Leaders are never born. They are honed by trials and experiences that have molded them to become what they are. They have an end goal in mind, which can only be reached if they know how to motivate the people who follow him. Getting subordinates to follow a leader is not as easy as issuing commands. Everyone deserving of such must earn effective leadership.

Earned Leadership

Leadership is earned. You can get promoted to a position where you will lead a certain number of people, but eventually, your followers can determine a sham leader from someone who is worthy of their trust. Real leaders give out orders and are implemented by loyal followers. The fake ones are also followed because of the position they earned but may never win the trust and faith of the people below them. Followers will do everything in their capabilities to meet the end goals of a genuine leader. Followers will leave behind the fake ones when the ship begins to sink. We need to find out what an effective leader does. Here are three important tips:

First, Kill Conflicts

Subordinates all have various issues. Some of these issues arise from their homes and there are those that arise within the interaction of each team member. As a leader, the moment you feel team conflicts rising, you have to find a way to immediately address them. Small conflicts can be addressed by bringing the involved parties together to clear out their differences. In this case, you have to act as a mediator and must make sure that you don't favor one over the other. For wider conflicts you have to gather every member of the team together so that each one will have the chance to voice out how they feel. It will be a clash of words and opinions and again, you must make sure that you don't favor one opinion over the other. Some conflicts cannot be corrected in a single meeting. Organize team-building sessions so that your team will know how to work together to attain a specific goal.

Second, Be Energetic

Your subordinates will test you every time they get the chance. They may do it consciously or unconsciously. They'll ask your opinion about issues and will invite you to join them for a drink or two. As a leader, you have to show them that you don't grow tired. You must make sure that you can match their enthusiasm and even exceed it. When it comes to giving out your opinions, you have to provide feedbacks that are positive, always pointing to the right direction. Be tireless in their presence. You might not see the immediate effect but eventually, the efforts you invest and time you give them will pay out positively.

Third, Show What You Want

Some subordinates may not picture right away what you want them to accomplish. If this is the case, you have to show to them your standards and prove to them that your standards work. Accompany them to a client and show to them how you close a sale. Point out to them the business phone numbers that will give the best result and let them listen to how you do things. Your subordinates will follow your lead and eventually give you the results you want to accomplish. Fake leaders just tell you what to do but it's up to you on how to get the results they want.

Best Practices Work!

In playing the role of a leader, you must also make sure that you present to your subordinates your best practice. Teach them to win. In order to do this, try competing against the best. When your subordinates see how you beat the best, they'll eventually follow and they'll feel glad that they have you as their leader, instead of having a fake one. Your subordinates may someday become leaders as well and they’ll lead their pack like how you lead them.