Business News Daily asked 30 business owners and experts to define what leadership means to them. Their ideas may just lead you to create your own definition of leadership. Take a look at what they said.

"Leadership is having a vision, sharing that vision and inspiring others to support your vision while creating their own."

"Leadership is the ability to guide others without force into a direction or decision that leaves them still feeling empowered and accomplished."

"A true leader is secure in creating a framework that encourages others to tap into their own skills and ideas and freely contribute to the whole of the project or company."

"Leadership is actions committed by a person or group that produce an output or result. It simply helps people to get things done. It is not based on position in a hierarchy."

"Leadership is employing your skills and knowledge, leveraged by your attitude to get the results you desire."

Leadership is like art. There is more than one way to define leadership, just as there is more than one way to be a leader. Tiffany Dufu of Levo says that a leader is someone who uses their leadership, who "inspires people to live their best selves and their best lives," and that "artful leadership is knowing others and knowing yourself."



How do we become better leaders?

We want to see our Aggies across the globe leading the pack in establishing the qualities necessary for a happy, successful life. Whether you are in a technical position of leadership or not, you can be a leader everyday. There are many ways to improve your leadership-all of which can be started right now.

Learn More About Your Leadership Style. Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? Once you've determine which areas need some work, you can begin looking for ways to improve your leadership abilities.

Serve As a Role Model. Inspiring leaders exemplify the behaviors and characteristics that they encourage in their followers. They walk the walk and talk the talk. As a result, group members admire these leaders and work to emulate these behaviors.

Have a Positive Attitude. Leaders who facilitate change have an upbeat, optimistic attitude that serves as a source of inspiration for followers. Even when things look bleak and your followers start to feel disheartened, try to stay positive. This does not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses. It simply means maintaining a sense of optimism and hope in the face of challenges.

Listen and Communicate Effectively. Good leaders should express sincere care and concern for the members of their group both verbally and non-verbally. By keeping the lines of communication open, these leaders can ensure that group members feel able to make contributions and receive recognition for their achievements.

Encourage Creativity. One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to grow and stretch their limits without being discouraged.

Keep Trying New Things. Who says leadership is a one-way relationship? As you work toward honing your leadership skills, don't forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration. Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate, and reward group members.

Go get 'em, Aggies. We're rooting for you!

Do What You Love! How to Identify & Pursue Your Passions

Article Originally Featured on the Muse.com

As Confucius said, “choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It’s great advice, but it’s not always that simple—it can be difficult to figure out what you love and how to parlay that into a viable business or job. So here’s a step-by-step plan for pinpointing your passions—and four ways to help you start turning them into your career.

1. Remember What You Loved as a Child

Often, our truest passions emerge in childhood, only to be squelched by real life pressures. So think about what you loved long before you had to worry about your career. Writing? Science experiments? Taking care of people? Getting back in touch with those instincts is an important step in finding your passion.

2. Eliminate Money from the Equation

If money were no object, what would you do? Would you travel? Spend all of your time with your children? Would you start a charitable organization to help abused women? Of course money can’t be ignored, but don’t let financial pressures dictate your choices. Your career should ultimately lead to financial security, but if financial security is the defining motivator, it’s unlikely you’ll end up doing what you love.

3. Ask Your Friends for Feedback

Sometimes you’re just not the best judge of what makes you happy. Ask the people who know you intimately when you seem the happiest and what you do the most enthusiastically. Their answers may surprise you.

4. Read through a University Course Catalog

Find some quiet time and see which courses naturally interest you. What would you study if you could do it all over? What courses do you think you could teach? Which subjects scare you to death, and which ones do you find boring? Revisiting these possibilities will help point you in the direction of subjects and topics that you love.

5. Identify your Professional Hero

Of everyone you know, either personally or in your extended frame of reference (from your dermatologist to Oprah), whose career would you most want to emulate? Reach out to her to learn more about how she got to where she is, or, if that’s not possible, read everything you can about her career and life.  

6. Think of What You Enjoy That You Also Do Well

After you’ve done these exercises, think about what you’ve learned. Focus on the things that you both enjoy and do well—whether you have a way with animals, make a killer lemon tart, or are crazy for origami—and write them down. Then, narrow the list to the top three or four things. Keep it handy, review it often, and use it as your jumping-off point when you’re plotting your career move.

Getting Started

Once you have a solid idea of what you love doing, it can still be a big leap to turn that passion into a viable career. Here are four easy steps to start making the change:

1. Talk to a Career Counselor

Career counselors help others figure out what they want for a living, and they’ll have insights and tools to help you zero in on the things you love most and do best, and also be able to offer ideas and guidance on how to find a career that best suits those passions. Take advantage of those resources.

2. Leverage Social Media

More than ever, we live in a social world. Once you've identified what it is that you love, get busy on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, connecting with people who share your areas of interest. Read blogs, join forums, and find out what it’s really like to do what you love.

3. Start Saving Money

Once you feel strongly that you want to start down this new path, start saving. A lot. The more money you have in the bank, the less finances will have to rule your decisions. And the less scary it will be if and when you do quit your job.

4. Just Do It

Ultimately, you won’t really know what you love to do unless you actually bite the bullet. Until you give it a go, it’s really just speculation. So, whether you take a small step like signing up for a class or you dive head-first into entrepreneurship, roll up your sleeves and do it. You’ll never know until you try.

Photo courtesy of See-ming Lee.

 Article Originally Featured on the Muse.com