Lead With Confidence: 12 Ways to Tell You Are a Natural Entrepreneurial Leader

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
-John Quincy Adams

 

What makes a person a leader?  Does being quiet, or a certain color or sex disqualify you as a leader?  I don’t think so.

There are several definitions of leadership in the world; many of them are great.  However, it’s hard to define all the qualities, character traits, and skills that make a great leader.

I truly believe that were all meant to be leaders, where it’s community, familial, or global-based.  As a mother, wife, daughter, teacher, pastor, activist, advocate, president, or a personal trainer, you are a leader.

With that being said, there are still qualities people possess that show whether they are natural leaders or not.  Here is a list I’ve compiled of 12 ways you can tell if you or someone you know is a natural leader.

12 Leadership Qualities You Can’t Ignore

1.  You long to make a difference.

You feel a call deep inside to make a huge impact on the world.  Somehow, someway, you want to use your gifts and talents to heal and empower others.

You want to alleviate your tribe of pain; maybe you don’t want them to experience the pain you have faced in your life.  You want to leave a legacy that leaves the world in a better state.

2.  You’re discontent and dissatisfied with the status quo.

You have never been the type to follow the crowd.  You’ve always wanted to follow your own rules, or what feels right and real to you.  Fitting in with the crowd may make you feel stereotyped and invisible.

Maybe you felt invisible and overlooked as a child, and that makes you want to stand out in a big way.  You want to express what makes you unique, and you can’t do that when you blend in with everyone else.

3. You don’t want to wait on more resources to accomplish your vision.

You see challenges as opportunities, and you feel this urgency inside to get started changing the world NOW.  The world needs you NOW.  I have to accomplish this goal NOW.

4.  You big dreams seem impossible.

As a leader, you are a visionary, a creator.  Because of these gifts, you are able to see what the world could be.  You see how the world could be a more balance place to live.  You see the chance for equality in every sense of the word.

In the world we live in now, “a man’s world”, a world full of racial and gender equality, your dreams may seen crazy.  However, your dreams are given to you for a reason… think about it.

5.  You take 100% responsibility for your life and actions.

You know that your life, all your experiences, is a reflection of your very own beliefs.  You know that your actions are based upon your beliefs.

Therefore, you don’t blame others for your circumstances in your life or business.  Not making the money you want?  Check your beliefs?  Don’t have the love of your life?  Then what are your beliefs about men or women?

6.  You are a learner.

You learn more to grow, succeed, and develop.  You learn more to earn more.

We are natural learners.  We are always learning things from our life experiences, whether we realize it or not.  What if you actually became conscious of that ability?

Just think of how much more you can achieve if you fully embodied your learning gifts?

But you already know this.  You enjoy learning and love how it makes you feel to be more confident in a subject matter, or life in general.

7.  You suck at working for other people.

Especially if you are not doing things that aren’t creating significant change.

You feel stuck, and maybe sometimes powerless, working for others.  You want to experience freedom, flexibility, creativity, and growth, but you don’t feel you can fully achieve that working for someone else.

You intuitively know that using all your gifts and talents is the only way you will be truly satisfied in your work.

8.  You resist authority.

This is similar to number 7 to me.  You hate being told what to do.  That’s probably because you are an independent spirit.  You’re a self-starter.

You probably weren’t meant to have a boss in the first place, but society neglects to teach you that.

You are already your own coach or parent.  Maybe you have some negative experiences with authority figures in your childhood, and you had to learn to fend for yourself.

Just think, all those challenges equipped you to be a powerful, phenomenal leader!

9.  You were bullied, abused, or in other ways mistreated as a child.

You know anger is a powerful emotion, and it can work for your good or your bad.  If you learn to use it for your good, it is a powerful motivator you can use for global change.

When you learn to transmute anger, it enhances your drive and determination to succeed, achieve, and lead, and prove to the world that you are a force to be reckon with.

10.  You are scared to go solo.

Your fears are usually something you need to face to reach your full potential.  It’s a test you have to pass to get from where you are to where you want to be.

You may have a fear of being seen.  Maybe you’ve never owned a business before, but you feel a calling to start a business.  It’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done, but your desires never lie to you.  It’s time to stand up and stand out.

Your fear is an illusion, and if you build the courage to walk through it to the other side, you will find your bliss.

11.  You don’t fit in the norm.

Not only are you discontent with the status quo, but you are also NOT the status quo.  You’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable in your skin because you felt so differently from everyone else.

But, your uniqueness is what makes you special, and it’s going to make you successful as a leader.  Accept your uniqueness as the motivation you need to acknowledge the entrepreneur screaming to get out of you!

12.  You are a dreamer.

What is the message inside of you that want to be birthed into the world?  You have a fire in your belly that don’t want to go away, even though you try to ignore it for various reasons.

I’m here to tell you, however, to trust in your dreams.  Your dreams are usually desires that you are meant to fulfill and make the world a better place.

If you know in your heart that you need to be outside of the 9 to 5 to make your dreams happen, then takes steps today to make it happen!

 

Summary

So here it is, 12 ways to tell that you are a natural leader.  Have these tips helped to change the concept of who you are as a leader?

Are there other natural leadership traits that you are familiar with and are not listed in this post?

Please feel free to share your questions and comments below!

*Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.