Being a Successful Young Leader

For those who are young, but have the passion to become a great leader, there are 10 simple guidelines that can help you become more successful.

To become a successful young leader, you must:

1. Pursue your passions. Being young is beneficial, as you have time to figure out what really drives you. It is difficult to be a good leader in a position that you aren’t genuinely passionate about.
2. Face challenges. If you don’t face challenges you are not doing anything of significance. Challenges allow you to test yourself and face the consequences of your decisions.
3. Set a good example. Be a leader that you would follow yourself. You may not know every task 100 percent, but it is essential to understand how to solve or better improve each situation. If you were promoted to become a manager of a marketing department, you have to know specifics of the work and each employee. It is you who must take responsibility for each task, and not your coworkers. Your main aim as a leader is to set an example; so for instance, if you want them to be at work on time, you should be punctual yourself.
4. Earn trust. It is hard to lead anyone who doesn’t trust you. Your team is more productive when the people in charge are people they can trust. Being trustworthy may mean getting more involved and understand other positions than yours.
5. Stay calm. Professionally don’t display their emotions. Staying focused is important and when you feel overwhelmed it is important to take appropriate measures to make sure it doesn’t affect your work. Anger can be a common emotion you feel when working with others. However, you should never respond in anger, but rather with rationality.
6. Listen first. To become a good leader practice listening first. Don’t be quick to talk but rather be quick to listen. You can learn a lot from just listening and observing. See what drives the people around you. See what they are passionate about, what makes them excited, which tasks make them gloomy, and which seem to make them happy.
7. Earn respect. To earn respect all you have to do is conduct yourself in an ethical way and model what you expect from the others on your team. Show them you know where you are going, and that you are not only telling your team what to do but also working along with them.
8. Stay curious. The best leaders are always curious. To be a good leader you have to prioritize learning.
9. Be sympathetic. Many think being a leader is all work, but you should understand that we are all human and a characteristic of a good leader is understanding.
10. Remember that you are young. Being young is an advantage. You have plenty of time to shape yourself in the leader that you want to be. Understand that you are building a future as a leader, but don’t forget to have fun and cherish the time you have at the moment. Your private life shouldn’t suffer as a result of you being focused on your career.

At the end of the day, remember that you are young, with a lot of time ahead. Work hard, stay curious, and remember that great leaders don’t tell you what to do—they show you how it’s done.