In a previous post, I wrote about what leadership is and the benefits of leadership to any individual, group or organization. It might interest you to know that as common as the word ‘Leadership’ is, many are still in the dark on what exactly leadership is and how one can improve his or her leadership.

You may be one of those who are still confused as to how you can improve your leadership. In this post, I will provide you with 5 simple practices you can begin to engage in daily to develop and improve your leadership.

First, I need you to take note and always remember this – Leadership is an art and not a science. Because it is an art, you can develop and improve in it, no matter where you are at the moment in your leadership.

Practice Taking Responsibility Daily

The foundation of leadership is responsibility. Leadership is simply taking responsibility for what needs to be done and seeing to it that it is done. So, if you desire to improve your leadership, begin by learning and practising taking responsibility. The first areas of responsibility are your personal growth. Take responsibility to become responsible for everything that goes on within your life. When you have started this, soon, others will begin to trust you with taking responsibility for things that involve them.

Practice Self Discipline Daily

Leadership comes with a great demand upon one that unless you are given to self-discipline, you will not be effective in fulfilling those demands. Leadership involves modelling the right way and lifestyle for others and these cannot be possible without self-discipline. So, practice developing self-discipline. Begin with the little things that go on in your life every day – the time you wake up, go to sleep, the amount of time you spend on your mobile devices, and how much attention you give to a task you are working on before jumping on other things.

Learn Daily

To be an effective leader, you must stay ahead. To stay ahead, you must learn every day. You must give your time and resources to learning every day. Decide within yourself that no day will pass without you learning a new thing. A study conducted sometime in the past showed that an average CEO in America reads more than 50 different books in a year. That is about 1 book a week. If improving your leadership is your desire, then, you must be committed to learning daily. Invest at least 1 hour every day in study and research.

Practice What You Have Learnt Daily

I once told participants in one of my leadership training classes that it is widely said that ‘knowledge is power’ but one thing I believe is that it is implemented knowledge that is power. As one desiring to develop and improve your leadership, you must go beyond just learning and move on to practicing what you have learnt. When you learn about emotional intelligence, for instance, begin applying the knowledge to your interactions with people every day. When you learn about communication also, apply the knowledge in helping yourself improve in your communication – how you speak, the tone of your voice, your body language, how you write etc.

Practice Paying Attention Daily

To pay attention is simply to give thought to something. Leaders pay attention. They pay attention to the people they lead, they pay attention to the projects they are working on, they pay attention to their systems and processes, and they pay attention to how their actions and inactions affect the organisation in general. So, in your daily life, practice paying attention. It will help you a great deal to improve your leadership.

Closing Thoughts

You must realize that leadership develops daily and not in a day. It is not a once and for all thing, it is something that you must commit yourself to doing every day by ensuring you are engaging in the daily practices that will help you develop and improve in your leadership.