If you’ve seen the new film ‘Steve Jobs’, actor Michael Fassbender portrays the Apple pioneer as a leader with unwavering self-belief but not always much patience with colleagues.

But I would like to draw your attention to a great YouTube video I found of Steve Jobs explaining his rules for success. I recommend you look at the clip.

Bottom line, it can take many years to become an overnight success as a leader. But you are willing to do the work and follow this advice, you can certainly expect to cut that time in half!

None of the tips in today’s blog are difficult to implement, but they are extremely powerful and if you apply them you will see a step change in your team’s performance.

Here are 5 Top Tips for your leadership success:-

1.Be bold

You can’t inspire teams with small (or no) goals and you will not create a significant improvement in performance with small goals either.

Aim high and set ambitious goals, but not impossible goals. Instil a sense of purposeful urgency.

Be as demanding of others as you are of yourself- set high standards and expect the best.

Stretch and positively challenge your team, push their boundaries and get them really thinking about how they can do things differently.

2.Build confidence

Do your people live up to their potential or live down to your expectations?

Build your people up, develop them, give them regular feedback about their performance, show that you have confidence they can achieve the goals you have set for them –  in fact, you believe they can achieve much more!

If you want above average results then you must first build an above average team!

Display trust – have faith in your people to do great things. Give them space and time to flourish.

Confidence builds belief and belief delivers success.

3.Lead by example

Leadership is about behaviour first, skills second. You manage things, but you can lead people.

Act as you would want your people to behave, but also understand and recognise the subtleties that your role is different from that of your employees.

Consider the concept of ‘the shadow of the leader’ – your shadow follows you in everything you say and do. What shadows are you casting?

Everyday you’re under the spotlight  and what you personally do (and don’t) will set the benchmark for your people – don’t expect more from others than you give yourself – you have to give it before you  get it!

4.Your success depends on their success

You will only ever be as good as your people!

To succeed as a leader, you need to shift your focus from “me” to “we” and your performance will no longer be measured by your individual contribution. Instead, others will evaluate your ability to create and maintain a highly engaged team that is willing to give it their all!

The key is to focus on results not just tasks – and have the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.

So recruit the best people around, not simply the best you can get. Hire for fit, train for skill and when the opportunity presents itself, recruit people who are better than you.

As a leader, your role is to create heroes, not try to be one!

5.Find a mentor

You are ultimately responsible for your own success. Along the way, you will encounter a whole host of obstacles and challenges to be overcome. Of course you won’t have all the answers – however as a leader, you’ll be expected to – your people will naturally be looking to you for direction and decisiveness. So where do YOU turn for support?

Seek out an experienced mentor who can guide you through the landmines that exist in every organisation – someone who can coach, challenge and broaden your own thinking, someone you can trust and can confide in, someone to act as your sounding board and provide you with another perspective.

For more Top Tips visit the Creativedge ‘Top 10 Tips’ mobile App available for iPhone and Android smartphones:-

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