You maybe surprised to find that your employees look up to you.  If they don’t they should.  You should be a role model for your staff.  When you are being a good role model, you can help others to achieve success in their own careers.  Some things that you can do to be a better role model can be found below:

Be aware of you actions.  Somebody is always watching you.  Whatever you are doing in the workplace is being observed by someone.  It is important to be careful of what actions you are showing to the world.

Identify your bad habits.  If you want to be sure if something is a bad habit ask yourself:

• Does it hurt others around me?
• Is it detrimental to my health?
• Are the results of my actions good or bad?
• What are the long-term effects?
• If I stopped doing it, would I become a better person?
• How does this affect my image as a role model? Is it a habit I would want others to deal with?

When you know what you bad habits are fix them.  Don’t try to fix everything at once.  To change a habit work at stopping it a little at a time until you stop completely.  Then be sure not to start it again.

Let your good qualities show.  If you remember that people are watching you in the work place, they are seeing the good things that you are doing.  If you make an effort to go out of your way to help someone the chances are people will see all of the good things that you do.  Even if people do not see all of the good that you do, people will hear about the good things that you do.

Inspire People.  Do what you do best.  It is up to you to meet the expectations of your staff and show then the right way through example.

Don’t be a hypocrite.  When you are not doing the right things people will take notice of the fact that your actions do not match talk.

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Many leaders share four common traits.  If you would like to be a better leader you should focus on developing the traits below:

Leaders are Opinionated and Persuasive

Leaders have strong opinions of the world around them and they have the ability to sway the opinion of other people.  To be a better leader you should have an informed, thought-out opinion on a topic and you should have the ability to communicate that vision.  It is important to have an informed well thought out opinion as opposed to just have a belief about a topic.  Facts beat beliefs every time.
Leaders Have Excellent networking skills

Being able to grow and leverage a social network to your advantage is a key goal for any leader.  Here are some things that you can do to be a better networker:

1. Resist the urge to arrive late. By arriving to meeting early you will have time to mingle which will allow you to network.

2. Ask easy questions. To get a conversation started, simply walk up to a person or a group, and say, “May I join you” or “What brings you to this event?”

3. Ditch the sales pitch. Remember, networking is all about relationship building. Keep your exchange fun, light and informal – you don’t need to do the hard sell within minutes of meeting a person.  This is not time to use your elevator speech.

4. Share your passion. Win people over with your enthusiasm for your product or service.

5. Smile. It’s a simple – but often overlooked.

Leaders are Comfortable with power

Many people want success but they are not ready for the side-effects of success, power.  When you have power you have the well-being of people relying on your decisions.  To be comfortable with power takes a certain mind set.  Leaders are comfortable and even embrace the control and power that comes with leadership.

Many Leaders are already accomplished

Early success in life can be a good predictor of future potential.  That success does not have to be equal to later success but early success shows that a person has the ability to overcome roadblocks that may arise.  To be successful means that a person knows how to handle pressures and has enough social know-how to avoid making mistakes that upset people.

Study to be a success

Studying the lives of successful men and women can help you imitate the behaviors that made them successful. By learning to develop strong opinions, connect with and persuade others, assume power with ease, and build on your past successes, you can build the same set of skills leaders.

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