20 Ways To Stand Out As A Leader

Anyone who makes it to the role of the leader is good at what they do. At the same time, not everyone stands out as a leader.

So I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts and invite your thoughts on what it takes to stand out as a leader.

  1. Focus on delivering results rather than personal survival
  2. Learn to recognise when to step in and when to step back
  3. Take responsibility for the results that are and are not achieved
  4. Support your people publicly when things don’t go to plan
  5. Encourage and support others to achieve what they want from their career
  6. Avoid blaming others or circumstances when things are not going well
  7. Be consistent in the way that you deal with people
  8. Be an expert listener, not just an expert communicator
  9. Make the most of the time that you have available
  10. Make your expectations clear
  11. Be a role model for the behaviours you expect from others
  12. Give feedback promptly and regularly
  13. Seek regular feedback on your own performance
  14. Learn from your mistakes and move on
  15. Take decisions and action even when you don’t have all the information you would like
  16. Balance the here and now with the longer term
  17. Anticipate barriers and obstacles and plan for responding to them
  18. Don’t ask others to do what you won’t do yourself
  19. Keep yourself up to date
  20. Be professional and act with integrity.

The reality is that standing out as a leader is not just about skills and knowledge.  Great qualities are also a huge contributor.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. He invites you to take advantage of his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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17 comments
SImon Roskrow says 15 February 2011

Sound list. One aspect that is top of my mind at the moment, because of someone I’m working with, is your point 6, about blame.

The person I’m working with is in their first ever leadership position, and it’s a big one. My belief in working with her is that the biggest single change she has to make, from being a junior member of staff in a different organisation to being the leader of another, is to accept responsibility, however difficult that may be.

From an outsider’s point of view, person X, or Y, or Z might actually be cocking things up. The systems in use may be awful. There might not be enough money in the budget. But, however true any of those things are, blaming them is simply not leadership behaviour – leadership behaviour is about identifying these things, and then fixing them or finding a way around.

This nice clear list is a useful context to base leadership analysis on, and discover our own failings…the first step to doing something about them!

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belleville ontario income tax says 29 September 2012

This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?

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picton tax advisor says 8 February 2013

Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning
this post and the rest of the site is really
good.

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victoria says 15 May 2013

THANK YOU. I am applying for a leadership position within my company and was having a hard time explaining how I could bridge just being good at what I do and actually standing out as a leader. Your list is invaluable because I do most of these things already but did not know how to word them.

Great post!

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