We've all heard that saying - "he or she is a born leader". And as the England team prepare to play its first game in the round of 16 in this year's Euros, many people are wondering if Roy Hodgson has the leadership qualities that Sir Alf Ramsey had when he took the nation to World Cup victory in 1966.

But do you really need to be a great leader in order to be successful?

Just inputting this question into an online search engine is quite disheartening. It seems that the common belief is yes, you need to be a leader to be successful.

But there is some good news.

As leading American scholar, Warren Bennis, once said: "The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born - that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born."

It is also often said, that if you manage things, you are a leader. So it can be argued that you manage your children, your life, your time and your work, or even a national football team, then you have the capability to be a great leader.

In many cases, people have the attributes of a leader and don't even know it. But rather than go through them all, it's important to highlight the ones that many people wouldn't even have thought of.

And in our opinion, if you can get this right, leadership success is not far away.

The most important characteristic of a good leader is not being afraid to ask for help.

A leader who lacks humility, thinks that they are perfect and that they can do it all, is very likely to fail. And quickly.

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it," said Andrew Carnegie. And he was right.

If you understand your strengths and weaknesses, you'll know where and how you need help. Who wants to be a Jack of all trades and master of none?

It's important to identify the areas you feel less confident in and delegate such tasks to those more competent. Don't just take our word for it either. Theodore Roosevelt also believes that "the best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

That's not to say that you can't learn to do things better. And good leaders are not afraid to learn and develop either. So it's not just about asking for help with things you are less competent at, it's about asking for guidance and learning too.

After all, the best leaders tend to be insatiable learners and a saying we always like to quote is, "the more you learn, the more you earn."

Your network is your net worth

We've said it before, and we'll say it again. The people you spend the most time with can have a profound impact on how successful you are in the future.

This is where good networking comes in and surrounding yourself with like-minded people, who are often leaders themselves. Being part of such a community does not mean you are a follower, but will likely result in you being a greater leader than those who operate on their own and seek support from no one.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Something to remember

If you're serious about becoming a great leader, then start by asking for help and committing to continued learning. And in the meantime, bear what Jim Rohn says in mind: "The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly."

More Blogs
